6 Reasons Why Your Garlic Bulbs Are Small?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2021
- In this video, I give you 6 reasons why your garlic bulb harvest is small and not as large as expected?
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G'day Everyone, in a weird kind of way one of the things I like about gardening is how success is never guaranteed and I think that's why every time I do have a "gardening win" or "grow a ton" that feeling of satisfaction and excitement never wanes... Get into it! Cheers :)
Try again with a less alkaline soil. Garlic doesn't grow well in such conditions. Fertilizers/manure hightens the ph-value!
With garlic I find smaller garlic is more stronger than larger bigger is not always better. Gardening it's a win win
We love it, no matter how good or bad it is, because it means we can keep on learning.
Could I suggest planting it deeper, 5cm (2 inches) at least? We have a very different climate here in Scotland but I normally plant my autumn garlic 8-10 cms to protect from frost and my spring garlic around 5cms. It might be that the bulbs are drying out too quickly being so close to the surface. Not sure, but might be worth a try.
Not just water, but shade as well. If you are going to push your exterior growing, you will find a big help with shade cloth. Worldwide this is the main issue, higher radiation, harsh water drying and plant damage along with temperature fluxuating badly. You will still get more crops and better yields with filtered radiation, that is the biggest bonus of the tunnels or tubes, and less water usage and better temperatures.
I appreciate the fact that you show us your failures because it helps me to remember that just because I failed at one of my plants doesn’t mean I’m a bad start👍🏻
Hey Mark - I grow garlic here in the west near Perth, and do occasionally get small bulbs (for various reasons!). I still save them for replanting the next season and can confirm you can grow big bulbs from last years small ones!
Oh that's excellent news!! I was wondering about just that. Thanks for sharing 😁
Same here in Perth coastal suburb. I found my raised beds getting the most winter sun do best and I try hard to keep PH in check. I find this helps limit the prevalence of diseases and aphids. As bulb development starts I’ve had success with fortnightly liquid fertiliser lower in N and higher in K. We plant on or near ANZAC Day. Harvest for drying circa 160-170 days. 🇦🇺👍🍻. Ps I try to keep the garllc water free a week or so before pulling them.up but the heavens don’t help some tears 😉 I think we have Italian Red Cultivar but really have no good idea, it’s a guess.
How excitement...😁 That's nice to know thanks for the heads up! 👍
@@Selfsufficientme there’s a good garlic post on your forum too 😉 👍
@@Lykzabet can somebody tell me how to grow garlic uugghh I have no idea where to start from. Like can you get seeds or do I just plant bulbs I get from woolies produce im a complete noob here, thanks in advance
The lets...
GET INTO IT never gets old.
100% I always have to simultaneously give the thumbs up! I just love this guy's genuine passion! He has made lockdown so much easier to deal with!
He shows us his "green thumb!"
you mentioned not bothering doing a video on a failed crop, But all to often videos just show, the uploader having great harvests and brush over the problems that novices, could and do encounter, Hats off to you for posting this.
I'm in Florida. I have to vernalize (cold treat) my garlic by keeping the starts in the fridge for 6-8 weeks before planting to trick them that they've had a winter. If you have a bumper crop and don't want to store it all as whole garlic then slice it and dry it in the dehydrator and then put it through the vitamix/coffee grinder etc., and you'll have the best garlic powder you've ever had. Same for onions, leeks including the green tops.
Thanks for the chilling tip Kerry! I bet there's nothing better than your own homemade garlic powder - of course, there isn't! All the best :)
Thank you for the great tip from Winter Haven Florida. I have organic garlic in the fridge and will keep it there for 4 more weeks. Planting season is through Nov and January.
We've been tricked, backstabbed & quite possibly bamboozled 😔
I need to do the same thing on the other side of the country in Zone 9b. I keep them in the fridge for at least 40 days before planting the first week of December.
Thank you for posting this because I'm in southern Louisiana, and nobody has mentioned doing this before planting, and I haven't even seen any videos on YT of someone suggesting this. I do cold stratification with tulip bulbs. I had no idea I could/should do this with garlic. I've planted garlic for 2 seasons and only got small garlic bulbs. I'm going to try this for this year's crop and see if it works for me. Thanks again!
Thanks buddy! I am new to gardening, but I look at poor crops as chances for learning. Most people just share the GOOD stuff, but if nobody shares the problems, and/or failures, how can we learn what NOT to do?
This is interesting. I am not a garlic expert, but I’ve had good success growing hardneck and softneck here in the US. I am just at the tip of the subtropics at 34.1N latitude. However, because Canada provides a land bridge for Arctic winds, our subtropics on the east coast where I live get a lot of frosts and freezes, unlike in Australia. We get about 30 frost a year here, so keep that in mind. It helps a lot with garlic growing. Here are my takeaways:
1. Garlic matures in about 240 days (8 months). If you plant April 1, that means your garlic is maturing around December 1.
2. You want your garlic to peak around the summer solstice, because that’s when day length is longest for bulbing. Your day length is longest around December 21. If you plant April 1, that actually seems “about right.”
