What’s Wrong with My Garlic?

89 thoughts on “What’s Wrong with My Garlic?”

1. This year as the scapes are just starting I have noticed a problem. As I am cutting the scapes some of them appear to have some rot located near the location where the scape meets the plant. A few were bad enough that they could be pulled out of the plant completely. What is going on?

   • I am no expert, but could it be that you have Botrytis Neck Rot? I have not experienced what you are describing at the junction of the scape (my experience is more at the base where it contacts the soil). What do the bulbs look like? Here is a good page from Rasa Creek Farm on garlic diseases & pests.

     On the other hand, a lot of people prefer to pull rather than cut their scapes. If you haven’t cut them all already, perhaps you could try pulling a few and see if they normally give way fairly easily?

     Could it be that an insect got in there, chewed a bit, and the stem softened near the wound? I have also experienced some stem damage from extreme winds.

     Sorry I can’t be of more help. Hope it is nothing serious! Best of luck to you on your crop!

2. Thanks for this info. Very helpful. I’m about to harvest my first crop. Over 4 feet tall and I’m looking at 6 green leaves. ?

   • Hmmm. For me, 6 would be quite a few. I might wait just a bit longer. You can dig out around the bulb a bit and see how it’s doing. Or maybe harvest one and then decide. They can grow quite a bit during the last few weeks, but they will store a lot longer if all the cloves are still snug around the stem. Better to be a little on the small side than to have them opening up. Good luck, Tami!

3. Yesterday I noticed white spots all over the east side of my garlic leaves, I have 6 varieties, from 3 different growers and this is my first time planting in this field. Any suggestions

   • Seriosly? I have no idea. I am no expert. I am like you – searching the Internet and other sources, trying to find answers to the world’s most pressing problems, and most immediately, those in my own backyard. Do ALL of the varieties have spots? If so, it must not be the variety or source, but must either be something with the soil or a viral/fungal/pest issue. If it were me, I would get an inexpensive soil test kit and see what it says. “Firt time planting in this field” leads me to think perhaps you didn’t have time to build the soil before planting. In the meantime, I would attempt a “holistic medicine” approach and strengthen all the plants to be more resistant to whatever is out there. Foliar sprays with compost tea and liquid kelp or fish fertilizer can be most helpful. Put on some mulch to protect the soil and even out fluctuations that can be plant stressors. Also, get a start now on growing green manures and preparing a spot for next year’s crop. Fall comes around sooner than we expect! Good luck!

4. I really liked your article about garlic problem, last year I got many single clove garlic, l found out it caused by poor soil quality, this year I put effort to improve my soil, I got them with multiple shoots in one stalk, this drives me go crazy. After read your article, understood it caused by cold spring, hopefully next year I will got big, fat purple skinned fruit.
   Thank you so much for your teaching.
   Ling

   • Hi Ling – I wonder if the clove gets damaged in some way early in its life, if it might also cause the bulb to send up multiple shoots like that? Kind of like nipping the tips of a plant will make it branch out? Just an idea. You don’t say where you are or when you planted, but garlic needs to go through a vernalization or cold period to form individual cloves. So if you got lots of “rounds” or bulbs without cloves, perhaps it didn’t get that cold spell? (I always plant in October here in WA State.) I was just reading a book, “Teaming with Fungi” by Jeff Lowenfels – and it has led me to believe that mycorrhaizal fungi may be the key to growing large, strong, disease-resistant plants and pretty much all of our problems. It’s all about the soil. Thanks for stopping in! Glad you liked the post.
     ~blythe

   • I have a separate question. I’m growing in a raised bed. I covered the cloves in the fall with plenty of straw. I’m in Mid-Coast Maine where the winter was very wet. When I took off the straw the seeds sprouted but the stalks look pale and not happy. Is there anything I can or should do, or just wait and see if they come back and send up healthy stalks now that the soil is warmer and there is some sunshine. I was going to fertilize today with composted manure but thought perhaps I should ask about this issue first.

     Thank you for the GREAT information about garlic!
     les

     • Hi Les – We have the problem of a very wet, coastal climate, too – only I think you get quite a bit more cold than we do. This last winter, we got more snow than we’ve gotten in nearly 20 years and it hung in there a long time. I was really grateful my garlic pulled through. I never used to mulch in the winter because for us, it holds in the cold and moisture too much. Too much wet is harder on garlic than a lot of cold. The best thing you can do is pull back the mulch, pull any weeds, and let things air out. Garlic is very hardy — my guess is that it will perk up. Manure can be tricky in my experience, and you only want to add it in spring. I lost almost an entire crop one year by adding too much. It warmed the soil, added a lot of nutrients, and made perfect conditions for nematodes and fungal issues. If after waiting a week or so, you decide they still need a little boost, give them a light dose – preferably before the end of May, as too much nitrogen late in the season will interfere with bulb development. May/June is the time of year they start converting from foliar to bulb production, but it sounds like yours got a bit of a late start, so you perhaps still have time? My approach these days is to minimize added fertilizers on the actual crop. Usually, I just get too busy to deal with it – but some years I have given them a little blood meal or compost in early spring and kelp foliar spray or fish fertilizer in the summer. Instead, I try to build the soil now for where I will plant in the coming fall and hopefully that provides them with everything they need. Sometimes the most neglected bulbs are the most flavorful and the better keepers. People often make it too complicated. My guess is they (your bulbs, not the people, but probably them, too!) will be helped immensely by a little fresh air & sunshine. Add the mulch back on to keep things moderate when it starts getting hot and your bulbs will thank you. Thanks for stopping in, Les – and hope you get a great crop. It’s always fun hearing about how crops are growing in other parts of the country (and planet!), even though I don’t always have the answers!

5. i’m in south western ohio, and planted two varieties of garlic last fall. we have ~200 bulbs planted, and about 1/3 of them have two shoots – some even have three! i pulled one up the other day to examine it and sure enough, it’s as if the original clove cloned itself and the plant is actually two (or three) sealed together. should i pull them all up, and divide and then replant them? i’m actually headed out today to sidedress them all with fertilizer.

   • Hi Michelle. As noted above, weather fluctuations in early spring (extreme cold snaps? Ohio can really get those!) can cause multiple stems to form, as can certain diseases. But my guess is that you planted cloves that looked like one clove at the time but were actually more. At planting time, it can be hard to see where cloves divide. If you remove the wrappers, you might notice that extra large cloves can be 2 in 1 (or even more). It’s like the bulb wasn’t quite finished making all the cloves. Splitting them apart can sometimes break them, making both parts useless; but planting them whole can result in a multi-stemmed plant. Careful selection can minimize the number of “doubles” you get; some varieties (especially rocamboles) are more prone to doubles than others.

     So the question is, now what to do? 1/3 of your crop is quite a few! If you want to transplant them, now is the time to do it. If you can gently shake apart the tangled roots and separate the two plants, and if you have the room, you could experiment with that. Although transplant shock is a setback, there is time for them to catch up. However, if you find that the cloves are still bound together, trying to separate them won’t help. Just tuck it back in the ground and give it your blessings. Chalk it up to experience & this fall, try to minimize the number of cloves you plant that might be more than one.

     Are you growing them with the intention of selling some? That might factor into your decision. Doubles aren’t a bad thing for your own use, but for market sales, people like large round bulbs, not smaller bulbs that are flattened on one side because they were growing next to a partner. They all taste the same, though.

     If a garlic bulb were left to its own devices, it would just grow multiple shoots from the bulb, and the resulting little bulbs would then grow multiple shoots, until there would be a clump of tender chive-like stems – also very good eating! Sometimes I do this, especially if I am growing them as a pest deterrent around my roses.

     Hope this helps! If you find out something different, please let me know! (Oh – and now is a perfect time to give them a little nitrogen boost. Extra strong leafy greens now mean larger bulbs later.) Good luck on your crop!

6. I have tried to plant garlic in pots indoor couple of times. After 3-4 months, all leaves have dried and some have even fallen off. When I dug up the soil to retrieve the bulbs but there was just a little bulb – the size of a clove. Any suggestions why i am not getting the desired harvest of a full-cloved bulb?
   Thanks,

   • Hi Sarjil – Not sure where you are located, but garlic needs a period of cold (“vernalization”) before it will form individual cloves. Normally, I plant cloves outside in raised beds in October and harvest in summer (9 months of growth). I have a friend who successfully grows his in multiple pots on his deck, but mine always do better when the roots are free to stretch out for water and nutrients. Your little bulb and the stalk might still be good eating, though. Some chefs prefer the “rounds” because it means less peeling. Or maybe you could replant it?
     P.S. The only way I have grown it indoors is by planting the little seedlets that grow at the top of the scape “flower.” I planted them densely, they came up looking like grass, and then I snipped them off like chives.

