Garlic Bulbs

[megfitz]

We lifted the garlic as the foliage had browned and fallen over, I found the bulbs were smaller thanI expected, smooth and did not have cloves visible or to touch. What’s caused this and are they OK to dry and store.

[alavahalf]

When the plant develops rust (goes brown) it is getting towards the point where it will stop growing and can be taken from the ground .. Exactly the same thing happened to mine and I dug them all up yesterday.
This year they seem to be undersized, none the less, grab a handfull of stems, tie them with a string and hang them somewhere in the shade with a bit of airflow to dry .. a shed would be good. Even though they are small, they will be fine to use in the kitchen.
For next years crop try planting them early (in Autumn this year) and this will give them a flying start.

[Old_Geezer]

I got something similar with the elephant garlic I tried, but I read that, it's not unusual for that plant to create a single bulb (apparently it's not a true garlic anyway) and it should split into cloves if I replant it and give it another year. Yes it was much smaller than expected, a disappointment.

[Old_Geezer]

Ha ! Pulled up my red duke yesterday. Laughably small. Could make out a few small cloves though. Think I'll replant those too, come autumn, give them a second season to buck their ideas up.

[retrocop]

I'm off to the Isle of Wight in about three weeks for a break. I'll bring you back some whoppers from the 'Garlic Farm' there. :-)

[alavahalf]

OG .. don't plant the smaller cloves. You will only get small bulbs. Put the biggest you can get in the ground in the Autumn. It should pay dividends
The Isle of White garlic grows well in the Sussex Coast .. chuck a few bulbs out as you are going past Retro.