So what’s the problem? My guess is you just don’t have enough chill hours in your climate. A lot of growers have sworn that refrigerating their bulbs for 8 weeks is key. Do you do that? Placing them in your fridge Feb 1, planting them April 1 and harvesting them December 1 sounds like a good plan to me, but I could be way off since your climate is much warmer at night in the winter than mine.
Lots of good points thanks! Yes, I have considered chilling the bulbs in the fridge before planting but never tried it so I might give that a go next season. There isn't commercial garlic growing around here (for a reason) and the bulbs I usually get are farmed not far about 200 km inland from us but the winter is considerably colder and the spring/summer not as humid so no matter what, I might be pushing it to grow an amazing crop. I have done better in the past though... so I won't give up. Starting early and giving it an artificial chill is worth a try! Cheers :)
I've found that giving the garlic a rest in the chill chest works good for me. I have a couple of huge saved Russian Reds and a few small unknown softnecks chilling in the bottom of my fridge right now. Planning on planting at the end of Oct.
38N US West Coast, 90 Miles (144Km) East of San Francisco.
I plant garlic in November for harvest in late July here in Washington State. It doesn't get extremely cold, so I don't bother with mulching the beds. I've had excellent results with the Island Rocambole variety.
@@r.awilliams9815 Same, I am in Washington. I start mid October to mid November. My best luck has been with Majestic, Inchelium Red, Georgia Fire, and Italian Hill. That’s without even doing anything after planting. I’ve tried about 50 varieties over the years.
I'm in central Illinois USA. We plant our garlic in October to harvest around July 4th. If I were you I'd get some from a cold climate and try some in the fridge and some in the freezer for about 8 weeks. Water is key. When it's in the ground over winter we get a lot of cold, rain then snow. I plant most of my garlic in my flower beds close to my house. They get pretty big.
Hi Mark, I can see the genuine disappointment on your face, however on the plus side, your experience of garlic this season has helped me so much. I experimented with my 1st raised beds this year, having started gardening in pots during the 1st UK lockdown. I was sent a gift pack of various seeds as a birthday present and my aliums were much smaller bulbs than yours, but added to my best ever basil season, created amazing pesto sauce. However, based on that, I've decided to focus on Aliums and herbs in my small London garden as this is what we use the most. I've grown herbs for years, more so now my son is a professional Chef. I watch all of your videos and learn so much. Your genuine love & passion for what you do motivates me so much! Thank you for you!
Hi Mark,
I've been growing garlic every season for 35 years now in Melbourne.
I watched a great tip from Peter Cundall on Gardening Australia many moons ago and the take away's that I can share in my success with garlic is they like the soil to be friable (not sandy), put on Dolomite Lime (not builders lime) down before planting and a low nitrogen fertiliser.
Then I make furrows in the soil at least 50mm high and 150mm apart. Then plant the bulbs 100mm apart on the top of the mound and stagger the planting. Water only in between the rows in the ditch. Yes, garlic love water (but not wet feet), then reduce the amount of water when the tips of the leaves start to dry up and when the bulbs plump up.
I don't use mulch as I believe the garlic don't like humidity!
Last tip, keep them weed free as garlic don't enjoy competition!
Good old Peter Cundall - what a champ! I appreciate the tips thanks! Cheers :)
I always have a laugh watching Mark’s videos. His editing makes me laugh so hard, and his “dad jokes” makes me groan even louder. I love watching these videos with friends or family along with learning something new. Thank you!
Agree. All his videos and the comment sections are more educational and practical and memorable for a novice gardener like me.
Glad you enjoy my vids Holly - thank you! Cheers 👍
I'm hit with 2 , sandy soil and low or not enough water. Very hot dry summer , l hate to water
.My garlic was harvested by 1st week in July, brown right the bulb but not rotten.
Next year I'll water. PS I plant in the fall
@@kennethgeorge8225 sandy soil...tried benthonite?
In my experience, planting at the wrong time of year is the main reason for small garlic bulbs. I plant "sacrificial" garlic in the Spring around my tomatoes & peppers as companion plants, and those bulbs never get very big.
My main garlic crop always gets planted in the Fall, then Winters over so it's got a big head start come Spring. Those bulbs get nice and big. 😋
I really like how you also show us when your crops crap out. Gardening can be tricky and if all you see is people's success stories, then it seems like when you have a failure that it's absolutely devastating. But to see others fail too, then you know that it happens and you just try again next year.
Here in France we had such a bad weather this year that my garlic did amazingly well. All bought from Saint Marthe Ferm company And the taste is super spicy. My partner also doesn't want to kiss me 🤣
LOL...
Mark, I LOVE that you did a video about something that was a 'failure'/didn't work out! Great learning opportunities! I grew garlic for for first time this year. Our planting times are the opposite, as I'm in North America, but for our hardneck, I plant early to mid October and harvest in July. The bulbs were ok sized. I've done lots over this past few months to add organic matter and fertility to my garden beds (tons of homemade compost and some cover crops), so I'm hoping this time they will do much better!
I'm in Oregon and plant mid September... It works for me.
