Can you grow garlic from scapes?

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Seems like a simple question right?

Most people plant a garlic clove to get a bulb of garlic. But I had a friend give me a bunch of scapes. Could I separate the little cloves and plant them to get garlic?

 

[majorcatfish]

yes you can, if they let them mature before cutting them. and if so it will take at least 2 growing seasons before the bulbs are of any size.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i think you mean the bulbils, which are the blooms at the top of the scape that have formed 'seeds'. those will take some time to grow to be full sized, usually 2-3 years depending on type. you can still use the stems in cooking if you don't want to waste the whole plant.

i decided to let my scapes grow and plan to cut the blooms off when i go to harvest. that way i can plant and propagate them without too much investment to get more or taking away from my stash of full sized bulbs i want to keep for eating. you don't want to plant the bulbils as deep as you would the cloves. and it sounds like you will have better luck growing them starting in the spring. i'm going to start some of mine in the greenhouse to keep them protected this winter and save some to try planting in the spring to see if there really is a difference.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Yes, I meant the little "cloves" on the top of the scapes. Sorry. OK Good to know. I will separate them, let them dry out a bit and then plant and see. Don't know if they would last now that they have been cut to wait until spring. So I guess I will just have to plant them in the fall and see what happens.