Awhile back I posted a question about garlic making bulbs in the stems above ground.

Brad (I think) said these could be replanted.

Maybe this is an ignorant question, but the bulbs are alittle smaller than the cloves that we usually plant. Are these bulbs still capable of producing full sized garlic?

thanks in advance.

-- Cathy in MN (logholm@rangenet.com), August 23, 2001

Answers

if they "bulbs" are actually a bulb of garlic,, yes,, you can plant the cloves

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), August 23, 2001.

Break apart the bulb and plant the clove. The smaller the clove, the smaller the garlic bulb will be next year. One of the things that bigger is better. You could year by year just plant the largest cloves and eventually you would have full size bulbs. It has been our experience that the real small bulbs will only produce a few real small bulbs. Not worth the effort.

-- Belle (gardenbelle@terraworld.net), August 23, 2001.

Here's my experience, and others may have a divergence of opinion. Those little "bulblets" that form at the top of the stalk are indeed viable, and will eventually progress into fine garlic bulbs. Again, only in MY experience, they will only progress into a large (as in only one) "round" the first year. That baby can then be replanted the following year (you are looking at 2 years here - the first planting of the teeny, tiny bulb from the top of your garlic, then it's progression through the 2nd year, to a rather large garlic bulb that is a "round", ie, a large UNSEGMENTED bulb. Now, that will be tasty in it's own right, but is better planted that fall to create a fine big segmented bulb the following July/August. I might also add that those tiny top bulblets have a great flavor of their own, and can be used as is. I do, however, find them to be substantially milder than the root bulbs. Nonetheless, good. I am far from an expert about garlic. I only know that we both absolutely love it, and I have been a bit above marginally successful in growing it. I would love to hear from, and be advised by, those of you who actually have some expertise in this venue. Please help us neophytes! And GL to all!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), August 23, 2001.

I work at a farm where we grow and sell a lot of garlic. Brad is absolutely correct. The stem bulblets will grow into one small garlic the first year and a full bulb the second. They're a little long-term, but they're fun project for the kids!

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), August 23, 2001.

I was going to ask this same question, but now I wondered Do you just plant the small bulb and leave it in the ground for two years, or do you dig it up in August then let it dry for 6 weeks or so and repalnt the first of October? This is what I normally do with the cloves I seperate.

-- Melissa (CMNORRIS@1ST.NET), August 24, 2001.

You might have more than one clove in the little garlic bulb you get after the first year so you could dig it up to check. However, August is usually a pretty busy month around here so I'd just leave it be and let it grow until the following year.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), August 26, 2001.