In Ohio I wait for the first frost (any day now on average) so I can clean up a bed. I plant by the end of October and harvest around the 4th of July. I am able to grow both hardneck and softneck garlics.
For the 2020 season I planted in early March when the ground was workable. Still got enough chill hours to form individual cloves.
Rufia, use your harvest as seed garlic for next season. Yes, it could be your soil, but once the variety becomes acclimated to your garden it may make bigger heads and cloves. That’s been my experience anyway.
Here in Johannesburg, South Africa, we need to plant by Valentine's Day, and mulch heavily from August. I only recently found out that the heavy mulch in late winter/early spring (August for us) is what makes the difference. Apparently once soil temp hits 25*C, there's a genetic "tripswitch" in the garlic that stops the cloves plumping out any further.
JHB as well. I plant in Feb and harvest in December. Lots of water and compost even throughout winter.
Definitely February in Pretoria South Africa. I do agree, extra mulch is vital, also using hardneck is best in warmer climates. I wait until it forms a scape, once it curls, I cut (delicious to use) My garlic looked like you smallest last year. Very disappointing to wait all that time for poor results. But we must take the good with the not so good Mark. Thank you for also showing the bad side of gardening. I lost my whole crop Bush beans (contender) this week. The sun was brutal. Hopefully after our rain is over next week, it will not be hot like that again. I bought shade net. Don't really wanna use it, but if it can improve my crops, I would be delighted.
The research I found had the exact same kind of information.
Plant when the soil temps are at 55°F, and when the soil reaches 75°F, it stops growing!
That's plant at 12°C, and it stops growing at 23°C.
My research was for soft neck garlic, the varieties that grow in warmer temperatures.
I live in Texas, and last February when we were hit with an Arctic storm that lasted 6 days (very unusual) I believe that's when my warm region soft neck garlic used up the bulb to keep the tops alive!
I ended up with zero harvest.
Well, except for the green tops!
Which we ate in place of chives...
I also read that the bulbs dislike Nitrogen, but the leaves like to have a seaweed and fish emulsion foliar spray.
Talk about picky eaters!!
I don't know if that is true, since I lost my crop.
But this year I'm trying again!
Oh, one more thing - apparently the bulbs really dislike competition.
Be it weeds, or any other plant.
They like to be at least 6 inches away from everything, including each other.
But I've seen other gardeners here on YT that have challenged that spacing, and come up with large bulbs.
So, I dunno...
Oh my! I didn’t know this either. So I’m in zone 9b Tampa Florida. I’m going to have do some research on my planting dates and variety that are short season. I don’t think our soil stays cool very long.
@@gertwolmarans6974 what you’re saying about hardneck garlic‘s isn’t 100% true. In hot areas you (USDA zone 9+) you want to go with Asiatic or Turban varieties of hardneck. Otherwise stick to soft neck. Most other varieties of hard neck require a cold (freezing) temperatures. They stop bulbing based on heat and day length.
Hi Mark! Here in Pennsylvania USA. Be sure to refrigerate your bulbs for 1-2 months before sowing. This releases the chemical needed for the garlic clove to split into many different cloves as the bulb forms. Best of luck with your next crop of garlic, and thank you for sharing! I love your videos! : )
Hello Sylvia! I’m in PA as well, and only tried planting garlic once, and all of mine looked exactly as Mark’s did. Would you mind sharing when is the best time to plant garlic in our area? And thanks for the tip to chill them, this is something I’ve never heard of but you & a few others have shared.
I realize this is an old video, but hoping you’ll see my comment.
@@CraftsandGardening I grow 'extra hardy' varieties of (either German or Hungarian) ... hard neck garlic in SE Penna.
My routine: plant about 2 weeks BEFORE the probable first frost, cover with 3-4 inches of weed seed free mulch, and I use a minimal additon of 10-10-10 and about 2" of well rotted leaf mold, yearly. I very carefully amend the soil pH to between pH 6-7 . I grow in raised beds with about 18" of well amended soil ... using lots of gypsum when breaking unused/new clay based soil. My raised beds have 12-18" deep 'pits' below the garden soil filled with old/rotted leaves, straw, wood chips, etc. .... for consistent soil moisture. I also buy ~25% of new bulbs/cloves for planting .... usually from commercial growers in 'colder' zones (Vermont). I only plant LARGE cloves.
In mid-spring I remove the mulch so that the soil & garlic is easily warmed by the sun. . Let grow for about two to three weeks before using 'top dress' fertilizing ... I 'boost' with a top dressing of a "tea" made from pellitized chicken manure @ 2.5 gal of water + 1 cup of 'poop', applied every ~2 weeks .... for extra large bulbs; but, don't get carried away as if you 'push' too hard, you'll deter the storage quality of 'too large' cloves/bulbs. During Apr- through early June, I closely monitor the total amount of rain ... and watering... @ at no more than 1" of total irrigation (either by rain or garden hose) per WEEK, so that I dont get 'too large' bulbs, cloves. I also weekly test the soil with an electronic soil moisture/pH/temp. meter.
My continual biggest growing mistake is that I dont harvest 'early enough' .... learned the hard way that I should harvest when the bottom half of the leaves have browned to get better storage life, especially for the BIG bulbs.
