your problem is simple. your garlic is indoors, inside some cups. It should be outside in frozen ground, full sun, working on its root system while waiting for early spring.

And, just as with any thing that is rooted in water rather than soil, it doesn't form the fibrous feeder roots it needs to survive when transplanted. All it forms are the water/tap roots so when moved to soil it has to either quickly try to develop the feeder roots or die.

If you cannot get it planted outside then plant the cloves in damp potting mix and let them root and grow there until they can be transplanted.

You don't indicate your location or even your gardening zone but for most locations, garlic is planted in the fall outside. So try to get your out to the garden ASAP.

For future posts please do try to include your zone/location in the the box provided. Thanks.

Dave

I read garlic needs to be exposed to very low temps, then it will grow as weather warms, I planted mine in Oct, sprouts were seen in Dec, now covered with snow.
They better grow, cost me a bundle..
Pic is where garlic is napping till spring

Japus, your garlic will be fine. That's exactly how they are supposed to grow. I've been growing for years in Zone 5. Although I've never covered mine, it looks like you have a tarp over yours. I don't think that will cause you problems, it's just not necessary. And I spent a fortune on garlic bulbs about 8 years ago...and have never bought a bulb of garlic since :0)

Hi Daisy
Thanks for your note
I only place the tarp there for it was going to rain heavy after I planted garlic and didn't want to wash it away.
The plastic on top of the soil is to keep squirrels and chipmunks away, my wife feeds the chipmunks, I shoot them and cant get rid of them.
I lose sunflowers, sugar peas, etc etc because of them. they get the seeds before germination.
If you can believe this one, we live 3 blocks from the middle of a 30,00 resident town, deer,rabbits, groundhogs,possums, skunks, racoons, hawks, and even a bear frequently pays us a visit.
Any way I have spent much time trying to keep critters away.
I suppose our 2 apple trees, along with a juicy pear tree attracts them, along with wife's flowers..

Japus - I love the rustic look of your garden! Everything is so well-contained. Well, the good news, as far as I know, the only thing that eats garlic is people - animals don't touch it. Well, I can't speak for bears :0) I live in the country, and (knock on wood) have very few pest problems in the garden, and I think it's because of all the garlic and onions I plant. Maybe you'll notice a drop in garden critters this year because of your garlic.

Delaware_daisy: I hope you're right about critters not eating garlic. I planted a small bed of garlic for the first time last fall and then mulched with a couple inches of shredded leaves. Somebody -- most likely squirrels -- digs little holes in my bed whenever the temps get above freezing. I have a large gang of squirrels who apparently want to turn my yard into a walnut orchard. They bury walnuts in all my pots that summer outdoors, and I suspect that's what they are doing in my garlic bed.

Japus: You gave me a good laugh imagining your wife feeding the chipmunks while you were trying to shoot them. I'd like to be a fly on the wall while you discuss that with her.

Japus: You gave me a good laugh imagining your wife feeding the chipmunks while you were trying to shoot them. I'd like to be a fly on the wall while you discuss that with her.

That my dear Ohiofem is (was) not (never) discussable
shhhhhhhhhhhhh

ROTFLMAO!

I have some wonderful Top-Setting Garlic, planted last March that I brought from my parents' garden in Idaho, Zone 4. They grow tiny bulbs on the flower and many of those sprout and make flowers of their own..some of which make a 3rd sprout. All without ever touching the ground. Hopefully I will have some of the tiny bulbs available on the Seed Trading Forum this fall.Read up on them a bit and found out they were considered extinct for a few decades so I want to do my part to help spread them out to as many gardeners nationwide as possible so that never happens again. They also set normal-sized underground bulbs that can be dug and used or divided after the 2nd Fall. Only place they don't seem to thrive is zones 9,10, and 2.

Ha ha Japus. That is hysterical! Ohiofem, I'd be really interested in knowing if they are getting your garlic. I have squirrels trying to plant a walnut farm too :0). I grow about 150 bulbs of garlic a season, and I've literally only lost one. Ever. It rotted. But just that one. And I have had instances where some ended up really, really small, due to my lack of watering. But otherwise, every single garlic bulb I plant is still there when I dig in July.

Kranberri - I'm going to look up that Garlic.

I planted my garlic in October to over winter. Today our temp reached 40 so I went out to check on them and lo and behold I saw a few peeking out beneath the melting snow :)

I have been planting garlic for at least 20 years and felt like I knew what i was doing but here's something new to me. I plant 4 varieties, 3 soft neck and one hard neck in different beds. This year they all were doing less well at this point, early june when one bed, soft neck, suddenly layed down. Now the other three soldier on but only one or two weaklings survive in the problem bed. I am stumped. Any ideas? We didn't have a very cold winter but that's happened before without this happening. I live in the desert of South eastern Washington state.