7. found your site looking for web answers and your site read hopeful. This is my first year growing soft-neck garlic in central MN. Planted them same time as the hard-necked, mulched them for winter & 90%+ came up. Toward the end of June I found bulges forming on the stems near the dirt line. Now I can see they are baby bulbs.
   Do I pick them off or let them continue? Are they indicative of a problem? Will they affect the parent bulb?

   • I found this photo on the Laidback Gardener blog – and it looks like what you are describing: . The author, Larry Hodgson, states that it is a response to stress and that you can plant the little mini-bulb like you can hardneck bulbils – which confirms my experience, too. I would let them continue and maybe even try planting the little bubils in the fall. If a stressor caused the plant to form the bulbil, it stands to reason it could also affect the bulb, right? Something to think about and try to figure out! Sorry I don’t have better answers, but everyone’s situation is different. (BTW – I really like Larry Hodgson’s blog. He lives in Quebec [closer to your climate] and talks about a wide variety of garden topics.)

8. Hello Blythe, I read with interest all you write on your website, but I especially tune in when it comes to garlic. I’ve raised garlic for 4 years, hardnecks just 2 years. I had the most bizarre occurrence at harvest time this year and I’d like to share it with your readers.
   We planted Killarney and Spanish Roja purchased online from a Southern CA bulb company. I’ve since learned this was my first mistake -since I live in Western Washington state. The garlic I received had no roots and the stem was trimmed down to the bulb.
   I planted cloves from these on Oct 11. By December the plants on Sp Roja were a foot tall. They survived the winter and were looking fairly good in May, but by early June they were dry and appeared to stop growing. The scapes drooped and never did curl -as I understand is common in Rocamboles. One plant had 4 scapes! I knew something was wrong, so June 12 my husband and I dug both rows and hung to dry. The odd and disappointing part was -most bulbs were small, half were rounds and many had no bulb wrappers at all, bare cloves were visible. Many had no scape at all or a ‘soft’ scape.
   The good news is that my Porcelains (from my own bulbs) and Marbled Purple Stripes (I had ordered from a different company) were harvested in July and they look wonderful.
   My question: There are 10-20 cloves from the Killarney and Sp Roja that could possibly be planted this fall. Do you think I should re-plant any of them? or am I asking for more trouble? Do you think they are even Rocamboles? Thank you.

   • Hello Beth – My advice would be to NOT replant from those particular bulbs. I am not exactly sure why they turned out like they did, but any number of stressors or combination of stressors could be the cause – or just that the seed stock was not the best.

     I will try to post the pictures you sent me so our readers can chime in on what they think.

     Regarding multiple stalks: sometimes I will get doubles from a clove – especially the rocamboles (I suspect my Juan de Fuca Wonder was originally a Spanish Roja, and it has a tendency to throw doubles) – but not usually a cluster. However, when I plant, I scrutinize the cloves, especially the extra large ones, because they might be 2 or 3 cloves in 1, but not fully divided. If you try to split them apart, they often break and it looks questionable whether either one has a sprout. If you plant them whole (meaning, without breaking them apart), you will often get multiple plants in one, which are still edible, but not marketable (from a commercial perspective, because they will be small and flattened on the sides where they grow together). It might be that I get fewer doubles off my rocamboles because I don’t plant the cloves that might form them.

     Of course, if you harvest the bulbs in June (and I don’t blame you; I, too, check to see how they’re doing if I suspect something is wrong), you would expect that the bulbs have not had time to form. Rounds (bulbs without division into cloves) are ok to plant again and will form even larger bulbs the following year. However, these appear that they are already overmature in the way the cloves have separated from the stalk. I have had this experience, too – and I can’t tell you exactly the reason – but you are not alone. I always suspect fungal issues, but it could also be soil imbalances or uneven watering, both of which I have been guilty of.

     The problem with the stalks being rather limp and not forming a strong curl on the scape is definitely an indicator that something was wrong – and you were right to pull them early. The roots look fine, as far as I can tell (roots that are stubby are often caused by nematode issues).

     I am sorry I can’t be more helpful in telling you exactly what went wrong. So many different stressors can cause problems with the garlic.

     Here is a link to the Rasa Creek Farm, which is located in British Columbia. They have one of the best sites I have found on growing garlic, and their page on dealing with assorted pests and diseases is excellent.

     How about you, Readers? Has anyone out there also had these issues? Thanks for your help!

     

9. I have found lots of my garlic bulbs have not split into cloves yet others grown in same bed are big and lovely cloves can I replant the unformed clove ones and will they then split its a shame as some ot them are big but look like onions if they can go back in after they are dried would rather do it than use full ones and have to throw away what’s not used mainly happened to some of the elephant garlic thanks

   • Hi Carol – Garlic needs a period of cold to form cloves, and then splits into the cloves when the length of daylight is right. Different stressors can prevent it from splitting. Some chefs actually prefer the “rounds” because it means less peeling of all the cloves. Also, if you are starting with bulblets from the scapes, it may take a couple of years to get them up to size. Another thing to consider: did you perhaps harvest them a bit too early? At this point, though, if they haven’t formed cloves, they probably won’t.

     It is quite common, though, for the elephant garlic to form rounds. It is not a true garlic, but of the leek family. If you replant it, it will probably grow bigger and divide. You can also plant the little nuggets that grow off the sides (score them first – they are really hard!). They will take a couple of years to get big, but are an easy way to size up your crop. I don’t think you need to throw anything away – it all sounds good to me! Thanks for writing, Carol, and visiting my site 🙂

10. My problem is:I pulled my garlic yesterday and all that came up was a miniature bulb that looked like a green onion.
    There was no skin around it and no cloves, just one that smelled like garlic but looked like an onion. I planted in November and pulled them up in June. Were they supposed to be in the ground longer? Please Help.

    • Hi Charlene – You don’t say where you live, but my guess is yes, you pulled it up too soon. I usually don’t pull mine until after the 4th of July, especially if I leave on the scapes. Many years, I have harvested into the 1st week of August. The rule of thumb is to harvest when the bottom leaves have turned brown and there are still a few green ones on top (each leaf is a wrapper, so if you have a couple of green ones left, the bulb will be more protected as it cures). Sometimes the only way to really tell is to dig one up & slice it across the middle to see how well the cloves have filled out. Keep in mind, the early part of the garlic’s growth is focused on making leaves; the latter part, it shifts to making the bulbs. The bulb can grow a LOT during the last few weeks before harvest — it can easily double in size. Hope you have more in the ground, but if not, “green” garlic is also good!

      • Excellent information in your message above. I already knew much of this, some
        I didn’t know. I recently received a garlic order ( Romanian Red) and after soaking the cloves overnight in baking soda, to help remove the skins, I discovered that many of them were infected with fusarium. I planted the infected cloves in a different area so I could dig them up and throw them away.
        The garlic dealer is replacing the whole order. I hope I haven’t ruined my soil. I just planted them yesterday. Should I dig the infected cloves up right away and
        discard them? Thanks, Robert

        • Hi Robert. I wish I were more of an expert in this to give you a definitive answer. Your question made me rethink what I thought I knew and do more research. I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you; perhaps you have already taken action.

          Here is a photo by Melodie Putnam from the Oregon State University pdf file on Fusarium:

          From what I can tell, Fusarium is very common and is just about everywhere – but just because it is there does NOT necessarily mean your garlic will become diseased. Infection can occur at any time while growing, curing, or in storage, but the fungus usually attacks the weak, i.e., cloves and bulbs that have been damaged in some way. It proliferates when temperatures are warm (68-86 degrees F or 20-30 C) and humidity is high.

          It is NOT as bad as White Rot. Nowhere did I see that you need to dig up your soil and take it to a hazardous waste site. However, the University of California ag department does say it can live indefinitely in the soil.