Hey Mark, greetings from North Texas USA! We have been self sufficient in garlic for the past 4 years. We only grow Cheskok Red hard-neck garlic. As usual I planted last Sept 15th, the difference is that this crop survived Stormageddon last February. The crop survived 30+ hours of sub zero temps, (-17C) in one of our Birdie's beds. This was the biggest, healthiest, best tasting crop ever with avg bulb weight at 50g
G'day Chris! -17 C crikey mate I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in that temp lol... Good to hear about your garlic growing experience, all the best :)
We do the same in Denmark, Europe. Plant before christmas / winter.
Texas here, too! I tried garlic for the first time this year (planted Oct 2022) and we had another VERY cold winter... I just pulled up two of them yesterday and they are huge! At least 4" across.
I just put the smallest ones in the dehydrator, dry them and turn them into garlic powder. The smaller ones are usually just as tasty as the bigger ones. Fortunately, here in Tas we've got a great winter climate for garlic so I don't get many small ones. Mine is due for harvest in another couple of months and the stems are so thick with beautiful big bulbs in the process of forming although if this rain don't stop soon it'll probably rot. the March 17 date is usually for colder climates although that also depends on which variety you're growing. I grow a few different ones and they're all sown at different times some before march 17 and some after
The right time to plant garlic is in the fall when night frosts start hitting so they get established before snowfall. They will then start growing immediately when snow melts in spring. :D
THAT'S WHAT I WAS WONDERING. GOING TO PLANT MY GARLIC NOW!
Sorry but we don't get snowfall in Australia, not in the sub tropics anyway. And fall is Feb-March for us.
In warm temperatures where there is no frost is where I things his tips work best. Here in south FL, for example, we don’t get a frost at all. The lowest it’ll get is 50 degrees Fahrenheit for two whole days lol. That’s why we don’t plant in fall and instead we’re supposed to plant at the very end of winter.
@@ashnadia9835 yes, I'm quite aware of this. that's why I lovingly left Mark this very very useful tip!
Not to worry, just because we don't get snowfall doesn't mean we can't grow large garlic bulbs.
Mark, I appreciate that you manage to put out videos that are timely to the northern hemisphere despite the fact that you are literally in the opposite season from us.
From what I understand garlic needs a certain amount of cold hours to grow a good sized bulb. Perhaps your subtropical climate doesn’t get cold enough for long enough? I have my seed garlic in the refrigerator right now and will plant it in about a month. It seems like many people in warm winter climates have success growing garlic this way. It’s my first time trying it. Will be interesting to see!
Works for tulips too lol.
There have been several like you who recommend chilling before planting and I think you have a good point! I will whack them in the fridge next season and we'll see if that helps. Cheers :)
A small garlic harvest is still exciting though..
I have soooo much garlic info I could overwhelm you with info. So I decided to share a funny family garlic story instead. When my children were young if they would get a sassy mouth on them and say things that were out of bounds I'd stick about 1/4th a teaspoon of garlic powder on their tongue and make them consume it. It would cause them to pause before running off at the mouth. My children are in their late 30's now and they both love, love, love garlic. 🤣🤣🤣 I grow about 20 bulbs of garlic for each family every year. In 2022 I decided to grow about 200 bulbs for 2023.
I really enjoy these types of videos in the morning with my coffee.
Getting gardening advice and listening to the birds on your property is a nice way to start the day.
Thank you for your videos. I wish you were my neighbor! LoL With all of the craziness in the world right now, I’ve turned to gardening to keep my mind busy. The kids have learned a lot too. I’ve even gotten them to eat veggies. Thank you again! You’re the best! ❤️
I had the small bulb issue too and you've hit the nail on the head for me. Mine were too sheltered from Sun for at least half the day and relied on passive reflected light for much of it across the growing season. They were all half the expected size. Next time I'll do it differently, learning from this process. Thanks for yet another awesome video.
Cheers Jasen! Good luck with your next crop :)
Your comment reminded me that passive reflected light can be done on purpose... thanks :)
Been growing garlic me and my dad for76 years we are in the north east of the usa . We hard freez here and that what my hard neck needs. To make big heads we plant middle of Oct. about 2 week before frist frost, and harvest after the 4 of july ‘
Thank you so very much for this video!!!! I have struggled with garlic for the last 2 years, but after this I have a whole new strategy! Can’t wait to plant mine now with all this new knowledge!
Thank you for sharing this video. Ive been have a lot of trial and errors with radishes and carrots in my area. However, watching this video is helping me not get too discouraged by it. Thank you!
I lost my job recently & have been on a huuuge learning curve on how to save a dollar. Well I started gardening spring just gone & I love it & I found I'm pretty handy at it. But thanks to Mark you are my 2nd best teacher (experience is the 1st) you have taught me alot. Plus we live in the same part of the world so it's easy to adapt your methods without guesswork. Thanks mate & I'm ready for the next school year. Bring on the gardening endeavours
This was my second year growing garlic - same variety, took from seeds from the year before. Planted them in my second-year no-dig garden (yes, Charles Dowding) without adding any new compost on the garden. Goodness, my bulbs were so large. I don't even know what I did, really. I look forward to seeing how it looks this coming year. Perhaps I will follow up after next harvest :)
Thank you Mark for showing the bad and the ugly!!! that's true gardening... and some seasons are better than others....I appreciate your authenticity keep up the good work ...
