Successes and Failures when Growing Garlic

Successes and Failures of Growing Garlic

Of course this is the most wonderful herb/spice/health giving plant throughout the ages and included in the diets of so many cultures. It is related to the onion, shallot, leek family – alliums and is susceptible to the pests and diseases which affect these plants.

Throughout the ages this has been used as a culinary and medicinal plant and was used to maintain health during the plague, as well as to ward off evil spirits, vampires, the evil eye and various spells.

 Whatever your perspective on growing garlic this is surely one of the most important vegetables / herbs/ spices we can grow in our gardens and allotments.

However, it is important to choose a suitable variety for our ground and our climate.

My preference is for autumn planted garlic cloves but if you are taking that route do think of the varieties you are choosing.

I always plant my garlic bulbs in the autumn – late October onto early November. Of course, you must choose a variety which is suitable for autumn planting. Check on the suggestions from producers and providers and consider what they are suggesting.

It has been said that, like onions, autumn sown garlic will not ‘keep’ into the winter. However, I have always planted my garlic in the autumn and finish off my saved crop in the following spring’s preserves.

Planting Garlic

Of course, you can buy your garlic bulbs from the local supermarket and plant those as your ‘seed’ – and this may be cheaper. However, you are unlikely to know the variety or where they have come from. Are they suitable for your ground and/or your climate. They may well have come from a different part of the world and be totally unsuitable for your conditions and may well come with their own pests and diseases. Really, my advice is to buy good quality, certified stock with advice on flavour, season for planting and suitability to your climate and conditions.

The ground for planting should be well worked to give a good deep tilth [ of course, on land like mine, this is difficult if not impossible as I am growing on fairly heavy clay].

Divide each bulb into its individual cloves without, if possible, removing the outer skin of each clove. The individual cloves should be planted at a depth of 3 – 4 cm [1½inches]. In some places, on much lighter soil, this should be a bit deeper but on heavy clay, like mine I usually plant fairly close to the surface. The bulbs should be 12 - 15cm [5 -6 inches] apart in rows 15cm [ 6 inches] apart – allowing room to hoe between rows without damaging the bulbs. It is important to keep the garlic bed free from weeds through the growing season.

Varieties of Garlic

There are so many varieties available now on the market, it is important to look at the different varieties available where you are living and what the local suppliers and garden centres recommend for your soil type and growing conditions.

Of course, I have found that different varieties work better in each year when the weather and climate can change the growing conditions. Until this season, I had always grown Solent Wight and Purple Wight which had always given me a reasonable crop on one of these varieties. This year, I decided to look for different varieties and, after reading all the flavour, growing and ground peculiarities of each crop, I chose Messidrome, Champion White and Champion Purple – all autumn planting varieties. All of these plants were attacked by ‘leek rust’ late in the season [an endemic disease which will always affect my crops – when it attacks the growth will stop so, the later the attack the better the crop. On an allotment situation, this is impossible to control – without some nasty chemicals. However, away from other allium crops and in an environment where you can control the diseases, I am sure this would not be a problem.]

The leek rust was late this year, probably because of a fairly dry spring. I harvested my garlics during early June and left them on raised grids until they had dried well before I took them home. The Messidrome and the Champion Purple have been spectacular – I could not have bought anything better in any market. Although, the Champion White bulbs were okay the bulbs did not fatten up as I would have liked. Of course, I understand that weather conditions are always relevant and perhaps, next year, the results will be different. I think I will try these three varieties again next year.

Really there are always problems. As I have said in previous blogs, there is a problem with ‘white rot in onions’ on our allotment field. For this reason I had stopped growing onions [with white rots, it is important that no alliums are grown on this ground for 9 years – onions, leeks, garlic, spring onions, shallots, etc].

This year, I did find a few bulbs had been affected by the dreaded ‘white rot’ – disappointing though not unexpected. Next year, I must find a different area to plant them.

Nutritional Value of Garlic

Dietary Fibre – 11%,      Carbohydrate 15%           Protein  17%

Vitamin C    - 71%          Thiamin         18%           Vit B6   84%

Riboflavin    -  9%           Calcium         25%           Iron        13%

Phosphorus   -  21%         Potassium       16%          Zinc        11%

Manganese   - 114%         Selenium        28%

Harvesting and Storing

When or if the garlic plants are affected by leek rust, the plants will stop growing and they can then be harvested. If they have not been affected then the tops of the plants, like onions will cease to grow and the tops of the plants will turn over, indicating that they are no longer growing. Dig up the plants and lay them out on the ground or on a suitable grid to allow the top growth to dry out for several days at least, in warm dry weather or, hang them up in a dry environment – a dry, frost-free shed for example

Weave the garlics into plaits or bunches to allow them to dry out so that they will survive the winter.

Store in a cool dry place over winter – they should last until next year’s crop is ready [assuming you have grown enough!]

Elephant Garlic

This plant, although called a garlic and smells vaguely of garlic is not a garlic. It is more closely related to the leek family – although, of course, they are all of the Allium species.

