This is a good question. To my knowledge, winter rye is a grain, not a grass, and can be an excellent cover crop. It breaks up the soil, adds nutrients, and feeds microbial communities that in turn feed plants. A lot of no-till gardeners plant right in it. In some areas, it dies back over the winter, providing a great mulch. It does not die back where I live. In fact, in the spring, it can grow quite tall and thick and go to seed. Some folks just bend over (crimp) the stems to stop it from growing more. The roots can be tangled masses (which can provide structure to the soil). It can also be allelopathic. You can see where I’m going with this… rye can be great. It can also be a great problem. Plus, it might be hard to tell for sure what kind of rye you have. Winter rye, annual rye, and perennial forms are all sometimes called “winter rye.” For me, rye and garlic are not good companions; rye works better in a rotation system where it is grown and allowed to decompose before the garlic is planted; this I have done quite successfully.

But I know exactly what you mean. I, too, have mulched with hay (and llama manure) and in the process, planted all kinds of grasses and other “weeds.” My garlic has done much better without competition for nutrients, water, and root space. Where I live, we have to be very careful of molds. Anything that blocks air flow will make it easier for molds and things like rust to flourish, as will too much mulch.

If it’s not too difficult to weed out, I’d say pull it and use it for mulch elsewhere. If that’s too difficult, cut it back where you can and use the clippings for mulch. In our climate, I always have to remove the mulch from around the garlic in the spring to allow things to air out and then reapply it when it starts getting warmer to keep things cool and moist (mulch is another topic entirely).

The good thing is, garlic is pretty resilient. If you don’t get around to weeding it all out, it will likely still grow but as you say, it might not grow as large.

THANK YOU, Barbara, for this great comment, and I am so glad to hear this is working well for you! So timely! I just finished reading Jeff Lowenfels’ “Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae” and it has truly enhanced my appreciation for the importance of fungi to all living things. I, too, have started using MF in granular and soluble forms throughout my garden and especially with transplants. I’ve also read Lowenfels’ “Teaming with Microbes” (also in the series: “Teaming with Nutrients,” which I hope to read soon). Such great resources; he makes complex soil science understandable. In essence, we aren’t feeding the plants. We are supporting the fungi, bacteria, and microbes that in turn, feed our plants. It’s all about the life in the soil.

First of all: Congratulations on your new child, who must be approaching 1 right now. Such a fun time and so many changes!

As for the garden – Aggghhhh! It sounds like nematodes. I have had more questions about nematodes this year than any other time; there must be some kind of global outbreak going on! Makes me wonder what kinds of new plagues we will face with climate change. I don’t know too much about SC, but by my own experience, my worst critter outbreaks have been under the conditions you describe: hot & humid, or in our case, since we are in the much cooler Pacific Northwest, a warm spell following rain. I have particularly had problems when I have fertilized my beds with too deep of a layer of compost mulch, which provides a warm, nutrient-rich environment and perfect conditions for bugs, fungi, and molds. Nematodes can live in the ground a long time without causing many problems and then suddenly one year, the populations will explode. They were likely very tiny in the bulbs and then grew to something you could more easily see after harvest. I could be wrong, though. There are so many critters out there I don’t know about. An insect problem I have had post-harvest is with earwigs. Oh my! They just love to hide in the wrappers and wiggle their way into the cloves, and especially in any bulb that might be a bit overmature. I have set out tuna cans of oil (safflower, canola, etc. – something cheap) to catch them.

Molds are my biggest problem here in the Northwest – but I would think it would be even worse in the South. I used to always hang my bulbs to cure outside to catch the breezes – but I have found that we still get frequent low-hanging fog that rolls in off the water in mid/late summer, and most definitely in the fall, and all that extra humidity can really ruin a crop. So heartbreaking when you have worked so hard all year to get it there! Some folks I know do not hang their garlic, but cut the necks off right in the field and then lay them on trays to dry. I usually hang mine for a week or so, watch the humidity levels, and then eventually bring it indoors, hang some from racks and lay some down on trays and turn a fan on them. Kind of a hassle but definitely saved my crop! The lack of space to do all that has really limited how much I grow — but infrastructure is a topic for a different blogpost. Just make sure you have good ventilation in your shed. If it’s feeling muggy, you might need to put a fan on them and keep that air circulating.

So – what can you do?
Rotate your crops
Clean your tools, wheelbarrow wheels, etc., so you don’t transfer things to other areas
Make sure your seedstock is very clean (I even dip my cloves in rubbing alcohol before planting);
Remove any diseased bulbs in the field as soon as you spot them;
Try not to overwater (even though you can’t stop the rain);
Remove all debris from the field when you are done harvesting;
Don’t compost anything that is diseased;
Make sure there is plenty of air circulation during the curing;
Feed your soil with compost; a strong microbial community keeps things in better balance so one thing or another is less likely to get out of control. Plus, strong plants are more likely to stand up against the onslaught of critters trying to take over the underground universe.
Go easy on other fertilizers; it’s easy to overdo it. A little nitrogen in early spring is good, but too rich of soil can lead to problems. Compost seems to work best in achieving a balance.

It’s crazy – you would think garlic, of all plants, would have no problems, right?
Sorry I can’t be of more help – but wish you the best for next year’s crop.
Enjoy your new little one (kind of helps put a failed crop in perspective, doesn’t it)
Thanks for visiting my site…hope it has been helpful.
Blythe

Dear Walt – I can certainly empathize with your quandries and dilemmas. I have 3 suggestions:
1. Regarding your social concerns, my question would be are you sure you want to attract the kind of people who are avoiding you? You will be a magnet to those who love garlic — all you need to do is wander in larger circles and they will find you.
2. Perhaps you would like to go in on writing a cookbook? Have you tried roasting garlic (elephant garlic is also good for this) to caramelize the sugars and then mixing it with ice cream? Maybe we should try soaking chopped cloves in honey, kind of like we would do in olive oil? I think we might be on to something – a kind of sustenance system where garlic trickles into our bodies at measured doses throughout the day.
3. The issue with addictions is whether they are affecting your personal life. It’s all about the 3 Cs: Compulsion, loss of Control, and negative Consequences. So there might be some ambiguity there. Maybe all we need is a support group for those of us who are enraptured with bees and garlic. We could call ourselves the BGs. Oh wait. That name is already taken.