Love it Mark, you’re always good entertainment and education.
Thanks so much for this video Mark! I just harvested my glenlarge garlic in Brisbane and mine were quite small. Will take these points into account next year! Sun was the problem in my garden 🧄
That's interesting to know from another local - thank you! I just watched your video th-cam.com/video/AAfs5Q6jyjk/w-d-xo.html on an early morning harvest - very tranquil and enjoyable! Cheers :)
I think you’re a bit of a perfectionist, I would be proud of a garlic harvest such as yours! Some of your Garlic 🧄 bulbs looked like the ones available at my local grocery, I’m thinking the smaller ones may have a better stronger flavor 😂 everyone please stay safe and keep well!
Thanks Michael! Cheers :)
Hi Mark. Love your honesty. I live in the Midlands in Britain and we put our garlic in in October November for the cold winter. Mine were small and the cloves didnt separate. Must have needed more sun and or water so thank you for your vlog x.
I'm glad you did the video. You have verified my thoughts on why my garlic didnt grow well. I will be planting mine at the start of March next year.
Yay, a beautiful bit of relief from the worlds madness. Just spent time watching your down to earth smile inducing video. Thank you for a few minutes of comforting relief Mark. Best wishes from Britain 🇦🇺🇬🇧🇦🇺🇬🇧
Thank you and all the best to you also! Cheers :)
Mark, I feel the same way as Garulus. Gardening brings me peace and when I can't garden due to health reasons listening to you sharing your honest ups and downs helps take away my self pity and blues and leaves me peaceful and more knowledgeable. Thank you for your gentle way of teaching and all of the knowledge you share. TY, Pamela
Good early morning Mark!(4:45am here!) Going to try growing a few garlic cloves once it starts to cool down here-if the little critters don't get to them!
Love your attitude, and how you show both bad and good. Love your channel brother. Lead the way brother!
Thank you.
I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can about gardening and crop growing. LOVE Garlic. Haven't planted anything but I'm keeping a journal and want to base my future experiences from others that trudged before me. You're a wonderful teacher! ☆☆☆☆☆👍🏽
You can clean those up, put them in a blender, processor with some olive oil and make a paste. Keep that in the fridge for seasoning. Have you ever tried growing Elephant garlic? It is really big and it has a really nice mild flavor.
Thanks for the paste tip Teresa! Yes, I do grow elephant garlic it's a good fall-back no doubt about it. Cheers :)
You could also put it in a stockpot with some water and other vegetable bits (carrot tops and onion skins, corn cobs etc...) and make a great stock.
Hi mark, there is a great video on you tube by Red Gardens called 'garlic adapting'. The guy is an experimental gardener and is always challenging his own growing methods much like yourself.
Although red gardens is growing in a different climate, there are probably some lessons that came be applied to your own growing.
Please keep up the great content and thanks.
G'day Daniel, I'll check the video out but I agree that adaptation could very well work and that makes me want to re-grow some of this garlic even more... Cheers :)
Gday Mark, great timing! I just pulled out my 1st garlic growing attempt and it was also on the sad small side. Thanks for the tips hopefully next year will be more fruitful!
Just want to say thank you. I live in Alabama, USA. You have taught me a lot about expanding my harvest! I garden for me and the wife. Next year, for the first time, we will be canning and freezing. We do not grow enough for freeze dry.
We lived in a subtropics rainfall area but with a temperate climate (North west slopes of NSW) and found the garlic went well in a terrible granite soil with a little composted cow manure but always had our plants in by the first of March and harvested late October or early November. The cow manure we got from the paddocks and the local TSRs and we also added a little phosphate fore good root development. By the way, we put the manure through the mulcher and it was fantastic stuff.
Top idea about manure through the mulcher John! Cheers :)
Thank you for this video. My wife and I started gardening last year to very little success. While we expected it to take awhile and some practice before we got great results, harvest was still very disheartening. Thank you for being honest and showing that it happens to even experienced gardeners and that you just have to keep on trying.
Keep getting into it Austin! All the best to you and your wife :)
Garden soil needs to be amended each season. In the spring use grass clippings, 4 inches thick around all plants. In the fall after harvest put a layer of leaves on the bed. The next spring put 2 inches go compost (that you have been making all year) on the soil 2 inches deep and plant in that, then add the grass clippings. It's an endless cycle that creates a rich , heavy organic material soil. It takes a few seasons to get the soil where it needs to be. The more chemicals and water run off you put on the garden, the more the salt rises and barrens the soil.
My neighbor collects and pours his urine straight out of a 5 gallon bucket on to his crops and soil, I have seen lots of large earthworms burned and dead trying to escape that sludge!
