garlic, how to?

My sister has a forgotten garlic bulb in her refrigerator and it is growing! She asked me what to do and how to plant and I have no idea. It's not a clove but the whole bulb. How does it grow bulblets or does it? Or can it be planted?

I would like to know that too...and can you plant fresh ones from the store?

"eyes"

Garlic is fun to grow. I have about 200 plants out in the garden, and I can't wait to harvest them this summer.

We had a great thread on this subject exactly a year ago, right here: http://davesgarden.com/showthread/9966.html

Dave

...thankie, Dave!

"eyes"

Thanks, it was quite interesting. So then the store bought ones can be planted, but the cloves have to be separated? The new bulbs will grow on the top then, something like the way walking onions do ? I will let her know. Thanks so much, Doris

Yes, you can certainly plant store-bought garlic. Divide them into the toes (there'll be around 10-15 toes per bulb).

Plant them 4-6 inches deep, root side down, of course.

The best time to plant garlic is in the very late fall, like November in Tennessee. Planting garlic right now will still work, but the bulbs will you harvest will be smaller than they would have been if you had planted them last fall.

(I'm speaking from experience here) :)

dave

No, no, no, no, no, Doris!

The bulbs will be underground, not on the top like walking onions.

The California White, which is what you have from the market, is a softneck variety that won't even put out scapes. All you'll get is grass-like leaves (imagine oversized chives) above ground.

Long about June or July, they will start to yellow and dry up. When at least half of them are dried you can dig the garlic. Then it has to be cured. Hang it in a warm place, out of direct sun. When the leaves and roots are fully dried, you can trim them, then store the bulbs in a mesh bag. Again, out of the sun is best.

Put aside those you'll want to plant for next year (it makes sense to reserve the larger bulbs for that purpose). In October or November, break them into individual bulbs and plant them about four inches apart. Given where you live, I would definately mulch them with about 4" of chopped straw or leaf mold or something like that.

That's pretty much all it takes. But, frankly, if you're going to go through the trouble of growing your own, I would opt for a better variety than California White. Which means just about _any_ other variety.

i grow a lot of garlic cause it help control my hypertention from soaring. rather it keep it under control. here is a nice url for growing garlic, & other stuff about garlic ... http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/components/7317-planting.html ... hope that help u... ma vie

I bought a "bulb" of garlic in the produce section last fall, took off the little cloves and planted them and I have garlic coming up everywhere. I planted mostly for bug control but I'm sure we'll have to try some :-)

Mavierose...Why don't you just stop soaring if it causes hypertension?

kikisdad,

pickled garlic leaves prevents the hypertension from soaring up!!!! like i said it keeps the blood pressure under control. here's a link for U... http://www.aimforherbs.com/hypertension.html http://www.rxwellnesscenter.com/Hypertension.asp

store bought garlic, i plant in the garden when they sprout.

I've enjoyed this thread. I have two bulbs in my fridge that are growing. I'm going to plant them and see what happens. In fact, I might pot them in big pots now. Anyone ever tried growing garlic in a pot?

Joan,
i have not tried planting garlic in pots. but basing from the harvest i have done, the root system are so thick and long. maybe u need a deep pot to plant the garlic clove. depending on the pot u use. give plenty of room for each clove cause eventually they will be garlic bulbs in due time... about 2" or more in diameter, depending on growing medium. now is the time to plant them. sometime during the summer u can harvest ur home grown garlic. good luck!!!

Well, we can forget that. The tops were green, but the bulb part was all moldy and squishy so I threw it away. Bummer.

I put about a 100 cloves in in NY in October. I buy the seed from a Grower and plant the biggest cloves I can get.It is ripe in July and produces about ninefold.

kikisdad... pls read this link... http://davesgarden.com/showthread/104790.html ... might pick up some info... ma vie