          You have a couple of options, since yours is already planted: Dig it up and limit your losses – or – let it grow. You don’t say whether it’s a dozen cloves or 100 dozen – or where you are located – but I would ask, How bad is it, really? Are you SURE it’s Fusarium? Could it possibly be nematodes? Is it in an out-of-the-way place? What do you intend to grow there next?

          Because – I will stick my neck out here – if Fusarium is basically everywhere – along with all kinds of other fungi, molds, critters, viruses – if your conditions aren’t right for it to grow, it might not be a problem.

          On the flip side, prevention is often the key, and planting cloves you know are diseased doesn’t make sense. If it’s not too much trouble to dig them up, you might be doing yourself a huge favor to be on the conservative side. It needn’t be a total loss. Most people aren’t going to tell you to eat diseased bulbs, but I have to say, I have been known to cut out the bad spots and have survived to tell about it.

          According to the ONvegetables website (see link below), there is no evidence that the disease transfers from bulb to bulb during storage.

          Standard prevention rules apply:

          Be aware of how pathogens can be transmitted (be sure to clean wheelbarrows, tools, shoes, etc.; can also be spread in water streams and in transported soil)

          Select vigorous bulbs for planting

          Prevent injuries to bulbs (machinery, insect, etc.) as much as possible

          Rotate your crops a minimum of 4 years

          Store bulbs at 4°C/39°F to minimize postharvest losses.

          Other things you might do:

          Pre-treat cloves before planting. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association advises soaking in hydrogen peroxide. The New England Vegetable Management Guide and other sources advise a hot water treatment of soaking the bulbs for 20 minutes in 100-120 F (38-49 C) and then soak 10-20 minutes in cool water (not ice water) 64-72 F (18-22 C). I have employed both of these methods with good results.

          Mulch infected ground with black plastic for a year or so to kill off and inhibit the development of pathogenic fungus.

          Follow up garlic harvest with planting and working into the soil green manure crops of mustard, rapeseed, oilseed radish, sorghum-Sudan grass, broccoli, and other brassicas that, as they decompose, are shown to have “biofumigant properties” that are toxic to nematodes and other pests. The Fusarium Basal Rot can closely resemble nematode damage. Nematodes go after the roots, limiting the plant’s ability to obtain water and nutrients, and further weakening the plant so it is more susceptible to other diseases.

          Helpful resources I consulted:

          UkrUP – An informative farmers’ site out of Kiev, Ukraine

          Oregon State University Plant Clinic

          UMass Extension Fact Sheet on Alliums, Fusarium Basal Rot

          ONvegetables – vegetable production out of Ontario

          New England Vegetable Management Guide

          Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

          Rasa Creek Farm: Garlic Diseases and Pests

          The Cornell University Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic in “Diseases of Garlic: Various Pests”

          Hope this is helpful and good luck to you!

11. Hi Claudie! What did you decide to do? The thing is, if you put it in the fridge at this point and then plant it, you might get cloves, but it just won’t have time to size up. Still good eating, though, and can still be replanted in the fall. If, however, you just plant them, they might not have that vernalization period to develop cloves, so you will likely get just “rounds.” I have always thought it might be worth experimenting with this, because a lot of chefs prefer not having to peel a bunch of cloves (and also prefer varieties that have just a few large cloves instead of a bunch of smaller ones). There might be a good market for that. Some people swear by planting in the spring – so I think it’s one of those things – it is ok to break all the “rules!” I mean, what is the worst that can happen, right? And yes, the softnecks might do just fine.

    Re: rust – Here is part of a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine about dealing with it:
    “As for the rust – I had it really bad in 2012, but by the time it hit, the bulbs were already a pretty good size, so it didn’t affect my crop too much. (It mostly affects the plant’s ability to produce chlorophyll, which affects growth.)

    You can minimize it by ensuring good airflow through your patch, which is one of the reasons I started planting my garlic a little farther apart than what some people do. It’s also the main reason I try to keep on top of weeding out the dandelions & other weeds – not so much for the competition, but to ensure adequate air flow. You wouldn’t think it would be a problem here where the wind blows like crazy most the time – but the rust spores come in on the wind and settle more when there is dense vegetation, moisture, and the right temperature. A cool rainy period followed by warmth is particularly conducive to rust growth – which is pretty much what I would call moving into spring & summer! I don’t believe it is a soil problem – but Google might prove me wrong.

    If you start seeing rust spores (and my hollyhocks always get some kind of rust, as does the quince – I am not sure whether it transfers to the garlic – I only had bad garlic rust that one year, although I might see a little here & there) – you can spray your plants with 1 ½ t baking soda, 1 T canola or other light oil, ½ t liquid soap, ½ cup white vinegar, 1 gallon water. I have also heard of spraying them with a little crushed aspirin in water (I wonder whether a willow or feverfew infusion would also work?) – but you have to do these sprays BEFORE the rust takes over. It’s a preventative thing – and this year, I am going to try to remember to apply it at the right time.

    The other thing I didn’t realize the year I got hit pretty bad was that when I first started seeing the rust, it would have been a good idea to just cut those leaves off and burn them. For some reason, I never thought of removing the leaves – but as you know, the plant can still grow, even with very few leaves, and if you consider that photosynthesis is compromised anyway by all the rust, why not just get rid of it and reduce the dispersal, right?

    I didn’t notice rust on my onions, but I grow my onions here, there, & everywhere – so maybe that’s a good idea?”

    And on another point – yes, I think crop rotation is important, although I know people who do not. I usually rotate mine around areas at least every 3 years and preferably 4 or more. I used to have 6 plots around which I rotated the garlic, but now most of those are filled with perennials, so it is more of a challenge. I don’t know whether it helps with rust, though. I do it more for other diseases & pests.

    Hope this is helpful –
    Thanks for hanging in there with me over the years!
    Blythe

12. Thank you for all the great info. However i have a problem not covered. In Sep. 2016 I set garlic three types, onions two types. My problem is they have no bulb. My location is Santa Cruz, Ca. central coast. The tops look good altho a little rust.

    • Hi Steve – My understanding is that garlic needs a period of cold (“vernalization”) to be able to form bulbs with cloves. In looking at Santa Cruz weather stats, it looks like you don’t get the necessary freezing temps. However, some varieties will do better in warm climes: any of the Softnecks (Artichokes & Silverskins), for example, which are also great for braiding. I have also read that the Asiatics, Creoles, and Turbans (which are ready to harvest before it gets too hot) will do well in warmer areas, as will some of the marbled purple stripes. You don’t say what kind you are growing, but you might experiment with these. Another strategy is to grow some from a neighbor, because garlic will adapt over time to a location, so you might have better success growing something that is already acclimated to your area. I’d be curious… could you put some bulbs in soil and put them in the fridge for a couple months to simulate vernalization? I did this once with some bulbs that I received too late to get into the ground at my usual fall planting.

      Consider that the garlic is first a green vegetable, producing leaves. The stronger the leaf growth, the more energy it has to produce a bulb. When the temps (and day length) get up to a certain level, the plant changes to bulb production. When the temps get too warm, that growth slows and even stops. So I would think your strategy might be to give it a cold period, get it to grow big green leaves, and then consider the microclimates that might provide cooler temps for a longer duration during the summer to give it more time to form bulbs. For example, mulching would keep the soil cooler; planting in a place where it can get shade in the afternoon to protect from the hot afternoon sun; watering in the evening, etc. When you harvest, I would think you would need to be extra careful to get the tender bulbs under cover right away so they don’t cook. Those are just some ideas. I have never gardened in your area. I would say, though, that many chefs prefer “rounds,” i.e., bulbs without cloves, because then they don’t have the hassle of peeling them.

      I am no expert on onions, but I believe they are BOTH temperature and light sensitive, which can vary depending on the variety – “long day” varieties for the North, because we get longer summer days, “short day” varieties for the south, and “intermediate” for places in between. I can’t say which ones are best in your particular area, but I bet someone at your local farmer’s market could. The plant needs a certain number of hours of daylight in a row to form the bulb, and then when the temperatures get warm (along with other factors), it stops forming the bulb and switches to producing seed (i.e., bolting). So the trick is in selecting the right variety & getting the timing right (along with soil, water, etc.). I would think you could still grow the long-day varieties, but you would get green onions, not bulbs.