I have grown Elephant Garlic as I was given one of the huge bulbs a couple of years ago to try. This is expensive to buy and although as easy to grow as garlic, for me it has a disappointingly mild flavour. Perhaps for those who are so keen on the pungent aroma and flavour of a strong garlic, they are very suitable. For me, a good flavoursome garlic is an essential in my kitchen and I always peruse the catalogues for those varieties which have a robust flavour, will grow well on my ground and in my allotment conditions and will store well.

Next Season

Although I have planted 4 bulbs each of three different varieties and the harvest has been good, I think perhaps, when I have given many of these away to members of my family and used many more in my preserves, I should have planted twice as much. But, which varieties?

October on the Allotment 2014

On the allotment in October 2014

Well honestly, it has been a very productive year although some crops, like brassicas, have not enjoyed the uber dry year which, after last year’s ongoing rainstorms and floods, especially here in the south west, has been something of a relief. Last year, 2013, was an excellent example of this although, among us dedicated gardeners on the allotments we still had our major successes – as always the outcome depends on the amount of effort and work which is put into the plot. And, my daughter always tells me – ‘You reap as you sow!’

I have now received my garlic seed cloves to be planted from October onwards. If the present mild weather continues, I might just keep them over for a few weeks until the weather is a bit cooler/colder. It really is, still a bit warm although, the first weekend for us in the south west is for torrential rain. This would be excellent for me – really. I know heavy rain is not popular with holiday makers and weekenders but, growers, farmers and gardeners are probably gasping for a good heavy downpour for a day or two. Not that we have a choice.

As I always do, I look to experiment with a few crops each year. Of course, the results can be skewed by the weather conditions each year. I would have to be a dedicated environmental scientist to follow through on the different crops but, on my allotment and the differing climate conditions, I can gather a useful profile.

For next season, I have bought a few new varieties. Of course the reliable Solent Wight and Purple Wight might in normal seasons have performed beautifully – and the Purple Wight did superbly – my Solent Wight was very disappointing. Probably the weather but, I have decided to explore some of the varieties which have been introduced this year. I have read the profile of each of these varieties and hope they will perform well for me next year – This autumn I am trying Champion White and Champion Purple as well as Messindrome – next year, I will report back on their performance

Divide each bulb into its individual cloves and store them in an airy, cool, environment until the ground is ready. As with all plants [ apart from dry seeds], like bulbs, corms, living plants – asparagus, rhubarb, etc. when you buy them, whether on line or in a gardening shop, they are usually packaged in polythene. As soon as you get them home, remove them from their packaging and store in a cool, dry dark place until you are ready to plant them.

Of course, I can start to plant my autumn sowing Garlic cloves from the beginning of October. This autumn has been particularly mild so, I think I might hold back on the garlic planting for a couple of weeks until the weather becomes a bit colder.

In the meantime, make sure the bed to plant these alliums has been well prepared – a well dug, fine tilth bed where you can plant the cloves 10cm [4in] apart in rows 20cm [8in apart.]. The cloves should be planted just below the soil surface. [cover with netting to discourage birds from picking up the young cloves].

Make sure, when you are planting, that no alliums [onions, leeks, garlic, spring onions], - have been planted or grown for the last 8 years if there has been any sign of onion white rot on this ground.

I have also been setting up my new strawberry bed. The ground has been well dug and cleared, carefully of weeds [this bed will be in place for the next three years so, it is good to ensure there are no weeds at the beginning. I cover my strawberry beds with woven black matting to help keep the weeds under control but, still allows some rain to get in.

Maintenance

·         As you finish harvesting crops, remove all plant debris and compost. Remove all perennial weed especially deep rooted and persistent weeds such as couch grass, dandelions, bind-weed, etc and dispose of these plants [ it is useful to keep a separate compost bin for these weeds].

Remove, also, canes, ties, labels and markers and store securely.

·         Continue to keep paths and edges neatly cut. Although it is autumn the weather is still quite warm and grass and weeds continue to grow strongly.

·         As they stop growing and start to die back, cut back asparagus ferns and dispose of the top growth. Clear plant debris and weeds from the asparagus beds to discourage overwintering of asparagus beetles. Cover the beds with a good layer of well rotted manure or compost to maintain the nutrition in the soil and to provide protection from winter frosts.

·         Remove plant debris from established beds of rhubarb and globe artichokes as the plants die back for the winter. As the weather becomes colder, globe artichoke plants will require some protection from deep frosts. By the end of the month it is possible to divide long established, overcrowded clumps of rhubarb. As they become in need of rejuvenation, you may find that the stems become disappointingly spindly. Drive a sharp spade through the roots to break them up [ you will find that the roots are huge, tough and deep] keep the best pieces for replanting. Although it is possible to plant these roots immediately into a well dug, well manured [well rotted manure] fresh site, an uncle of mine who was a very experienced gardener told me that the best way to treat the rhubarb root was to ‘throw it at the back of the manure heap and let the frost at it for the winter, then plant it in the spring. I have used this method any time I have tried to divide and re-establish rhubarb and I have never yet had a failure. My main problem with rhubarb has been trying to remove it from a plot where it is not wanted.

