I grew elephant garlic this year(first time) and when I dug it it had "nuts attached to the base of the bulb. Can I plant these for next year or what do I do with them 1 clove of the bulb ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) garlic "nuts" ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) what do I do with these? elephant garlic ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden )
Almost all garlics will do this. These bulbils can be planted, and you'll either have small garlic heads next harvest, or you can re-plant them and get larger heads the next year. Tell me how you like your elephant garlic. We tried it one year and found it to be bland. Perhaps it was the growing conditions, the seed garlic, or ?
The bulb smells very garlicky, so I'll use it sometime in the next week and hopefully remember to let you know. Thanks for letting me know about the "nuts", also. I have never noticed them on the regular garlic I plant. I'll have to check it more carefully as I pull it.
It is actually more closely related to the leek than garlic so is much much milder. They are lovely roasted in their skins with other roots veg.
Thanks for the replies. all of the bulbs(all 4) had the "nuts on them. I guess I will go ahead and plant them in the fall and see what happens to them for next year. I assume, I can keep one of the bulbs and replant the individual cloves from that, for another harvest next year. Is that correct? KK, If I could share them with you I would. maybe you can find some in a catalog or on the internet that could be shipped to you.
wow thats a big garlic when did you plant it carolyn? my favorite way of cooking them is to roast whole in a little olive oil then squeeze the cloves on some nice bread
Dan, I don't remember exactly when I planted these, but I THINK it was late winter. I had them planted at the side, inside of my high tunnel. Since we put up the high tunnel in the late fall,early winter, I know I didn't have them out there right away. Someone gave me 4 bulbs that looked like onions, they didn't have the cloves developed, so i planted them to see what would happen to the bulb if I just tried growing it again. I am pleased with the results.
Carolyn, we keep several of our best garlic heads (porcelains and artichoke types) for planting. I think that the garlic you order is so expensive because the grower/seller knows that it's a one-time sale with no repeat business for that variety!
Hi Dan, Garlic is a fall crop. You get it in around the first of fall and harvest at summer equinox. You can plant in the spring, but you will get a much smaller bulb. If you plant the first of fall the roots have time to form while the ground is warm, but the foliage doesn't emerge until spring. (this keeps it from emerging and freezing during the winter).
Carolyn, I'd planned on planting garlic next year. Are you saying that I should plant this fall for harvesting next year? I live in Wyoming where the summers can be very hot and dry and the winters are brutally cold, if that makes a difference. Thanks
Hi Liberty, garlic should be planted in the fall. That way the roots have time to form, but the foliage does not, before the winter freeze. In the spring (or after the ground freezes) for the winter, mulch the area with straw. The garlic will stay weed free as it emerges in the spring and the soil will stay moister through out the summer so the bulb develops nicely. Then at summer equinox (June 22) you knock over the tops, let them be for about a week and then dig them and let them dry in the shade or a dry place then you can store them for up to 6-9 months depending on whether you have soft neck or hard neck garlic. I don't knock over my tops, but maybe others do. I don't know how those who harvest large crops have the "detail time" it takes to do all these little things that home gardeners are SUPPOSED to do. Maybe marlingardener or cheryl know more than I do, which wouldn't be hard
I've never 'knocked' my garlic. When the scapes begin to brown, they will tend to fall of their own accord. That is when I harvest. I then 'cure' the garlic out of direct sunlight and in moving air, even if that means an elctric fan. One can then clean and braid as time permits, although I just clean and trim.
