#Garlic help
12 messages in this thread
I have had the worst time growing garlic!?!?!? I would have thought it
easier than it is. My soil is very heavy in clay. Is this itself the
culprit or am I doing something wrong?
I would appreciate any help. There is nothing I would like more than to
harvest large bulbs to string together in the kitchen!
Landy
I have very heavy clay soil in Zone 6 and alkaline water. Our
garlic grows like a weed. It reseeds itself every year. We don't give it
any special care.
*Carolyn Thanks for your story. I still wonder what my problem is. I know
its not my thumb, because everything else grows well. (When the deer don't
get it first.) Does garlic require heavy water perhaps?
Landy
Where are you? It matters; a little more information about your garden and
what you have tried to do I may be able to help. I succeeded only after a
number of years of trying, but now do fine…
I am in Wheeling, WV. I havn't tried anything unusual, But I do seem to
have heavy clay soil. It packs down fairly tight and I thought that this
might seem to be a part of the problem. (Not giving the bulb enough room to
grow.) Any suggestions you can offer would be appreciated Thanks
Landy
Raised in Westbygod myself. I was hoping for more info, but here
goes….the key element to me is fall planting…just like flower bulbs.
Obviously, if the soil is too tight, the bulb could be constrained, but I
doubt that is the problem….the place most of these bulbs came from, in
central Asia, is pretty inhospitable. When we tried here, our two mistakes
were 1) spring planting, and 2) insufficient mellow and neutral soil. The
second prevented us from growing any decent brassicas or alliums. Once we
had balance the soil pH and added sufficient organic matter, our crops
became normal (given the proper planting time). Good drainage is important,
or you'll get rots. How may places on your property have you tried them.
For any diagnosis without seeing a plot, the more, and the more detailed
information about history, conditions and practices you can give, the
better……Good Luck
Hmmmmm…. This is the first attempt at growing garlic myself. I have some
growing in my garden that is leftover from last year. I'll be waiting to see
how it wintered over this year and how it does this summer.
Once it is established it is unkillable….we can have 39 below zero with
no snow cover (we have) and it won't kill garlic!
Landy,
Where in the U.S. are you? I'm from Ohio, and all we have here is clay.
Garlic likes sandy soil, so you need to work with your soil a bit. I've
worked in some sand and lots of organic material in place of the clay.
Also, in climates such as Ohio, you plant the cloves in the fall instead of
spring. Hope that helps!
Steve
Steve – I'm not to far away, in Wheeling, WV. I didn't realize garlic was
to be planted in the fall. (Oh well, live and learn!) I will also work more
sand into the soil in the area I plant the clove. Thanks for the a advice.
Stay in touch.
Landy
You bet! good luck.
Steve
Landy,
Forgot one other thing: don't overwater the garlic! Especially in clay
soil. Root vegetables can rot if there's a lot of water in the soil.
Steve