      Hope this helps! Best of luck to you!
      ~blythe

      • Love your site, Blythe. I read your answer to Steve from Santa Cruz and wondering if you’ve answered my question too.
        I live in Vancouver BC and never got the chance to plant my fall garlic. I am wanting to plant this spring and wondering if I should plant only the soft-necks as they don’t need as much of the cold spell.
        Also my last crop had a lot of rust on the leaves so I am not planting in that plot this year. Should i stay away from that plot next year as well? Is there something I can do to remedy the soil so that I can use that plot for garlic next year?

13. Thank you for this wonderful blog about garlic growing. Especially nice to hear you are growing garlic in a rainy climate, like I do. I live in SW Washington state and grew a lovely garlic crop this past summer. We did as you said –proudly hung them to dry (3 weeks) anticipating eating a lot of garlic.
    The problem: Now it’s December…when I open some of the hardneck cloves, many of them are dry, slightly shrivled and have a hollow, brown center. So disappointing! I haven’t seen this happening so far with the softnecks we raised.
    We did have a wet summer with a rainstorm near harvest time. Is this fungus, rot or what?
    Thank you in advance for any ideas you may have.

    • Hi Beth – I do not grow as much garlic as I used to, for a number of reasons, but difficulties with our damp climate being one of them, sorry to say! I can’t say for sure what happened with your garlic – but I can offer some ideas that might help you decipher what went on.

      You don’t say when you harvested, but hardneck garlic, in general, does not have the shelf life of the softnecks. If you think about it, it makes sense. The hardnecks are easier to peel – partly because their wrappers are a bit more loose, which also allows in more air, which allows faster deterioration. I always eat my hardnecks first. Depending on the variety, they may only last 3-4 months.

      How the bulbs were grown can affect shelf life. More water, a little too much nitrogen or too rich a soil, and faster growth can all lead to a shorter shelf life. Also, big bulbs do not last as long in my experience. My longest lasting bulbs are the small-to medium-sized bulbs grown a little on the dry side. I eat the big ones first (or save them for planting).

      Did you cut the scapes? When you leave the scapes on, the bulbs take a bit longer to mature, resulting in better flavor and longer shelf life (again, in my opinion – some people debate this).

      How soon did you harvest them? If the bulbs are a little past their prime when you harvest them, they do not last as long. If they are starting to open up, eat them first or plant them. Also, if you harvest them when there are still a couple of green leaves, they have more wrappers to protect them and do not dry out as quickly.

      How were they cured? Too much humidity and too little air flow when curing can lead to molds and reduce shelf-life. I used to hang my garlic outside under the eaves of the barn to cure, but always ended up moving them inside because we would get this low-lying fog that would roll in off the water and just keep everything a little too moist for too long in the morning. It would dry out during the day, but then return in the evening. Disastrous. I would always end up cutting the stems, putting them on trays, bringing them into my crowded little shop, and turning a fan on them. Not the best set-up, but it worked.

      And finally, how were they stored? A dark place in a mesh bag for ventilation, 35-50 degrees, with about 60-70% humidity is supposed to be ideal. Putting them in the fridge is not good – it makes them spoil & sprout. Try putting them in different places to see what works best for you.

      If you know you’re not going to eat them right away, it’s good to freeze or dehydrate them for later. I really like putting peeled cloves in a jar of vinegar, too. Storing in oil is not recommended because of the risk of botulism, and I am really lucky I’m not dead (for an assortment of reasons)! Hardnecks start sprouting after just a few months, especially if the conditions are right. Give them what they need – some dirt to grow in – or eat them sprouts and all (even if a bit bitter). I will say, though, once you make your own garlic powder, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff. Make it while they’re still fresh. I recommend chopping them up first before dehydrating, because the whole cloves get as hard as rocks and can be hard to blend!

      Sorry I can’t tell you for sure whether you have a fungus or rot issue, but I think you would see definite signs of mold if that was the problem. It sounds like they are just old – but you might be able to extend the shelf life the next time around with a few of these tips. Hope it helps!

      Thanks for stopping in, and glad you like the site.
      ~blythe

14. i planted half of my garlic crop about ten days ago, it has rained continuously since, about 4 inches some of the bed have been under water for as long as three days . how long can the seeds survive in these conditions before they start to rot. if they do rot do i remove the seeds as soon as it shows no germination? Thanks gord hansen

    • OH MY GOODNESS!!! Where are you, Gord? 4 inches of rain – under water for 3 days – I have never experienced such a thing! We live in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains (Washington State). We get maybe 15″ rain/year (although this last year was quite a bit more), but always from October – April, and then drought through the summer.

      All I can say, based on my experience of wet winters, is that raised beds are essential. Unless you are in a really cold climate, remove the mulch so things can dry out and warm up. The mulch just holds that cold dampness in.

      I don’t know how long before they rot, but garlic bulbs are pretty resilient — be patient. But if they are UNDER water, you gotta figure out how to direct that water to someplace else if you possibly can.

      I am thinking a trench within the bed and on a bigger scale, swales or ditches that can direct the flow to where it can be better stored for when you need it. If you have some slope to your property, this is much easier, but if you are on flat ground (like I am — and it is a challenge in its own way), you can still direct the flow with raised beds and pits or ponds and also adding in water-loving plants that can help soak up some of the excess.

      Also, is all of the water just from the rain? Or might some of it be draining from somewhere else that can be diverted? And if it’s all direct rainwater, I would guess you have a lot of clay in your soil to hold it so much. Any organic material you can add to your soil will help it be more like a sponge (as opposed to a pond liner). Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight, so it might not help your immediate situation — but certainly for the future.

      Personally, I would not give up on the cloves. They might still come through. It all depends on how the weather shakes out for the next few months. Water in the soil can actually be protective during the winter, and I am always amazed at how something that is obviously frozen can still manage to come back to life. It is this hope that keeps us going, is it not?

      In the late winter / early spring, remove your mulch if you have used it and let the sun dry things out. Be sure to weed to get the air flowing through there — super important if you have a lot of moisture or humidity. Again, raised beds make drainage a lot easier. The sun hits the side of the bed and really helps to warm things up. You can feel the difference. You can always apply the mulch later when it gets hot.

      Also, I always orient my beds east-west so they can take advantage of the long side of the bed facing that southern exposure.

      Hope some of this helps! Best of luck to you!

15. Waxy breakdown! That’s what I have going on with some of my garlic.I pulled up a lot of my garlic, and let it lie there like onions. Whoops! But now I know what happened, and thank you so much!

    • I am so sorry! We don’t usually get that kind of heat where the garlic can basically cook in the field. All the same, I always harvest a few and then get them in under cover. Can you maybe salvage some by freezing or putting in vinegar or are they a total loss? Maybe you could grind them up in a blender and mix with butter & then freeze for homemade garlic butter? I just hate to see a lot of garlic go to waste, especially if they haven’t started molding. Seems like even though you wouldn’t be able to sell them, you could maybe still eat them, even though they’re green / uncured. But you bring up a good point, too. I have often heard that you’re supposed to leave your onions out in the field to cure. Personally, I never do because we have too much overnight humidity and I worry about molds.
      Thanks for your comment, Robert, and wishing you better luck next year! We learn from each other.
      ~blythe

16. When I harvested my softneck garlic this weekend I noticed a few of the stalks had small bubils growing on them, perhaps six inches from the soil line. Those that had these bubils had tiny bulbs compared to the rest of the plants. The only unusual conditions this year were a cold spring followed by almost no rain since the beginning of May. I did some watering but the soil under my thick leaf mulched bed was much drier than expected.

    • I have had this happen on my softnecks, too, usually when the plants have been stressed. Kind of an odd thing, isn’t it…almost like they want to make a scape to give another survival option.

    • I had those bubils also around 6 inches from the soil line. What is this from?

      • I never figured out why this occurred on some of my garlic plants and not others. Did you check to see how the bulb is doing? (sometimes I pull away the soil a bit to check and then cover it back up) Mine turned out fine, despite the abnormality, as I remember – although it’s been a couple of years. It is still too early to harvest, but you might be able to tell how it is doing compared with others. Did you identify any stressors that the plant might be reacting to? Maybe it’s just one of nature’s variations? If the plant seems to be otherwise ok, I would leave it. If it is showing signs of disease, best to dig it out before it infects others. Sorry I can’t be of more help!