I love watching you love your garden but I have to tell you I worry about u and ur family it’s so good to see and I really appreciate all your information and tips. Prayers for safety for you your family and your country❤️❤️❤️
Again, I appreciate your videos, I've followed for a couple of years now and learned a lot from you and pass on the videos when I can, so cheers all the way from the beautiful state of Colorado USA.
I did some research before planting my garlic regarding planting time. This is what I found:
There are 2 possible planting times. In Fall around september/october to harvest on the end of next summer, so they have extra time to grow and get good. Or you plant them between mid febuary and mid april to harvest the same year in fall. Usualy you need 2 different types of garlic, because not every type is good to use with frost.
I for my part live in Germany and I had the same problem with small bulbs. BUT ... I think my problem was fertilizer and water ... and that I moved in the midst of the year XD.
To my surprise I apparently forgot 2-3 small bulbs in the garden bed (harvest was in July) - and yesterday I noticed some green stuff pocking its head out of the gardenbed. I was like "The heck? What is growing there? It should be barren!" ... so I digged it out and was very surprised to find selfseeded Garlic. Well ... I decided to just let them be there and wait for next fall to check on them XD
You never know... The self-seeding garlic might know best but for sure there will be something to learn by letting it grow! Cheers :)
The tiny potent cloves would be great for adding to your fermenting projects.
I appreciate that you shared this information and your experience, it is helpful for me.
I'm growing garlic right now (Texas, USA). Some of mine last year were small like yours and some were big. I'll pay more attention to shade and water this year and hope to get some bigger bulbs! Thanks for the great video!
You garlic needs heavier soil and you need plant them deeper about three to four times the length of the clove itself or something like that
Or that's how I do it anyway😁 of course it's easy for me to say because I live in Lithuania think it's a really good climate to grow garlic
I planted garlic here in France last year and had a terrible crop on the half that were planted in soil that was a bit on the clay side. And the other half in well draining compost. I find that the love water but hate being water loged. They need good drainage.
Gave me some thinking points. Getting ready to sow my garlic for the winter. You make me remember my trips to Australia every time I watch one of your video's.
I am in the Pacific Northwest in America and this is my first time trying to grow garlic. I am excited, it sounds like I have a great climate for this one. Thanks for the video.
Thank you Mark, for giving me a belly laugh when you bit into the garlic. The look on your face was priceless. No kisses for you today with that garlic breath. Lol
Thanks Judy lol... Biting into that garlic was unexpectedly eye-watering and I think I did well to hold it together (if I do say so). Cheers :)
Thanks again for the quality content... Best place ever grew garlic was in hard clay under an a trampoline... Go figure...
Look forward to big garlic out of small
Mate great to see the success stories and the lessons learned. You are a great help, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I do appreciate seeing that even the experts have occasional disappointments 😊 I have 2 beds of garlic at moment one with more sun then the other. In Wamboin NSW I won’t harvest til Chrissy but I expect the sunnier bed will also be bigger bulbs. Happy to see another commenter saying we can still grow big bulbs next season from small cloves 🥳
Here in the U.K. it’s traditional to plant garlic on the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) and pull up on the summer solstice (longest day)
However I think it’s better to plant earlier, around about now is perfect.
Mine are going in next week, as long as it isn't raining. 😂
@@AlmostOrganicDorset I’m putting mine in today. Hopefully
Hi Mark. I've been cultivating an absolute beast of a garlic on my patch in Victoria the last few years. Let me know how I can get in touch, would be happy to send you some to try!
Thanks Ben for the offer mate but I'm ok for garlic... I just need to get more consistent with growing it lol. Cheers :)
Thank you for sharing despite the failed garlic, I was struggling myself and now I have an idea of how to better my gardening!
I used to live one hour West of Stockholm Sweden. Would plant my garlic in late fall / early winter to get a good start. Like October would work there. Now I live in the south and have not had my own garden for many years. Great to watch your channel 🥰
I always thought garlic grew on a stem like a brussel sprout, didn’t realise they grew in the ground 🤦🏽♀️
You don't get full bulbs where you're buying them? Bulbs normally have roots on them, like onions.
@@papapetad I mean...In the US, they cut them down so much, I can understand this. There are no visible obvious roots.
@@rachelk4805 That's why I am asking. It takes a fair bit of effort to remove all the roots from a bulb so that surprises me a little that you would NEVER see them.
@@papapetad you don't get rooted garlic in the shops here ever..
Even the sweet potato have the ends chopped off.
@@CrazyWhiteVanDriver Hardly surprising but it's sad. Entire generations are completely disconnected from the foods we eat and the source. Pattern recognition and all that. Disturbing stuff.
😂🤙 the vampires will be leaving you alone 😵💫
Great video! Thank you for showing the process of thought you did go through to guess what went wrong. That is really really helpful. Even though I don't live with the same climate, it is knowledge worth knowing, that I will apply!
I have respect for you because you went through everything necessary to have proper growth and success with this garlic harvest, and larger garlic too. Furthermore I mean presenting a variety of a variety of (1). slow absorbing pellet (2). powder fertilizer, (3). quick absorbing liquid fertilizer, and finally (5). organic fertilizer to balance the garlic's meal for adequate growth. Thank you for your video to help your subscribers. C.L.
