too late to plant garlic?

[joanne9071]

hello newbie here,
I have been given a bulb of garlic to plant, but is it too late to plant it now? or should I wait 'tll winter?

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Joanne.

No, your not too late to plant your garlic. You can plant any time til March.
It is best planted in November, but you'll still get a crop. Good luck.

[joanne9071]

cheers,
I shall get it in tomorrow.

[Eyren]

You need to get it in soon, as they need about a month in cold ground in order to make each clove split into more cloves, instead of just fattening up - but if your plot is wet (which I guess is likely in Wales!), planting in November could just lead to rotting. Later this month (snow permitting) is ideal - mine will go in next weekend, fingers crossed!

[selfraising]

Hi
Sorry to hijack this thread
Just wondered..how long does garlic need to stay in the ground for before you can harvest it? Last year I planted some and when the leaves started to turn yellow, I pulled them up but the bulbs were quite small and you couldn't seperate the cloves properly. I think I pulled them up in July. Also could I have still used these bulbs for cooking?

[Digger-07]

I hope its not too late, mine only went in last week.

[BarleySugar]

The weather is forecast to be cold all through Feb, so I wouldn't think you are too late, and the catalogues are still selling for a spring planting as well.

Selfraising, I usually plant mine Oct/Nov and they're ready the end July. This will be the fourth year i've grown from my own saved bulbs, always choosing the biggest, and the bulbs have been getting better each year. If you leave them in the ground once the leaves have turned the bulbs will break into individual cloves, and if you miss any they will start growing in autumn, self sown.

[joanne9071]

thanks for the advice guys
Jo

[Alice]

If you want to plant garlic in November in ground that's wet then drill the ground up into V shaped rows (like earthing up potatoes) and plant the garlic into the top of the V's.
That helps with the drainage.