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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Re: A different Garlic Question
  • Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:01:51 -0400

Allan wrote:
My German red garlic is just starting to put up scapes. Is this the time that it is important to side dress? If so, what do you use to side dress your garlic? I usually use compost, but I'm definitely NOT famous for my big bulbs.

My GERMAN EXTRA HARDY gives the biggest bulbs I've ever seen. Size seems to be a function of variety as well as soil fertility.

I don't fertilize at all -- I create raised beds of horse manure/straw from a local horse boarding stable in late summer/early fall and plant the garlic in that. I used fish emulsion one year and I've heard great things about it, but I've never seen it as necessary.

I think you've missed the window to side dress -- the plant will soon take the nutrients from the leaves and put it in the bulbs, so you wanted to fertilize EARLY (March/April) to get the LEAVES to grow like crazy. More nutrients/bigger leaves means bigger bulbs.

Garlic looooooooooooooooves nitrogen -- I've found that you can sidedress with "fresh from the horse" manure and the garlic will just suck it up. Make sure you're well within the organic standards window for how long manure has to be out there before harvesting - however, since the plant needs the nutrients in fall/winter/early spring for root and leaf production, that usually isn't a problem.


For us, the scapes are at least two weeks early this year.

My scapes are only about a week ahead of schedule -- but with 18 different varieties, I've got scapes from now until mid-June. The sudden heat in SE PA bolted my brassicas, though. :-(

Dorene


Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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