Most puzzled friends. First time I've grown garlic, and thought I'd done my homework, did everything suggested, well manured (well-aged) spot, deeply cultivated soil, raised beds for added good drainage, bought good stock, planted...well, perhaps this is the one thing I didn't do according to Hoyle. I didn't plant it in the fall. It was offered in the spring and that's when I planted it. Thing is, some of them, after growing well and looking beautiful for months now, suddenly they're apparently rotting at root level and kinda falling out of the soil.
What the heck is happening to my lovely garlic?!
Melis--chagrined in chillicothe.
Garlic Problem! help?
Melis this is definitely a Darius or Defoe question.
If they don't pop in soon I'll give them a shout.
Ric
Okay, Ric. I appreciate it. As a further description, they've grown to the point where they resemble spring green onions, that is, they are long and white, but not yet clove-shaped at the end, and whatever it is, it's happening to my shallots as well as my garlic. The roots appear to have liquified.
Generally I have highly rich, well-draining soil, wonderful tilth, rich black stuff. I water regularly and don't think I overwatered...I have successfully grown lots of other things, currently there are potatoes, chard, basil, peppers big, lusty tomato plants and some lettuce hiding under the tomatoes, apparently successfully growing in the same soil with no problems I can see.
... well time to start shouting then.
I gave darius a shout.
I'm not sure I have any idea what the problem is... I have always planted garlic and shallots in the fall. Fall planting allows the clove to put out roots before the tops die back for winter. Then lots of growth underground happens in early spring.
I have had a few rot in the ground from poor drainage but that doesn't seem to be your problem. What color are the tops? Still green, or yellowing? I suppose it's possible the soil is too rich, or at least too high in N. Did you add minerals (greensand, rock dust, or azomite)? Most of the alliums need a good mineral base and fertilizers/compost don't supply it...
I dug my garlic about a month ago, and half the shallots last week... the tops were yellowing and falling over on more than half of them.
I'll watch for your comments...
They're starting to look a bit droopy and some are starting to look a bit yellow, others still lusty and green. Description applies to both garlic and shallots. Should I perhaps have stored them in fridge until fall?
I'd be inclined to dig the ones that are yellowing/droopy. Pick a few of the largest heads and store them somewhere cool (like a basement corner, or under the house if you don't have a root cellar but not the fridge) to replant in the fall. You should at least side-dress what's planted now with some trace minerals, and try to work more in before replanting.
I have 3 Word documents I can send you if you give me an email address. One is on treating and preventing a bacterial soft rot that alliums get; the other 2 are application rates for azomite and greensand.
Darius I forgot to tell you.
We harvested the Garlic you gave us.
Appears to have firmed up nicely and did get a little larger.
I'll be brushing the dirt off today and will get a picture.
Cool, Thanks Ric
Melissande, I am located about 80 miles southeast of Chillicothe so my experience may be helpful to you. I typically fall-plant my garlic mid-October and harvest during the last week of June into the first week of July. (This year I had all of my garlic harvested by June 29th.) So I think your garlic started dying down at the proper time for your area given that you spring planted and your area is a little north of mine. But your garlic should have all been ready to harvest within 10 days or so. As a comparison for harvest times, Ron Wilson "In the Garden" had a caller that grew about 100000 garlic plants near Cleveland. The caller said he harvests about the first week of July through maybe the middle of July.
I suspect the soil was too rich and moist for the garlic getting close to the harvest time. I follow an old recommendation to stop watering about 2 weeks prior to the harvest period. I have clay soil with a moderate amount of organic matter and it cracks if there is no water for more than a week, but this seems OK with the garlic. The bulbs and roots come out looking good. The cloves can be susceptible to (fungal?) diseases, so I am guessing having a well manured moist soil when the cloves and their covering should be drying is the cause of the rotting problem.
I would not plant in the fall the garlic you harvest this summer (assuming you get any cloves worth harvesting) if they show any signs of disease, but if they look good they should be OK. Don't give up. One of the most rewarding things I like about growing garlic is seeing the shoots emerge in the middle of winter. This year I had shoots come out and were about 1" tall in the second week of January.
By the way, what variety did you try? Was it a soft neck or hard neck type?