17. We have 3/8″ long orange worms, and 1/4″ long millipedes ? eating off the roots, and tunnelling through the bulbs of our garlic. What are they, and what can we do to save the non infected ones ?

    • I am not completely sure, but it sounds like you might have wireworms. Check out this photo: Maine.gov: Got Pests? My understanding is that millipedes are generally beneficial because they are decomposers and feed on decaying debris. Millipedes will curl up when you bother them. Centipedes are usually a little smaller and don’t curl up. They like soil with lots of organic matter and are carnivores, so are also beneficial. Have you found out any more info since you posted this comment? Readers? Any ideas?
      It is definitely a buggy world out there!
      What to do? That is always the question. Here are some options and a few of my thoughts.
      Remove “infected” plants – Always a good idea … but if your problem is about bugs, rather than disease, an early harvest might not solve the problem.
      Introduce a predator – Perhaps an option in some cases, but you always risk upsetting the ecosystem balance, if it is not a bit tilted already; another option might be to create an environment that attracts predators, such as planting flowers that attract beneficial insects or piling up rocks or other debris to make a place for snakes. Not sure you have the time in this case. A few moles & voles might make a dent in pest populations, although they can also do some damage. Birds are also great allies.
      Hand-remove the bugs – If you can, hand removal or with a spray of water is great — but for critters underground, not so easy.
      Spray the area with something – What can you spray that will kill the bugs without hurting the plants or – and this is important – without harming the microbial populations in the soil? Always a dilemma. I can’t think of anything in this case. Maybe a strong tea of ground up chrysanthemums and tansy?
      Continue building the soil and hope for the best – My theory is that the more you build the soil, the more you nourish the microbial communities that nourish the plants, which then become stronger and more resistant to disease and bugs. Compost, kelp, and fish fertilizer are my go-to ammendments. Individual component fertilizers can easily make things out of whack. Do a soil test to make sure you need them before you spend the money, although a little extra nitrogen is usually beneficial in the early spring.
      Do nothing & wait and see – Always an option … (doing nothing is also doing something.)

      Future tactics:
      Factor in some losses. Grow a little extra if you can. We share our earth with so many other creatures, and stuff happens that is not always in our control.
      Rotate your crops! Creatures that love a particular kind of plant can build up in the soil, and populations can suddenly seem to explode, decimating your crop.
      Practice good hygiene. Clean up debris, such as leftover garlic leaves or any bulbs that might be left to rot. If you suspect fungal issues, be particularly careful with your tools. Wash down shovels, wheelbarrows, etc. Burn anything infected.
      Build your soil. Grow green manures; add lots of compost.
      Plant flowers & herbs that discourage nematodes and other bugs. I like to plant a row of marigolds with my garlic, for example. Check out this great list: Wikipedia: List of Pest-Repelling Plants
      Encourage predators. I provide habitat for snakes, wasps, and perching poles for birds.

      Hope some of this has been of help! Good luck. Hope the damage wasn’t too bad! Let me know what you found out and what you did!
      ~blythe

18. hi Blythe,
    we are panicking here in Kingston Ontario that we may have white rot. what is a sure sign that is what we are dealing with? any chance I can send apicture to you?
    we have an acre and a half and if we lose this crop I am afraid we cannot grow another.
    much appreciated.
    kate

    • Hi Kate – We talked a bit offline, and I was just wondering how things went – whether you ended up with a decent harvest after all, whether you figured out what the problem was, and if you got a new crop in for 2017. Sorry I couldn’t help you definitively identify whether it was white rot or not. Hope it all went well! Sometimes being a garlic farmer is a tough row to hoe!

19. Blythe…
    My earlier comment mentioned Bogatyre… should have been Degunski
    My bad

    • Hi Peter…
      Degunski looks like a beautiful bulb! I will have to try that one.
      I hope that the yellow-leaf issue was just a soil imbalance / low nitrogen problem; although the size of bulb may be smaller, it won’t be nearly as devastating as an infestation of some sort. Seems odd, though, that it would just be that variety.
      Pre-drying them on trays to reduce the initial bulk on the stems before tying up and hanging sounds like a great idea. Plus, it would make it much easier when trying to get everything harvested to be able to just lay them out and come back to them later. Personally, I always trim the roots when I cure them. It is surprising how much moisture those roots can absorb out of thin air! I am a bit paranoid about mold during curing. I have lost far too many bulbs from molds.
      Re: blight issues. I usually experience a certain amount of blight with my tomatoes, partly because I always seem to plant them too close together and always underestimate how much humidity we get here. I have not seen it affect other plants, even potatoes, so I am afraid I am not much help there. Tomatoes are kind of iffy here, although the last couple of summers have been quite warm.
      One year, my garlic got a lot of rust, which seems to blow in with the wind and then take hold when the weather heats up and there is still a fair amount of humidity (like moving from spring into summer) — but it was limited to just the garlic. I should have immediately cut out affected leaves (it spread rather quickly), but the bulbs were already fairly established, and fortunately, I did not notice a huge reduction in bulb size. My hollyhocks always get a certain amount of rust, as do the quince and Cornelian cherries, but I don’t know whether it is the same thing. I just cut out and remove the blemished leaves, where possible. I have heard of spraying them with aspirin, but you have to do it before the rust takes hold, which is when I am swamped with spring planting, so I never seem to get around to it.
      Happy gardening, and thanks for getting back to me, Peter!

20. Good morning Blythe and thank you for the initial reply and follow-up..

    I am happy to say that after pulling a few bulbs it does not look anything like the images of Bloat Nematodes so I would cross that off the list for now. Increased watering and some additional chicken manure seems to have straightened out the leaves however the color is still a very light yellowish green in comparison. The seed stock was purchased from a very reputable distributor where most of our other vegetable seeds are purchased. I think as you suggest young stock and adapting to the soil/climate. I have no choice but to monitor them closely and take the wait and see approach. I must add that while I have been busy removing scapes from my other garlic plants, they are now starting to appear on the Bogatyre. Will keep my fingers crossed.

    Looking at the blackening stems of hanging, this year we were going to cut half of the stems (not roots) and lying them over chicken wire tables for the first week or so and then hanging them to complete the drying. My first concern was the potential of mold build up due to the lack of sufficient air circulating even with fans and after your results, we may opt for reducing the quantity from 10×10 to 6×6 on vertical hanging strings and see what happens. Garlic harvesting in our area is only a couple of weeks away.

    Turning to catching Nematodes before they do much damage, I walk up and down the rows (4 wide) every other day and inspect for damage leaves etc and remove any substances that looks suspect ( larvae or worm) if I can catch it before it has a chance chow down. Sometimes I miss them and they get to feast so I pull the plant and eat the bulb if in good shape.

    Last year we had late blight which destroyed most of our potato crop and half of out tomatoes. We planted the garlic in that area…. any potential impact??

    Have a great weekend!!

21. Good morning Blythe.

    I have read all of the posts looking for a clue to an answer and while I did not find, there are lots of interesting suggestions.

    We live in the farm lands of south central Quebec where winters can be harsh. We have been growing hard neck garlic (Music) for the past 4 to 5 years. Aside from the normal yellow tips, catching nematodes before they can do much damage, we rotate annually, we seemed to be ok, however I have 2 questions.

    First: Last spring was the first growing season for about 100 bulbs of the Degunski brand, purchased from an on-line distribution center, however the stocks and leaves all appeared pale yellowish green and while upright seem almost lifeless throughout the growing season and seemed to ripen fast in the ground like an onion. The bulbs/roots were small but looked ok. Fine we said, and acknowledged they were the runt cloves my sister was discarding. We harvested, dried and replanted last November. This spring the plants appear to be a bit taller in size have maintained similar characteristics as those grown the last summer. They dwarf in height next to the Music (about 60% of the size). I am looking to get the same appearance as the Music… should I be??

    Second: I have read quite a bit about bunching 10 to 15 head of garlic together and hanging them to dry. We have done it this way annually (10 on one end and 10 on the other and ganging on a nail in the barn) however we noticed the stems all turn black after being hung for about 2 to 3 weeks. Could it be the bulbs (10+10) are too heavy and cause the noose to become too tight trapping in the moisture we are trying to eliminate?

