transplanting garlic

[gingerneil]

I have about 10 bulbs in a big pot - they are about 6" tall now, and have beenin place since early December.
Can I transplant them into a raised bed now, or will they hate being moved ?

[gojiberry]

Depends more on the size of the pot they are in. If the pot is big enough to see them through to the end of their cycle then leave them in the pot. If they will definitly need to be transplanted then the sooner the better. I only planted some garlic up last week and it is shooting well so transplanting some now is not going to be a problem. Just make sure you water it in well and try to cause as little root disturbance as possible.

[gingerneil]

not so much that the pot is too small for them, more that I just want to move them as there is plenty of space in the beds, and I could fancy using the pot for something else.
Should I 'puddle them in' rather than filling the holes with soil - ie as with Leeks ?
Also, should I top dress/mulch garlic ? I have lots of manure and compost that I could use, just not sure if I should...

[zazen999]

Hi

I am putting loads of garlic/shallotts/onions into my raised beds that have been in pots over the winter [wanted to keep and eye on them as the wildlife around here love disappearing with them when they go straight onto the beds].

I just tip the pot [making sure not to bend any leaves], separate out and pop them into deep dug holes. I don't puddle them in like leeks, but i do give them a jolly good watering in. No additional manure or compost; i didn't think they needed or liked it? I do however give all mine a good woodash sprinkling eery few weeks from our lovely woodburner.

I use mine to mark out the separate spaces in the raised beds; as I continuously plant out my beds with crops year round - so the alliums mark out the squares within the beds so that I know what is planted where...it looks better than bits of wood to separate out the sections.

Just make sure that you plant them at the same depth as they were in the pot.

P.S. onions don't seem to mind being moved; They just take longer to get to where they need to be if they are moved too often. The only thing I have found is that they sometimes think they are in their second year, and produce a long middle stem which will flower if left - you just need to keep an eye out for that as they will grow a hard middle if they get to that stage. The sooner they go into their final place and get the warmth of the sun on them the better IMHO!

[Paulottie]

Alliums are all prone to bolting, those that do will produce smaller bulbs that don't store so well. I am not sure if they will be more prone if moved.

I have always set mine out in Nov. they benefit from the frost (good drainage essential tho, as usual). It aids clove formation and get the roots down so they get away quickly come spring. I know you can grow some in pots to use fresh in spring but can't honestly see the point of starting them off in pots ...just extra work? as they are perfectly hardy providing you are growing an appropriate variety.

The roots are lot like leeks, in that they only resprout from basel plate if broken but are pretty tough.

[Newbie]

I have about 24 garlic cloves growing in little pots as i have heavy clay soil & didn't want them to rot over winter. I'm planning on putting them into my beds sometime soon as the roots are starting to appear through the bottom of the pots. I was under the impression that its ok to do this - but as the name suggests, i am a complete newbie!

[gingerneil]

I use mine to mark out the separate spaces in the raised beds; as I continuously plant out my beds with crops year round - so the alliums mark out the squares within the beds so that I know what is planted where...it looks better than bits of wood to separate out the sections.

Now there's an idea ! I think I'll have a go at that....

[Snadger]

I transplanted some garlic about a fortnight ago and they are all sitting up like little soldiers!
Garlic is one member of the allium family which actually HAS to throw up a seed stem for the cloves to form!
I forsee no problems with transplanting it!

[Paulottie]

Garlic is one member of the allium family which actually HAS to throw up a seed stem for the cloves to form!

I'm not sure about that one, a proportion always seem to bolt but I can't say that I've noticed they are the better bulbs with the best clove division. Certainly more awkward to plait too, tough stalk. usually use them first.

In my logic, the plant needs to put its energies into swelling the bulb rather than flowering.