Of Garlic and Lessons Learned...

[meadow]

Edit for future readers:
Bulbils are planted with 'bulbous' end up. It is also the end with a small bit of 'dried plant material' at the very tip.
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I could use some advice.

Background: I purchased garlic from a new-to-me supplier last year. I noticed some problems and thought that I was being 'careful enough' by aggressively culling any heads that were less than pristine, and planting in a small bed at the edge of the main garden. One variety from this supplier didn't get planted at all.

While peeling individual cloves and freezing them just now, I've found bug damage inside of the inner wrappers of one variety, with no visible evidence until they are peeled.

Should I go out and dig up that variety and toss it?? They've been in the ground since late October. Alternatively I could allow the garlic to grow and form bulbils, and use those for starting a new crop. The ground they've been in won't be used for garlic again.

In retrospect, I should have planted in pots or perhaps not planted at all when I discovered that some had problems.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I could use some advice.

Background: I purchased garlic from a new-to-me supplier last year. I noticed some problems and thought that I was being 'careful enough' by aggressively culling any heads that were less than pristine, and planting in a small bed at the edge of the main garden. One variety from this supplier didn't get planted at all.

While peeling individual cloves and freezing them just now, I've found bug damage inside of the inner wrappers of one variety, with no visible evidence until they are peeled.

Should I go out and dig up that variety and toss it?? They've been in the ground since late October. Alternatively I could allow the garlic to grow and form bulbils, and use those for starting a new crop. The ground they've been in won't be used for garlic again.

In retrospect, I should have planted in pots or perhaps not planted at all when I discovered that some had

Is it growing? If it's growing I would leave it alone and see what happens.

 

[meadow]

Is it growing? If it's growing I would leave it alone and see what happens.

Yes, there are a few tips just showing.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Yes, there are a few tips just showing.

What zone are you in? If you egt a lot of snow/freezing temps, the garlic does most of its growing in the roots until it warms up.

 

[flowerbug]

how cold will it be getting there? how's your worm population? often if a clove has some rot or bug problem the worms might find it and start cleaning it up. IMO they enjoy garlic that has gone bad or bits of roots that i put in the buckets and also the dried husks and other parts.

keep an eye on things is about all i can really suggest at this point.

 

[meadow]

What zone are you in? If you egt a lot of snow/freezing temps, the garlic does most of its growing in the roots until it warms up.

We are 8b.

 

[meadow]

how cold will it be getting there? how's your worm population? often if a clove has some rot or bug problem the worms might find it and start cleaning it up. IMO they enjoy garlic that has gone bad or bits of roots that i put in the buckets and also the dried husks and other parts.

keep an eye on things is about all i can really suggest at this point.

I'm not sure how the worms are in that spot. We get snow sometimes and it doesn't usually last more than a day or two, although we did have an unusual cold snap a few weeks ago.

I'm worried about having released some garlic-eating critter into the garden. But I think it may be too late to do much about it, since the garlic has been in the soil for several months now.

 

[flowerbug]

I'm not sure how the worms are in that spot. We get snow sometimes and it doesn't usually last more than a day or two, although we did have an unusual cold snap a few weeks ago.

I'm worried about having released some garlic-eating critter into the garden. But I think it may be too late to do much about it, since the garlic has been in the soil for several months now.

often newly introduced bugs are not too likely to survive because there is so much already going on. at least that is what you can hope for.

if you want a research project you can look into seeing if you can figure out what the bugs were and what their life cycle is like and see if that gives you any ideas about what to look for and how you might go about interrupting their life cycle if you get a chance and see them starting to get going. the best thing you can do is catch it early.

i don't think that digging up the entire patch would be worth it, but you could always do some spot inspections and see how the plants look.

 

[Zeedman]

If all you found was bug damage - but no bugs - you probably have nothing to worry about. Moving the location was the right move, and is recommended practice each year. Watch for signs of yellowing or stunting when growth begins; dig up any that look unhealthy, and allow the healthy ones to grow.

EDIT: If there was no external sign of insect entry or exit, it is possible that the damage you found was caused by disease. If you do find it necessary to cull some plants, consult with an Extension office to identify the potential suspect.

For hard neck garlic types, saving & growing bulbils is a good way to eliminate soil-borne pests & diseases, and to renew vitality in the stock. If doing so, avoid using an area where garlic is growing, or was grown recently. Depending upon the bulbil size, some will form small bulbs the first year, and some will form rounds (single cloves).

Soft neck garlic normally doesn't form bulbils; but it can be tricked into doing so, by intentionally growing cloves under stress. Under those conditions, the plants divert energy from bulb formation (resulting in a small bulb) and instead develop cloves within the stem. Those "stem cloves" are usually larger than hard neck bulbils, and can form a small to medium-sized bulb the first year.

 

[meadow]

Soft neck garlic normally doesn't form bulbils; but it can be tricked into doing so, by intentionally growing cloves under stress.

You've reminded me that I do have some bulbils from last year that I'd forgotten about (Crème De La Rasa and S&H Silver). I'm getting them planted today, along with Iowa Heirloom bulbils from Sand Hill (that I'd also forgotten), and they can grow inside for now. I didn't know about stem cloves. DH was taking care of the garlic under my guidance (a broken foot kept me from getting close to the garlic) and I didn't have the opportunity to notice if anything looked odd (S&H Silver is a softneck).

Anyway, I've given it a lot of thought. I'm going to allow this years crop to form bulbils and that will be my foundation stock going forward. There should be plenty of bulbils to share too! I won't grow garlic in that ground again. That ought to take care of it.