    Thoughts?
    Peter

    • Hi Peter – This growing garlic thing…it’s always a learning process, isn’t it? I am not sure I have the answers to your questions. I will say, though, that I am always surprised at how very different the different varieties are growing in the field. Some start out as spirals and then straighten up; some stand tall and robust with large leaves and fat stalks; others are much more slender with narrow leaves and are quite delicate looking. The red flag in your story, however, is the “pale yellowish green” color – which I would think would indicate some sort of stresser, either in the soil or with the watering. If it is in the field with all your others and that is the only garlic exhibiting that color, then obviously, it must be the variety. I have found that when I have gotten garlic from other parts of the country, even from very reputable sources, it often takes 2 or 3 years to acclimate to our conditions (wet winters; dry summers) – and some never do that well in our soggy winter climate. Was just thinking it might be quite a change for them, moving to Quebec?

      About the hanging garlic…I am not sure what is causing the stems to turn black. My problem is usually that I don’t get the rope tied tight enough, and the stems loose moisture and then tend to slip. In my experience, 10+10 was too bulky. It did not allow enough air flow, which is particularly critical in our coastal climate where we can get a moist, low-lying fog that rolls in across the fields in late summer and early fall. I usually tie mine in bunches of 5 or 6 and stagger them in a series of knots down the twine, so there might be 3 or 4 bunches down one long string, which is hung with a loop on a nail on a cross-beam. I group them by size and put a piece of blue tape around the necks of those I want to save for seed (so I don’t sell off my seed stock). This last year, I experimented with cutting the stocks instead of hanging them to dry (I know, blasphemy, right?) and then drying them on trays with a fan turned on them. I just hate it when, after 9 months of growing these babies, mold grows during the curing process, and in the Pacific Northwest, mold happens. That might not apply to your conditions, but still might be something for you to try. I did not notice a huge difference in flavor. In fact, if anything, the tray drying was more efficient.

      I am curious – how do you catch your nematodes???

      Merci beaucoup pour votre commentaire…
      Sincères amitiés,
      Blythe

      • Peter – I was just looking up some information on nematodes, and found this on the High Mowing Seeds site:
        “Signs of Infestation (of bloat nematode)
        The most severe infections of D. dipsaci cause garlic plants to exhibit stunted growth, yellowing and collapse of leaves, and premature defoliation. The bulbs first show slight discoloration but can later become entirely dark brown in color, shrunken, soft and light in weight.”
        Hope this is not what you have! Read more at High Mowing Seeds – “Bloat Nematodes and You”

22. my son has a large crop of Garlic in Auvergnue France , he said that after all the hard work of weeding in the new garden space the garlic got small worms through each one , is there any organic way to treat this situation?

    • High Mowing Seeds has a really good write-up on the issue of bloat nematodes – and I would think this would apply to other nematodes and worm-like critters. See their article at High Mowing Seeds – Bloat Nematodes and You. The practices are good ones in general for ensuring a healthy crop:
      Make sure you start with disease-free bulbs
      Rotate your crops
      Clean your tools and equipment
      Remove leftover debris from harvest – don’t leave any bulbs or leaves out there to “compost” on site
      Use a hot-water treatment on cloves before planting (It can be tricky to get the right temperature. Personally, I dunk my cloves in rubbing alcohol before planting. It seems to help.)
      Plant green manures and other crops that are reported to discourage nematodes. HMS lists several; I have heard of sorghum, mustards, and brassicas. There are probably others. By the same token, you would want to remove weeds that serve as host plants.

      Obviously, these are all prevention practices. I am not sure the crop can be saved after the fact. To kill the nematodes in the soil (and populations can really explode…everything seems to be going fine for several years and then suddenly, wham!), I have heard of “solarizing” the area by placing clear plastic down for a month or 2 during hot weather and letting everything cook. I would think that would kill a lot of beneficial microorganisms as well, so after taking this drastic tactic, you would need to add layers of compost and mulch.

      Not sure what kind of worms he has, but everything I have read about wireworms, thrips, and onion maggots gives similar advice to what I found in the High Mowing Seeds article, with prevention being the key through clean seed stock, crop rotation, and sanitation.

      Hope this helps – and best of luck to your son! I know how heartbreaking it is to lose a crop after all that work!
      Blythe

23. Loved reading these comprehensive replies to various garlic growing problems. My issue with my crop has not been discussed. I live in Vancouver and have planted my cloves in October. My problem may be that my garlic plant leaves are too large and not enough bulb:
    It is now mid May and I am astounded that the leaves of my plants are the largest I’ve seen in my garlic planting experience. They look very healthy BUT I started to worry that the leaves were too large and possibly compromising the nutrients to the bulb, so I pulled one plant out of the ground to examine how large the bulb was. There was no bulb at all!!! Is this normal? Does the bulb start to develop later , closer to summer?

    • I see you posted your comment about a month ago, so my apologies for a late reply – but how is your garlic growing now???
      In answer to your questions, very large green leaves probably means you have a lot of nitrogen in your soil (or at least adequate amounts). Take heart in that strong leafy green growth in the spring means the plant has more energy to produce large fantastic bulbs in the summer! My thinking is that the garlic plant starts out like a leafy green – and like all greens, they love nitrogen. I usually give them some manure tea, blood meal, or other nitrogen source in the early spring – BUT, I stop all those N feedings in May, which is when the plant starts shifting toward being a bulb-producing plant. At this time, I only feed things like kelp or other seaweed or fish fertilizer – and that’s only if I get around to it. So yes, what you saw sounds perfectly normal to me. The bulb develops later. In fact, the bulb can have its greatest growth during the last few weeks before harvest (always a balancing act to figure out when it has reached max size before starting to split apart!). If you end up with all greens and very small bulbs by mid summer, then you probably have to much nitrogen in the soil. A soil test can tell you for sure.

      Thanks for stopping in! Hope your crop does well. Vancouver BC or Vancouver WA? Either way, we are neighbors!
      Best wishes,
      Blythe

      • Dear Blythe,
        Thanks for responding. I must start by saying that I have learned a lot through your website.
        I am happy to report that I pulled a garlic plant out of the soil just yesterday to see how large the bulb was at this stage. I know it is still early to be harvesting so I was glad to see the bulb is large and healthy.
        I have stopped watering as we have had lots of rain and I hope the dry weather coming will do its job in letting the garlic develop properly in its last growing stage before harvest.
        All the very best for a great harvest.
        Claudie

        • Hi Claudie – that is great to hear! I like to plant a little extra just so I can spot-check now and then. Sometimes it is so hard to tell!
          Sometimes it takes me awhile to find the time (especially at this busy time of year) to get to the computer stuff, but I do try to answer every person that takes the time to write me! I appreciate your patience!
          Thanks for the update – and best wishes to you!
          Blythe

24. I’m stunned and so grateful for your help, thank you.

    • My pleasure! And thank YOU, Roger! Hope you have the best crop ever!

25. Hi … please forgive the intrusion but would you mind having a quick look at the close up photgraph of the leaves in this topic … I’m hoping it’s the “yelow tips” that you “don’t worry about”.

    Many thanks … Roger

    http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=122967.new;topicseen

    • Hi Roger – I see you are in the UK – our climate conditions are very similar. It is hard to tell anything definitive from the pictures, but I noticed a couple of things: 1) the main damage on the garlic seems to be in the outer leaves – and those are the first to come up and take the brunt of the stress of winter and early spring storms, temperature fluctuations, etc. They often look a little scraggly. No big deal. 2) Very important: the newer growth in the center leaves looks pretty good. They are green, standing tall, and the yellow tips on those are nothing to worry about (in my opinion). 3) Your onion plants on the left look a little beat up! There are some broken stems and signs of stress, which tells me their neighbors (the garlic) probably also endured similar situations – in which case, I’d say your garlic weathered through pretty well!

      What to do: Watch for more changes in the coloring, such as yellowing that extends down the plant in streaks or blotches, especially in the center leaves. For now, I think your best defense is to take proactive measures to strengthen the plant. Now is a good time to apply a little nitrogen. The more strong green leaves it grows now, the more energy it has for producing bulbs later. Personally, I do not use Epsom salts (although I know many people are fans), mainly because of the research and writings of Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott. I would recommend compost, perhaps a little blood meal, or the chicken pellets you refer to, which sound good. In May, I stop the nitrogen and switch to applications of fish fertilizer and liquid seaweed. You could cut off your bottom leaves without harming the plant. As one reader put it, “they are not really functioning very well anyway.” It might be an area where molds could develop or bugs hang out. That said, I can’t say that I have been very good at cleaning everything up.