Have you tried putting them in the fridge for a while first? I think in a paper bag, for up to a couple of months. It's a recommendation I've seen for growing garlic in warmer climates. I don't get frost at all, so I plan to try that next time. Also the variety is important for warmer climates. I *think* it's meant to work better with softness instead of hard neck (but it could be vice versa 😄).
Epic gardening did some video on growing garlic in a warmer climate this year and he tested the fridge thing and I think had some good success.
I think the ones you put in the fridge are the hard neck varieties, the ones that grow in colder climates.
I saw that Epic Gardening video, and yes, you're right.
He's in zone 9 or 10, very warm, and he was successful at growing hard neck varieties that otherwise don't do well in his warm zone.
No I have not tried the fridge chill yet but I think it's time! Thanks for the tip :)
My saved Russian Reds and some farmer's market unknown softnecks are in the chill chest. I'll be planting them at the end of Oct. The cold rest before planting works for me.
Zone 9A, US West Coast.
@@JerryB507 soooo - you chill the soft necks too?
Interesting...
I always wonder if I should do this with the soft necks.
I'm in zone 8a, and the grower who sent me the garlic seed also sent a tip page, they say to not chill ANY garlic.
The grower is located in Iowa, so they naturally have a chilling period. Still - their tip sheet does say that Southern States do not need to chill their soft necks.
I've never chilled mine.
I just never know what to do about the chilling issue with soft necks!
Hard necks - yes!
That's an easy yes to chilling.
Then I wonder if the chilling works well for you since your zone is so very warm over the Winter?
Might that be a factor?
How long do you chill them?
@@gardengatesopen, I was told that garlic needed to be chilled if it didn't go through a freezing winter. At the time, I didn't know that there were different varieties.
Now, it's just habit and visually I don't see a difference from the softneck I grow and the stuff you find at the megamart. Taste wise, mine is much better.
Thumbnail looks like you're holding a peice of gnawed off fried chicken drumstick! 😆
Thanks Mark for sharing your ideas. Always enjoy your video
The way he says water is just amazing 😆 Great Vid! 👍🏼👍🏼
Here in Boise Idaho USA I've found our large hard neck garlic likes our poor acidic clay soil and does best when given enough time to form. The longer we leave it, the bigger and better it ends up being. Sometimes I leave it two years. Any time I've used nice moist soil, it doesn't turn out. They stay small like yours. I think less water is better in more dense clay like soil.
Same goes for onions here.
You leave garlic in the ground for two years? 🤔 How does that work? You have a bunch of bulbs on top of each other the second year? What Variety of garlic do you use?
There are a few different names for the common garlic here. Creole, purple, hard neck or stiff neck. I haven't had garlic grow on top of garlic but I'm not saying it couldn't or wouldn't happen. Like onions, when garlic is under stress it will flower and seed. Usually what causes that here is extreme heat or heat waves. I do have to also say gardening here in Idaho is different than most states. Our weather is less predictable than California.
@@stephaniemontero2071 I’ve never heard of anyone leaving garlic in the ground for two years how do you do that what is the result?
Yeah I was told that but one year I didn't get to all of my garlic and the next year it popped right back up and so I left it and the garlic was more fully formed and better than the previous year. Also we leave all sorts of bulbs in the ground here that come back the next year. I do put alot of my garden to bed with straw or leaves. That helps keep my soil nice. I just compost the straw and leaves in the spring.
I hate to think what would've happened if you'd planted a small-sized variety. You don't think Feb/March will be too hot for planting out? I'm going to try elephant garlic next year. #fromtheeditor
Just be aware that elephant garlic is much milder (at least in my experience) than smaller varieties.
@@outtadarkness1970 Yep all good. As an IBS sufferer that will be a good thing ;)
@@Mr.Binks., Then ENJOY!
It was the lack of water that kept my garlic bulbs small this year. Thank you for the awesome video!
Thanks for sharing the failures along with the wins. Makes me feel better about my own flops.
Garlic doesn't grow well in well amended beds since the fertilizers/manure increases the ph-value (to alkaline). It grows best in moderately sour soils.
You can shift the ph-value by using coffee grounds as fertilizer. Tomatoes also love that stuff in the soil ;)
You are so informative. I'm enjoying watching. Thank you for being so thorough. 👍
Thank you for the tips; our climate is very different here in western Pennsylvania, USA, but much is still helpful. Also, you have been the most significant influencer in me moving to raised bed gardening. As a note on garlic, while I do harvest some of the larger bulbs for cooking, I have found that I like harvesting the bulbils better. I let the scapes develop and then the plant bolts. After the flowers do their thing, within the flowers are dozens of very small little garlic cloves. Some, I intentionally scatter so they will grow, but most I take and dry in the dehydrator for storage. Then I sprinkle the bulbils whole into soups, stews, salsa, etc...pretty much anything for which I need garlic. The bulbils tend to be a little more mild than the full grown cloves, but no messing with pulling off the paper or dicing them up. And, they add a wonderfully garlic taste to whatever I use them in. Just something to try.