·         Remove plant debris from beds of winter vegetables – especially brassicas. Make sure brassica beds are well protected by netting to keep pigeons away – they do love a tasty meal of cabbage, broccoli or sprout [I have found that in cold winters, they will sit on top of the netting, forcing it down onto the plants and will eat the leaves through the net.] I have seen, several times in the last couple of weeks that, we have a very active sparrow hawk on our allotment field though, I have yet to see it making a kill. In some ways I feel sorry for the pigeons but, we certainly have too many and I am relieved to see the hawk in action. In the past few years the sparrow hawks in this area have been decimated, we think probably poisoned, presumably by people who think they shouldn’t be here. I have been stunned by this and this practice has allowed the pigeon population to grow out of control [probably not helped by my regular putting out bird feed – I have now reduced to peanuts which, I believe, really provides food for the little birds]

·         Remove netting from fruit cages and store carefully.

·         In greenhouses and poly-tunnels clear up plant debris to reduce diseases, remove weeds as necessary and clear plants when they have finished harvesting.

Preparation and Planning

·         As beds are cleared, dig them over – leaving in large sods is fine, especially on heavy clay ground – this will give the winter rain and frosts an opportunity to break down the clods into good planting soil in the spring. I have found that the difference between autumn dug and spring dug ground quite amazing, the autumn dug ground being so much more workable. However, as the autumn progresses into winter, there are fewer opportunities to dig and some areas are often left.

Sowing and Planting

·         I have always chosen to plant my onions, garlic and shallots in the autumn rather than the spring although, autumn planted onions are less likely to keep well through the following autumn/winter. I have given up growing onions because of the risk of white rot – several of my neighbours have had instances of white rot and once in the ground, alliums should not be planted there for the next 8 – 10 years. I do like my own garlic and my own leeks and as onions are cheap to buy, they have had to go.

·         I have my garlic cloves all ready to be planted and the bed well cultivated ready for them. I am impatient to start but, my daughter insists it is still too warm this season to plant them out. I will wait a few weeks until it is colder.

·         I have just set up my new strawberry bed. I had established enough runners plus a few extra in pots on my 1 year old bed. Although the very dry weather has lost me a few, I have had enough new plants, well-rooted to establish the new bed. Of course, there is still time to establish new plants from the strongest runners. If you have a neighbour with an established strawberry bed, why not ask them if you can pot up a few runners before they clear all the runner growth out. Any time until the spring is fine for planting the strawberry runners.

·         Towards the end of the month, I will chit [leave the seeds on wet newspaper to establish sprouts] my broad beans and sweet peas. Both of these can be planted out or sown in November. However, I find that if they are already established in pots, then hardened off, they will establish more easily. I have found that autumn sown broad beans will give me a crop from April onwards [young pods, early in the season are tasty and  full of vitamins and provide a fresh vegetable when little else is available – though do leave enough to grow on into the mature beans]. They autumn sown beans are usually less likely to be attacked by black fly.

Harvesting

·         Squashes and pumpkins – as soon as they have finished growing, set them out to allow the skins to harden. Take them home and store in a cool dry place. Check them regularly for deterioration during their storage time – I have had winter pumpkins store successfully until springtime.

·         Beans, especially runner beans are still harvesting well. Haricot beans for drying have probably finished. Make sure they are removed before the pods dry out and split or you will lose your beans.

·         Autumn raspberries are still producing satisfactory crops – pick them as often as possible as pigeons do like these to give variety to their menus!

·         Late hard fruits – apples, pears, are still maturing. Pick when the fruits come away from the stems without pulling.

·         Potatoes – maincrop potatoes should now be lifted. Late maincrops also. While they will sit in the ground for some time, they are likely to be attacked by slugs. If you are lifting the whole crop for storing [and this dry weather is perfect]. Leave the tubers on top of the ground for a couple of days to allow the earth to dry out and be rubbed off. Store only undamaged tubers in paper or hessian sacks in a cool, dry dark place – check them regularly to ensure there are no rotten potatoes which would affect the others. Any damaged but useable tubers should be used as soon as possible.

·         Some cauliflower varieties are now being harvested. The very dry season – which doesn’t suit brassicas will have affected the size of the curds but, I now find that my bed of cauliflowers are all coming ready at the same time. They are not huge but are delightful, none-the-less.

·         Kale is excellent now – varieties for autumn/winter harvesting and are a wonderful and healthy vegetable.

·         I find that my parsnips and leeks have been ready to eat for some time though I am reluctant to harvest them until I need them in winter.

·         In the poly-tunnel/ greenhouse, tomatoes, chillies, peppers are maturing daily and are providing still, wonderful productive crops. By the end of the month, it will be necessary to harvest them as green and ripen at home or use in appropriate preserves or hang them up to dry. Still good in this sunny, mild weather.