      It is sometimes hard to tell what is disease, soil imbalance, fungal issues, or critters – so if you find there are increasing problems down the road, you can always do an early harvest of select plants (you might want to remove a bit of soil around the plant and clean your tools afterwards). One year, I was hit really hard with rust. The bulbs had already had a chance to form, so it did not affect my harvest too much, but I later found out I could have cut off the diseased leaves and reduced the spread.

      Here is another blogpost where I addressed yellow tips on garlic.

      Good luck, Roger – hope this has been of some help – and thanks for stopping in to my site. Loved the Allotment Garden site! What a resource – and a great way to share experience!

26. Will do. Thanks again.

27. This year my garlic bulbs are pushing themselves out of the soil, to where the – very good – root system is exposed. What is happening? Should I dig them up and replant them deeper?

    • The changes from fall through late winter are certainly dramatic, aren’t they! You don’t say where you live, but winter freezes & thaws create a lot of upheaval, as does all the swelling from winter-to-spring rains. Are you planting in beds? That will help with drainage issues. Garlic will transplant easily, but it’s best if you don’t have to. The roots are rather brittle and spread out farther than you might think. Some varieties have thicker roots than others and more easily withstand all the ups and downs of winter changes. Depending on how many bulbs you have and how they are planted, you could also top everything off with a layer of soil and compost. This would be my choice. It is a good time to pull back the mulch, pull a few weeds, let everything dry out & warm up, and give them a little nitrogen fertilizer. The better they grow between now and early May, the bigger your bulbs will be. Whichever way you choose – extra soil or transplant – it will help protect them during the wild temperature swings of March. When you plant this fall, you might want to plant them a little deeper. I usually plant mine so there is a good 2 inches of soil above the tip of the clove. Some people in colder climes plant theirs a little deeper. It’s always a learning process, isn’t it – and every year is a little different. Hope this helps – and thanks for visiting my site!

      • Thank you for the very quick reply. We live in the southern interior of British Columbia and have had a very mild winter this year. Thanks for the advice. I think I will add soil to at least make sure the roots are not exposed, then next year plant deeper!!

        • We are practically neighbors! It has been really mild here, too. No snow all winter here in the lowlands. I remember one year it snowed on April 1, and another, the frost nipped all my squashes just after I transplanted them on May 1, so you just never know. Thanks again for your comments. Best wishes, and keep me posted on how it goes!

28. Have grown hardneck garlic in my Colorado Front Range urban front yard for about eight years now. Very sunny spot except mornings, naturally clayey soil but with plenty of natural compost amendment. Soil test by CSU show no deficiencies. First crops uniformly great with over 100 bulbs mostly large, perfect and no problems. I’ve recently started to add squash plants into this garden site in early summer, about a month before I harvest the garlic for a second harvest. Watering is probably heavier than really needed for garlic. Two years ago started showing some plants with roots decayed/eaten/rotted or something. This year almost all plants with poor root system and very low yield (small bulbs, many not divided). Have looked at many internet sites for info with nothing that seems like this problem. Some kind of nematode or other soil insect? When I dig the plants I do not see any insects among the few remaining roots. This is not a grocery store garlic, but a variety that was here on this property twenty-five years ago when I moved in, and only later started to move it to a productive spot. I do not have enough land to realistically rotate garlic off this bed, and garlic is the most interesting crop for me since it has done so remarkably well in past years. Any thoughts?

    • I am really glad in some respects to see your comment, Jim, because this is very similar to what I experienced this year, only I am fanatic about rotating my crops. I am a bit baffled by what happened, and the only thing I can figure is that a combination of stressors allowed nematodes to take advantage of my crop. Mine, too, looked like stunted roots, and the only thing I can find on the Internet points to the nematode as the culprit. The plants were growing great at the beginning of the year, and then they looked a little drought-stressed. Did I water them too heavily at that point? Do nematodes have cyclic population explosions? I had my varieties spread out in separate locations, not in just one square plot of rows, and yet they ALL showed the stunted root phenomenon. Of course, if the plant can’t get food & water, it is bound to be affected by other stressors as well, and in my case, botrytis mold in the early wet months and later, drought conditions, which were quite severe this year in the Pacific Northwest. I have read that dipping your bulbs in warm water before planting will help kill off any nematode that might be lurking on the clove, but you have to be careful to make the water hot, but not too hot (100-120 degrees F) (I usually do a rubbing alcohol dip, which I confess, I did NOT do this last year, to my demise.) Every year is different. Every year is a learning experience. Hope you were able to salvage some of your crop. I feel your pain. I lost mine that I had been growing for many years. 🙁

29. Why do my recently harvested cloves have numerous tiny bulbs growing around the outsides?? This year is sort of a failure

    • The only “garlic” I know that does that is elephant garlic, which is actually a leek. Elephant garlic is delicious for roasting. And all those hard-shelled little corms can be replanted and will eventually grow into full-sized bulbs. It helps to soak them overnight & knick the shell or rub it with a little sandpaper. Doesn’t sound like a failure to me. Sounds like a discovery!

30. My first time growing garlic in Eastern Quebec. Harvested it and cured it for 2.5 weeks. So happy to try some today. Cut one clove open, and … euh … little white worms. Are these onion maggots (a gross word and grosser to see) Will my entire crop be infested? What can I do with them? Clearly, not gift any to anyone.

    • So – my reply is a little on the late side – but I was wondering whether your entire crop was infested or just a few bulbs? I was thinking that if the infestation isn’t too bad, you might be able to plunge the bulb in boiling water to kill the critters, cut off any damaged areas, & then freeze the cloves for your own use. (Briefly blanching the bulbs is an easy way to make the skins easy to remove, too.)

      Before planting any cloves, I always inspect for any worms, take only cloves that are blemish-free, and then I usually give them a brief soak in rubbing alcohol before putting in the ground. (Some years I have also soaked them a few hours in a seaweed solution.) The years I have NOT done the alcohol soak (like this last one), I have had more issues with bugs & etc. Also, be sure to rotate your crops.

      Hope the infestation wasn’t too bad!

31. Hello,
    I have the same concern with my garlic as well. It’s my first time growing them in Vancouver and upon removal, some cloves show the same hint of purple coloring/veins as mentioned in the earlier post. I’ve cured them for 3 weeks now (basically left to dry and threw away the worse ones) and they seem to commonly appear in unaffected ones. Is it a virus or nutrient deficiency or the way I cured them?
    Thanks!

    • Vancouver, WA or Vancouver BC? I think the purple coloring is fine as long as the cloves are plump and firm and don’t show signs of mold or insect infestation. Fungal issues & nematodes are always my biggest problem; I have never had an issue with odd coloring. Some of the varieties are more purple than others – like Vekak & Bogatyr – so very beautiful! Maybe my above reply to Alliah sheds some insight? Let me know what you find out!

32. Hi! I was wondering about an issue I’ve had with my garlic this year and was hoping someone would have some suggestions. I planted garlic in two different places this year for an experiment- some in raised bed as I have been doing for a few years and getting good results with, and some in the ground. I live in the NE and we had a LOT of rain this summer and it seems like the plants matured so fast, much earlier than in previous years. THe garlic I planted in the ground ended up being much larger, but more of the leaves were brown on the plants, which made me think that those plants matured faster than the raised beds. Anyway, most of the garlic I pulled from the ground had purple coloring on its cloves and I was wondering if this is due to it being more mature or possibly something up with the soil, or maybe a disease? I haven’t had any issues in the past with this, but I’ve only planted in the raised beds in previous years. And I’m not sure what variety of garlic I have because I inherited my first clove of garlic from a friend who has since passed away, but all the plants I have are from that first clove. Anyway if you have any suggestions I would really appreciate it. Thanks!! 🙂

    • Aggg! I can’t believe it. I spent a really long time trying to write you a thoughtful reply and the computer just lost the entire thing! I will have to get back to you tomorrow. It is too late! (and BTW – I am sure it is 4:50 a.m. somewhere, but here it is about 10 p.m. – I always thought I was relatively computer savvy, but now I am thinking they really aren’t my thing!)

