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| Since it will soon be time to plant my third crop of garlic, I thought it best to pose my questions now:
1. Despite my best efforts, the garlic bulbs I've grown are smaller than the ones I bought from The Garlic Store, and lack the colorful, papery outer covering. Is this a soil fertility issue or a timing issue? (I did wait until about 1/2 or more of the leaves were browned before harvesting.) 2. One scape was overlooked and set tiny bulbs; if I were to plant these, does anyone know how long before they would be ready for harvest? I suppose the size of the stalk might tell me, but anything I know in advance would be most helpful. The flavor of the garlic is great, and I love having home-grown garlic to use in my cooking ... just wish they were as large and lovely as the originals! Thanks in advance for any guidance. Diane in Coastal NJ |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Different locations, soil types, soil ammendments, climate, etc can give you a different appearance... some purple stripes can have less or more color because of this. Fertility & watering can affect bulb size, as well as how long they've been in the ground--usually fall planted in October and harvested sometime in July. I think the bulbils take about 2 seasons/years to get an appreciable size head. The first year they may make a round, and the next year a bulb. Hope this helps. Mark |
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| Different locations, soil types, soil ammendments, climate, etc can give you a different appearance... some purple stripes can have less or more color because of this. Fertility & watering can affect bulb size, as well as how long they've been in the ground--usually fall planted in October and harvested sometime in July. I think the bulbils take about 2 seasons/years to get an appreciable size head. The first year they may make a round, and the next year a bulb. Hope this helps. Mark |
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| Garlic needs a rich soil. I dig a trench about 10" deep, half fill with composted cow manure and mix, then plant garlic. And side-dress with 10-10-10 in spring. Hard to give them too much fertilizer as long as soil is well-drained (mine started out as bank run gravel). |
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- Posted by lilacs_of_may 5/6 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 14, 07 at 15:10
| I had the same problem with bulbs from the Garlic Store. I think in my case it was a mix of poor soil and not enough sun. The bulbs did fine. They're healthy. But they were smaller than I expected. This time, my second crop, I'm planting some in an adjacent bed, similar conditions but I'm putting in more compost, and some in a raised bed that gets full sun. |
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