Thanks Mark for sharing, iv been contemplating growing our own Garlic so I might have a go next season.
Your eating that bite of garlic was worth a thumbs up! Thanks Mark! Great video!
I am in the USA in the Midwest. My garlic was smaller than yours. It was the first time growing garlic. I have replanted this year and upping fertilizing and watering and hope for better crop next year. Love your videos. Thx
Greatly appreciated your video. I learned a lot, my first time growing garlic, just harvest and they were small. This fall will be sure to plant in full sun and feed in the spring. Also, keep an eye on the water. Thank you again! 🌱
Thank you again Mark for sharing another great gardening tips video!
I planted some garlic what feels like ages ago and they’re doing great (from the leafs) but it was as an experiment more than food. Lol I’m glad you made a video Mark to see what they should look like and when I should harvest.
Love your videos!
Hi Mark. I Like your Chanel.
I growe up in UK 51°North, I started growing my garlic end of February, after some years I started to plant the garlic October and had very good results, the garlic gother to about 50mm and stoped growing for the winter, even though the ground mite have been minus 10 degree, but Soon the weather got Walmer, the garlic was off on a big race to live, and that's my experience with the wonderful plant. I now live in the Philippines and the weather is never colder than 20°c.
Many Kind Regards Miki👍
Great video Mark. Sometimes a certain crop doesn't work and that's good to show.
If we get small garlic or a bulb that hasn't split, I dehydrate them and grind into a powder. Easy to use in the kitchen too
Thanks for the information. I just harvested some small bulbs also. I’ll keep your suggesting in mind for my next planting for fall (northern hemisphere). I’m thinking early to mid-August.
I grew garlic this year and was late getting it planted. I, too, had small bulbs. I wanted to let some go to seed to try naturalizing then to my garden. Like you, I was at first disappointed by how small the bulbs were. BUT, the taste is phenomenal, so worth it in my opinion. Some of the teensy ones I can either eat or plant by roses we have, so they won't go to waste.
Timely post. I'm just getting ready to plant my garlic here in 10a San Francisco Bay Area. Last year's were mostly small but tasty. This year, I'm pretreating my hard neck varieties with a trip in the fridge for a week or two. I grown all in grow bags. Wish me luck!
Thank you for posting this. It helps to realize that even the TH-cam gardening stars have struggles sometimes. Hope for me!
Mark, I love your videos.
We've been self sufficient with garlic for over 10 years. I rarely plant anything in the garlic beds in the fall due to leaving the corms in the ground when I harvest.
I do however, plant corms in other areas around the farm, too.
Here in north te as we have the blackest gumbo soil around. I've got raised beds with logs holding the sides up. I also have plenty of sheep manure that I put on top of the beds and let it decompose on its own.
I'm probably the laziest gardener around, by letting Mother Nature do her thing,including the massive weeds that grow there, too.
3-6" inch bulbs are a consistent product here
Hi Mark, I researched the variety Subtropical and planting is mid March for Glen Large.
Great video. I grow in Wisconsin US. I am close to the Lake so I get cooler weather. I grow raised beds and found that it can take a new garlic in my area 3-5 years to adapt. I heavily mulch with hay and leaves after planting in Late October. I add compost to my beds right after harvest in July and let it sit for the rest of the season as well. I also have a unique fertilizer for my plants thru the season since I have a large herd of guinea pigs. I currently grow a hardneck variety chesnok red. It now produces bulbs just smaller than a tennis ball. I also love the scapes. Garlic loves coolness to germinate and start growing.
Hi brother! Greetings from Los Angeles. Still watching, still benefitting from your thoughts and experiences. Love everything you do. I've got lots of sun and a great, nearly year-long growing season here in Southern California. Not much that cannot be well and successfully grown here. Home made compost sure helps. Continued good luck to you, and my thanks and best wishes. Pete
Great learning video. I am going to try garlic next year for the first time. Thanks for the video!
G’day Mark, from the UK. All my garlic was planted throughout the beds last year. Different results but sun and moisture were a big factor. We had a crazy spring this year. 7 weeks no rain then non-stop rain.
The best results were from garlic that failed to germinate two years ago and popped up this spring (not last year’s autumn sowing). They thrived through the drought and deluge. Left them in to multiply. Going to experiment leaving the area as a garlic and coriander bed.
Have already planted out (early) home grown garlic cloves. Waiting for the nursery bulbs to arrive for main crop.
Thanks for sharing. Take good care.
I see someone resigned today…. 😂👍🏻
G'day Amanda, thanks for sharing your results and experience! I think experimenting with a dedicated garlic bed is an interesting idea - I like it! Cheers :)
I'm so glad you shared this video. Thank you so much! I've been having similar problems with our garlic harvest. Up to now I've bought into the myth that garlic will grow practically anywhere. At least now, I know what I need to do to up my game.
Love tasting that garlic! Lesson learned and helped me out bunches. Thnx Mark.
It looks like the bazzle(sp) bush blocks sun to one and reflcts light and warmth to the other. I really enjoy your channel. SC, USA here.