    • Ok – I have wracked my brain over this one & have checked every resource I can think of and found absolutely nothing on what disease or soil condition might cause more coloring in the cloves. In my experience, bulbs that are more mature develop more coloring (there can be some variations within and among varieties, though). If your bulbs are nice & firm, are cured well, and don’t show signs of decay, perhaps there is nothing “wrong” with them. In fact, maybe it is a developing trait that you might want to encourage! I have found that my garlic has adapted to our soil conditions and has evolved over the years. Your next experiment might be doing a taste test (with friends!) and seeing which bulbs last the longest (don’t eat them all!) and selecting for seedstock accordingly.

      But if it is just a matter of maturation, why would the bulbs in the ground mature faster than the ones in the beds? Your experiment is interesting. I always plant in raised beds because 1) we get so much rain in the winter, the bulbs need all the drainage they can get, 2) our springs tend to be very cool, and the raised bed helps to warm the soil, and 3) the soil stays softer, which allows the bulb to expand better. But after this topsy-turvy year, I am rethinking this. We had a very warm spring with temperatures higher than we get most summers and very little rain. The drought really stressed the plants and made them more susceptible to disease.

      Here is what I know: more water grows bigger bulbs but can also make them more susceptible to disease, shortens the shelf life, and reduces flavor. Plants with less water and that are allowed to mature more slowly (I don’t cut the scapes) might be smaller, but are also more flavorful, cure more easily (we have a damp climate – so this part is critical), and last longer. Nitrogen, mulch, temperature, and sun/shade variations also play a big role in how fast they grow and mature – as does the changing hours of daylight. Too much nitrogen late in the season can foster disease issues – something I have learned the hard way. Essentially, though, if you can get the plant big and strong in the early spring, it will have the energy to grow a bigger bulb.

      Did your plants in the ground have any other factors that might have made them mature more quickly? Are the bulbs firm? Do they show any other signs of disease? Thanks for your comment – and if anyone else out there has figured this out, please chime in!

33. Read through all your information and found it very useful. Came across my problem towards the end where you wrote about the translucent cloves due to excessive heat. Which we’ve certainly had this summer. Was worried it was a virus and that we couldn’t use those parts still relatively ‘normal’. Thanks so much.

    • Glad it was helpful. Unfortunately, the drought got the best of my crop this year, which caused a lot of stress, which led to other problems. Sometimes it is not just one thing, but something that weakens the plant and therefore makes it more susceptible to other things. I have found that even though they can’t be used for seedstock, I can salvage damaged bulbs for personal use by freezing or dehydrating them – but only if I do it right away. They won’t keep. Best of luck to you!

    • They won’t last long. Eat those first! I had a lot of problems with my garlic this year and found myself going back to this article, too. I should have been more on top of the drought earlier on. Thanks for your comment.

34. After a mild problem with rust about 2 weeks before harvest last year, I had a major problem this year. The rust appeared in Spring and a month later it covered every plant. I dug the bulbs 3 weeks early as I feared the plants would die completely. Most of the bulbs were much smaller than usual.

    Is there anything I can do to rid my soil of the spores? Does this fungus affect other crops that should not be planted in the affected soil?

    Thanks for all your good information

35. I’m also in the NW in a VERY rainy area… I noticed my garlic has had yellowing on the outer leaves for a while and finally decided to pull some up and see what it looked like. Well, I don’t know what exactly is wrong with it, but the outer layers are all slimy and when I peel them off my head of garlic just likes like a green onion. I’m not sure what garlic should look like at this stage, but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t be slimy! My question is, do you think I should I just pull them up now and salvage what I can, or leave them in the ground and see what happens?

    • I thought your questions to be so relevant that they deserved a response through a blog post. I think a lot of people share your problem. See “Spring Garlic Woes.” I can’t say for sure what is going on in your garlic patch, but the main clues to me are that the outer leaves are yellow (not just the tips of leaves; and not the inner ones) and that the bulb is slimy. Slimy is a bit worrisome. Consider that each leaf represents a wrapper around the bulb — so if the outer leaves are yellow and the outer layers of the bulb are slimy, then my initial guess is that your bulbs experienced some damage through repeated freeze-thaw cycles that are so typical of Northwest gardens – or else they are just plain waterlogged. They *might* be just fine if we dry out a bit. HOWEVER, your bulbs will be even more susceptible to molds and fungi, an assortment of diseases, and insects that might take advantage of a weakened bulb, so it is good to keep an eye on them. If you see signs of more serious disease, it is better to pull them (hopefully not the entire crop!). I have found that yanking out those that are showing signs of molds can go a long way toward preventing the spread of molds elsewhere. I figure what the heck, I’m going to lose them anyway, so why not save what I can – and quite often you can still eat the fresh bulb if you peel off the damaged wrappers. Green-onion size sounds about right for this time of year. Check out the blog post for ideas on planting techniques that can help prevent disease and see whether any apply to you – or whether it gives you further clues to what is going on. Sorry I can’t be of more help — these things can be complicated! Let me know what you find out, and best of luck to you! Thanks for writing – you have good questions!

    • I ended up with a similar problem. Lost most of my crop. 🙁 Sometimes it happens. The weather sure has been crazy this year.

36. I’m glad that I found someone who says that growing garlic can be tricky! Everybody says it’s one of the easiest vegetables to grow, and for me every year it turns out to be one of the greatest disappointments! Like you said in the article: “By the time you notice something is wrong, it can be too late.” I’m actually thinking of trying to grow them in pots next season, to see if that makes a difference.

    • Garlic IS very hardy, but yes, things can go wrong. If you want to grow market-size bulbs, there are a lot of factors to consider. That said, last year, there were patches that I didn’t get around to watering much, and although the bulbs were smaller, they have lasted much longer and the flavor has been more intense. Everything you read says they need consistent watering and rich, moist, well-drained soil. True, drought conditions will send them into dormancy, but they are survivors; they will handle occasional dry spells and not-the-best soil conditions. Many in my personal stash are still in good shape, whereas in other “wetter” years, they would be sprouting.

      As far as pots go, it is a great way to grow garlic from bulbils, which tend to get lost in larger beds, and a great way to have some close to the kitchen, but overall, my experience of garlic in pots has not been the best. It is surprising how far the tiny root hairs extend in search of food & water. A larger root system keeps them anchored through Nature’s swings and upheavals. And I think the whole microbial network is essential to growing good garlic, which is difficult to create in a pot. Of course, you have more control in a pot. I would be interested in knowing if it works for you. There is no “one” way. Every site and every year is different.

      Thanks for checking into my site, Mark. I loved your website and pictures of your family garden. Impressive!

37. my beatiful jumbo clove garlic plants seemed to to dry up and die. I guess they got too dry. If nothing appears wrong with the roots, is there anything I can do, please?

    • Sad story! It is hard to know without seeing them. Is this all dried up after they have been cured? Or are they just out of the ground? I am probably not a good person to ask, because I have been known to take garlic that is starting to mold, peel off the skins, cut out any moldy areas, & toss them in vinegar for my own use. Perhaps not the best, but I SO hate to see garlic go to waste! I have far more problems with the extra large bulbs than I do the smaller ones. Perhaps because of the greater water content? It is really sad when you save a gargantuan bulb for seed stock & have to throw the whole thing out! (or eat what you can). I am very picky about what I put in the ground – and if you’ve been handling anything that looks questionable, be sure to wash your hands before handling other good bulbs. Don’t make it easy for miniscule spores to travel to new territory!

      That still doesn’t answer your question, tho. I cut back on the watering before harvesting (unless it rains out of my control), and in a sense, it is basically starting the curing process while the plant is still in the ground. I have also taken bulbs after curing them and dehydrated them further for making garlic powder. Is that a possibility with what you have? Or are they shriveled beyond recognition? Can you rehydrate them for immediate use?

      Sorry I can’t be more helpful! I think some experimenting might be in order. Let me know what you figure out! It’s always such a learning process, even after I’ve grown it for so many years! Thanks!

38. Thank you for this helpful well written article. Such a great blog.

    • Thank you, Aria! Wish I could find the time to write & post more frequently! On the other hand, wait – gorgeous weather – end of summer – no, I’d rather be in the garden (or in the mountains, on the water…) than in front of a computer!

39. Blythe, I just wanted to say thanks for all the work you do to keep this site informative and interesting.

    • Why, Thank You, Tom! Encouraging words to keep this thing going! Much appreciated!

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