Garlic and Onion Questions

18 years ago

Hi--

I planted garlic and onions for the first time this year, to see what they would do. All the plants look healthy. I bought white onions from Lowes (don't know what variety, but they looked healthy) and used garlic cloves from the grocery store. I understand that you are supposed to plant garlic in the fall, but mine look pretty healthy. Anyway, at what point do I harvest both (later in the season, I know) and what do I look for? I've heard things like "tops flopping over" and "before the first frost", and frankly, I'm confused.

I hope to put garlic in the fall this year, for harvest in the spring (can I do that with onions, too?). Since I messed up and planted the garlic in the wrong season, will anything result this year?

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Comments (3)

momamamo
18 years ago
Hi there. The best you'll do on the garlic is likely to be a bulb that doesn't separate into cloves, but it's still perfectly edible as are the greens and the stems that may arise (scapes). Had you planted the garlic in the fall, that extra time would have given the plant a chance to develop longer and split into bulbs in its final stage before dying. In theory, since the garlic you planted can't reach that final clove stage you could harvest yours whenever you want some. Certainly though, you'll want to keep it in the ground for as long as you see that it's green and growing.

I don't know if spring-planted garlic flops over when dying, but fall-planted garlic does. It sends up scapes, then the foliage starts browning, and finally it collapses.

I plant garlic in late October through November. Purchased onion sets are planted in the spring. Onions just don't need that extra development period that garlic needs.

I hope this helps! Maureen
missemerald
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you, it does!

Since my family eats a lot of garlic, my intent is to plant a bunch of it in the fall and harvest it next year. But I have another question--- do I harvest it next spring (the stuff that I plant this fall) or later? This one will be the one that "flops" right?
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momamamo
18 years ago
If you plant in the fall, the garlic should complete its cycle, then flop over maybe in July or so. It needs a lot of time to become a cloved bulb. Right now, my bulbs have developed the flower stems - the scapes - and I've cut these off for cooking purposes. The leaves are browning and will likely meet their demise pretty soon! Then I'll let most of them dry for a few weeks for longer storage, and put some aside for immediate use.

When it's time to plant some cloves in the fall I look for particularly healthy specimens. I was told by a garlic expert that the biggest cloves don't necessarily mean the biggest harvest the following year so I keep that in mind when I'm making my choices.

You can certainly plant extra garlic in order to pull some of the plants whole in the spring. It will taste like garlic at any point, but obviously the bulb will be small. Or you could just cut some of the leaves and saute in your favorite dishes.

Let me know if you have further questions. Maureen