Saturday 6 December 2014

A Treat a post on Saturday - Garlic





Many other people have probably thought of this but I am going to give this a trial.

Although it is late  in the year I am going to plant these rather small garlic cloves (teaspoon for scale),  3 for 90p.  Now I normally buy garlic from the Isle of Wight garlic farm.  but they are a little steep in price for me at the moment.  

When in Tesco-poly a few days ago, I picked this pack up and thought I will just have a go.  I dont know if they have been heat treated but I thought why not.  I am going to plant them in trugs and see what happens.  Then we can move them if we find a house.

I have had great success with Jerusalem artichokes, ginger and tumeric, which I bought from in a supermarket and planted.  I am hoping this will work as well. 

I will keep you updated. Have you tried garlic growing from supermarket bulbs?

15 comments:

northsider said...

I have grown garlic from supermarket bulbs, Sol. Never grown Jerusalem Artichokes that way. Sounds a good idea!

Tom Stephenson said...

Beware the tasteless garlic imported from China.

Raybeard said...

Useful info for the many garlic lovers, Sol, but I'm one of the considerable number who cannot take it, even a trace if it, in any food. For me it so overwhelms, and in rather an unpleasant way too.
But I am aware that there's an even greater number who do LOVE it, so who are we deniers to deride other people's tastes?

I know it's considered especially beneficial to heart/circulation/blood pressure so for that reason over the last 30 years I've been regularly taking (odourless) garlic tablets which, thank goodness, spares me the taste.

But if it's your 'bag' (as it clearly is), hell, why not?

Sol said...

Hey Dave I got the Jerusalem artichokes in a market in France.

Hi Tom, I have just been and looked at the bag and they are from China? Oh heck so they wont be very good then? For some unknown reason I thought the label said Spain but alas it is definitely China...

Ray, I am hoping it will now sprout but I have to get them out into the frosts quick smart. I dont know if it will work. some one said to me they heat treat them... no sprouting. Watch this space

Dani said...

I always look for garlic that is "budding" - that way I know it hasn't been irradiated. The garlic from China is - and won't grow. AND it goes foul as it ages.... Yuck!!!!

Good luck - hope you have a viable bunch of cloves.

Any luck with Gumtree? You can set an alert so if anyone posts a house for sale with your requirements Gumtree will send you an e-mail ;)

Anonymous said...

Did you get flowers on your ginger and turmeric plants?

Practically Penniless said...

I've had plenty of bulbs that have sprouted, so will have to give them a go next time. Agree with other posters that the Chinese stuff is ghastly, and I've also heard it can contain heavy metals like lead and mercury. Avoid at all costs.

Sol said...

Hi ya Dani, it doesnt say they have been treated on the label...? we havent done anything about Gumtree at the moment as we are re-evaluating what to do.

Hi Toffeeapple, lots of leaves on both I didnt know they flowered... I have them in large trugs in the green house.

Hey Practically Penniless, hmm now I am a bit worried I have stuck them in the dirt. I wonder if them being organic will make it ok? Darn I was doing it to save money and to not have to buy stuff that is flown half the way around the world.

Anonymous said...

Garlic grows? Haha.

Kev Alviti said...

How did the turmeric grow?
There was reduced garlic for growing for sale the other day at countrywide. I've grown it in pots before and it seems to do pretty well.

Sol said...

Lol Susie,Jamie Oliver asked help up a tomato and asked the kids what it was and they said potato! lol

Hey Kev, I have bought turmeric twice. I bought the first lot from a shop in Totnes. This was very productive until I let someone in the family dig some up so they could also grow some. I dont know what happened but I did the normal thing of digging it up the first month of November when the leaves yellowed. nothing it had part rotted.

The stuff I have now I bought in a Pakistani supermarket I went for the biggest piece I could find, with knobbly bits that look like they are sprouting. I have grown it like I grow asparagus. in big recycling boxes I bought from the council. 4 inches of manure in the bottom, blood and fish bone on the top then sieved compost (I admit I buy this. peat free), nearly right to the top pop it in cover it over and fingers crossed. it stays in my green house all summer, I move it into the conservatory in winter when the fig tree goes in.

I havent had flowers like Toffeeapple said they do. but my friends said to wait for the leaves to start to go over like onions. I have a drip feed system in the green house from 4 water butts.

I use it in a tea like thing, a slice of lemon from the freezer, a slice of ginger and 2 slices of tumeric. I have bad joints and kidneys, I was told this would help.

I have also tried to grow galangal twice from the Thai food shop and they have both failed.

Maybe we should have a grow along? I will mulch with leaves just after Christmas. maybe we could all have a race and see who gets the most bounty?

Lynne said...

Hi Sol, I have had ZILCH luck with growing garlic before, all my green fingered friends are mazed, and have even given me cloves to try so I know it was me not the garlic! This year (next year really) I am determined to gave a go at growing something other than my herbs so I bunged in a whole head - separated - of garlic from our local market so it should be OK. Just plugged them in holes in the growing medium I laughingly call my garlic bed! We shall see what happens!

Sol said...

Hey Lynne they need a good frost so they make the individual cloves. I read somewhere that you should put them in the fridge and turn it down so it goes below 4 oC. Someones blog.

I am a lazy gardener. I put things in the ground and I pretty much just leave them alone. unless it is super dry I dont water either. Only in the green house. you kill more plants with kindness. over watering most of the time.

I think we all need a grow along.

Kev Alviti said...

I like the idea of a race but I've read how much heat it needs and it needs to be brought into a house that keeps it at 20 degees. I'd have to keep it in the oven in our place to do that!

Sol said...

Hey Kev Maybe a garlic race then to see whose grows faster.

Have you heard of hot manure heating

http://www.holon.se/garden/howto/hotbed_en.shtml

this is why I put so much manure in the tubs. My BiL told me about this he is trained in horticulture and nursery training.