Garlic is it time to pull it or wait.

[gixxerific]

I planted in early march this spring and it's already almost July. They are not getting huge or anything. I missed the ordering for last fall this year I will not.

But do you think it is pretty much over for them or should I leave them. Some of them are still growing but not very big. I pulled up a few that had fallen over but were a little green still but they have VERY small bulbs on them. I would assume the other are the same way. The biggest of the three I pulled fits inside a soda bottle lid.

Am I wasting space with these or should I cut my losses and pull them and replant something that will actually give me something this year? Than try agian this fall the right way.

Thanks Dono

[applestar]

Don't think of them as losses. Consider them your seed garlic for this fall. They should have only one or few cloves. Save the largest.

[soil]

how do the plants look now? green, yellow? did you feed any high nitrogen fertilizers? did they send up scapes?

[Ozark Lady]

I pulled my garlic already. I have them drying, getting ready for fall planting the same ones right back out!

The tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore.

[garden5]

It sounds like you have some seed-garlic on your hands, Gix. I'd go with what AS said, pull them and re-plant in the fall. Otherwise, I think they may bolt.

[stella1751]

I pulled my garlic already. I have them drying, getting ready for fall planting the same ones right back out!

The tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore.

I'm trying garlic for the first time this year, just the soft neck, so nothing fancy. You said your "tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore." I really don't think mine are growing anymore, but some of them are downright puny. Is that what I look for, then, flattened vegetation? I think someone said earlier to wait until they were 3/4's brown. How do you know when to pull them?

Thanks!

[gixxerific]

I pulled my garlic already. I have them drying, getting ready for fall planting the same ones right back out!

The tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore.

I'm trying garlic for the first time this year, just the soft neck, so nothing fancy. You said your "tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore." I really don't think mine are growing anymore, but some of them are downright puny. Is that what I look for, then, flattened vegetation? I think someone said earlier to wait until they were 3/4's brown. How do you know when to pull them?

Thanks!

Did you plant them this year or last fall? I tried to do a spring planting but I will go with fall planting from now on. They just don't have enough time. Mine are puny but I will save the for this fall and try again

[applestar]

I'm trying garlic for the first time this year, just the soft neck, so nothing fancy. You said your "tops were down, and they weren't growing anymore." I really don't think mine are growing anymore, but some of them are downright puny. Is that what I look for, then, flattened vegetation? I think someone said earlier to wait until they were 3/4's brown. How do you know when to pull them?

Thanks!

I might be wrong but I vaguely recall that hardneck is usually better for north because they are more cold-hardy.

Falling over tops I think is for onions, though garlic can fall over too -- usually from too much moisture when they're ready to be harvested.
I harvested these (marked by the thin bamboo sticks) two days ago to make room for more sweet potatoes.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7273-1.jpg[/img]

The one to the left-front is going as soon as the melon starts creeping over that way. Mine are never huge because of the way I crowd everything together, but they turned out well. Here they are with new potatoes, etc.:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7312.jpg[/img]
In the photo, it doesn't look 2/3 browned because I pull off the browned leaves and papery skin attached to them when cleaning off the encrusted muck (which, as I've said before, is probably earthworm casting mucus).

[gixxerific]

Little update I dug around a few of my other garlic and they have much bigger bulbs so I'm going to leave them for now. I just wanted a place to sow some more bean seeds.

[soil]

don't leave them too long or they wont come up when you pull!

[stella1751]

I might be wrong but I vaguely recall that hardneck is usually better for north because they are more cold-hardy.

Falling over tops I think is for onions, though garlic can fall over too -- usually from too much moisture when they're ready to be harvested.
I harvested these (marked by the thin bamboo sticks) two days ago to make room for more sweet potatoes.

In the photo, it doesn't look 2/3 browned because I pull off the browned leaves and papery skin attached to them when cleaning off the encrusted muck (which, as I've said before, is probably earthworm casting mucus).

Yeah to the hardneck. True confessions time: I don't like to grow root crops. I can't see what they're doing, so I lose half the pleasure I take in gardening. I planted these just to see what happens. I don't know what kind they are, but someone said that is what is sold in the supermarkets, and someone else said softneck don't develop scapes, so I'm betting they are softneck.

I was darned surprised when they came up this spring. So, I probably won't experiment with hardneck. I've now grown garlic. Been there; done that. I'm a seasoned garlic grower and can add that to my resume I'd like to see them through to the end, keep a few, and give the rest to my neighbors.

It would be nice, though, if they made it through to fall, when I need garlic. Unfortunately, I fear my garlic experiment may be drawing to a close. They're not brown yet, not like yours, but I'm betting they're not far off. The very tip of one is a bit crispy. This could be because I didn't water them, too. They pretty much do their own thing and are easy to ignore. Mine have been on autopilot since the first tip erupted from the soil in March. (Which, I will admit, was pretty nifty to see.)

I finally gave them a serious soaking a few days ago. I should know by next week whether that brown tip presaged maturity or neglect