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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Garlic questions

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  • From: <bobbett AT windstream.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Garlic questions
  • Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 10:49:48 -0600


---- "cjmaness AT juno.com" <cjmaness AT juno.com> wrote:
> I read somewhere that the best garlic for my area would come from a local
> grower. So, I bought 20 pounds from a fellow grower at our market. The
> problem is all of the bulbs are very small, about the size of a nickel. The
> large ones were on top, hiding all the small ones underneath. My question
> is: are these small bulbs too small to plant? Can they be planted whole?,
> Or do I throw them away, and never buy anything from this particular vendor
> again?

Just glad it wasn't me! ;-p I always tell people the size bulbs I'm selling
them and would gladly replace any bad ones if the freebies I enclose don't
cover it.

That being said, when I'm down to smaller bulbs I separate them into cloves.
With Cherokee garlic I find that there's always 1-2 big ones in every bulb,
even if the bulb is on the smaller side. I plant ONLY the biggest cloves
since I'm trying to get more large (over 2" across) garlic bulbs for my
harvest next year.

Smaller cloves we peal, dry, and grind into powder. It's delicious! (store
in frig to keep it from caking)

As for the smallest bulbs (under 1/2" across) I call those " minis" and use
them to create borders around areas I don't want critters to get into. I
plant them whole and don't harvest them even the following year. They
quickly compact in that area and form a dense wall (like a hedge) of garlic
greens.

I think there are many things that garlic wards against, so you might want to
plant a few of the smaller ones around your fruit trees and rose bushes and
any other plant that could benefit. You can also plant them with the
intention of getting bulbils (if they're hard necks) so you can even further
propagate your inventory.

Hope these suggestions help,
Bobbett




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