If you remember I took three approaches to growing garllic this/last year see this post if you missed it or have forgotten. The garlic planted in the cold greenhouse was definitely off to the best start see here and here and here
The garlic planted on the plot was slow to get going and spent a short time enduring snowy conditions. Up until February the outdoor this garlic was looking battered and bruised - whereas in contrast that growing in the greenhouse looked very sturdy.
In March the indoor garlic was moved out. The ones in pots were planted in the plot and the ones growing in tubs were just lifted outdoors - see here
Since then all have been left to their own devices. Then at the weekend I decided to hoe around the autumn onions and outdoor garlic and took the opportunity to assess what has happened.
What a turn around! The garlic planted outdoors has shot up and it looking very strong and healthy.
The sturdy looking plants in the top photo on the left are elephant garlic but all the plants look good. There were one of two cloves that seem not to have grown but very, very few.
The garlic planted out still looks as though it will produce but dosen't look as sturdy as that planted directly outdoors although every clove did grow.
That leaves the garlic planted in the tubs in the greenhouse and moved outdoors to continue growing.
Again this is still growing and should crop.
So what are my observations at this point? If I had to choose I think the garlic looking the best at this point is that which was planted straight outside. However, there are some facts to take into consideration. We had a dry winter so the outdoor planted garlic was less likely to rot and it is this rather than the cold that is likely to be a problem.
On the other hand the garlic grown indoors suffered quite a set back when it was moved outdoors as the weather has hardly been seasonal. These plants were subjected to heavy rain and winds almost immediately after transfer which would have been a shock to the system. The garlic in the tubs being a bit more sheltered in the garden that that planted out on the plot.
The next test will be when the bulbs are harvested. Anyone anything to add for your experiences?
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I always plant my garlic direct. My father always plants into pots and transplants later into the beds. He generally gets better heads but I think this is more related to his having full sun and mine only gatting partial. Also he is less impatient so tends to leave it in the ground longer. I will be interested to see the outcome of your experiments.
ReplyDeleteThis year being a dry winter may not be a fair test Liz.
DeleteIt's interesting to conduct these sort of experiements. Just because one's ahead of another at this point doesn't mean it'll win out in the end, so it's especially interesting to record each at different stages.
ReplyDeleteVery true Jo and next year it could all turn out differently
DeleteThe trouble with gardening in general is that there are just too many variables!
ReplyDeleteMy Spring-planted garlic is looking OK, though to be honest I'm not sure what to expect yet.
Isn't there just Mark. Water, soil, compost, weather, position etc etc etc.
DeleteI look forward to your results so I know what to plant next year. That does seem like an awful lot of garlic (Do you get a lot of Vampires on your allotment)?
ReplyDeleteNot any more, Lorraine!
Deleteso with you, we plant our garlic out straight in the soil in the late autumn and find it fabulous. Hardy, as it needs the cold weather to help form separate cloves. Love ya - have a great gardening weekend xx
ReplyDeleteThe ones in the greenhouse were more to stop any rotting as our soil is heavy clay, Carrie. It gets below freezing in the greenhouse over winter.
DeleteYou must certainly love garlic with all that lot - mine seem to be going a bit yellow - not sure what that means
ReplyDeleteIt's a penalty for wanting to try different varieties, Elaine. I suspect lots will be given away. If only the older leaves are yellowing I don't think it is a big problem.
DeleteHi Sue, this has been a very interesting experiment to follow. I'll be quite curious to see how they all appear at harvest. Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeleteIf they harvest Jenni. Ever the pessimist courtesy of this year's weather!
DeleteYour garlic looks great. I didn't receive mine until this year so I didn't get it planted in the autumn as I usually do...I'm waiting to see if this makes a difference when I come to harvest it. It certainly isn't anywhere near as big as yours.
ReplyDeleteI'll be really interested to see how your garlic performs Tanya. At least this year it will have had a cold spell!
DeleteYes....so that doesn't really let me know if planting in spring is better...though I don't intend to repeat the performance again anyway...unless of course it's fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting comparisons, at the end of the day it is all about your final yield and how good the bulbs are. Look forward to the results.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is BW. I'm looking forward to finding out the outcome too - not long now. The outdoor planted still looks the fittest but having said that the cold greenhouse started have been growing longer as they sprouted earlier so it may be that they are starting to die back!
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