The mysteries of garlic, an inquiring mind wants to know!!

[oregonkat]

OK my gardening friends, I have a question about garlic. I grow lots of it, every year and I don't quite understand what my garlic is doing when it produces 5-6 little round bulblets mid way up the stem. Usually on these plants, the actual bulb itself is rather small. Are these little bulblets baby garlic, seed casings or what? Can I plant them for new bulbs next year, are they worth it? I did have an example to photograph but it has disappeared and I believe that my hubby is the culprit. I shall interrogate him when he gets home. In the meantime let me know what you think.

 

[TAM Farm]

I think Aart is a garlic growing master, maybe someone can get Aart's attention. I'm not sure how to tag members on here.

 

[Perris]

you tag by putting @ in front of their name @TAM Farm thus

 

[TAM Farm]

OK my gardening friends, I have a question about garlic. I grow lots of it, every year and I don't quite understand what my garlic is doing when it produces 5-6 little round bulblets mid way up the stem. Usually on these plants, the actual bulb itself is rather small. Are these little bulblets baby garlic, seed casings or what? Can I plant them for new bulbs next year, are they worth it? I did have an example to photograph but it has disappeared and I believe that my hubby is the culprit. I shall interrogate him when he gets home. In the meantime let me know what you think.

@aart

 

[TAM Farm]

you tag by putting @ in front of their name @TAM Farm thus

Thank you very much!

 

[aart]

Yeah, would need to see a pic @oregonkat,
and need to know what kind of garlic you plant.
Bulbils growing along stalk is possible, would still love to see pic.
...but....

I plant garlic cloves in the fall, single clove for each new plant.
In ~June they send up a flower stalk called a scape, but it grows higher than the leaves, and should be cut off for larger heads below ground.
This flower will produce bulbils (even when cut off plant) which can be planted but won't grow multi cloved heads for two years(I think-never done it-I feed them to the chooks).
I harvest in July, digging up plants and curing the heads.


Bulbils:

Scapes at cutting:

I used to sell garlic for seed, here's the instructions I made for that:

 

[Morgank]

I am gardener too. If you put those tiny garlic seeds to grow, you have to wait years before you get normal size garlic. I recommend buying garlic and put garlic nails into the soil. I will give these seeds to chickens.

 

[Morgank]

One more little advice: Allium schoenoprasum. Easy to grow and in my country its irreplaceable. I´ll put them in the freezer and give chickens in winter.

 

[aart]

put garlic nails

"nails"?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Do garlic flowers smell like garlic? I love to plant different herbs and such, but wondering what fragrance the plants give off?