GARLIC...saving bulbs to plant in Autumn?

[Maddie106]

I'm now using some of my garlic that was planted last October. It's still growing, but I refuse to buy it at the supermarket!
I've also added the leaves/stem from the early harvest to stir-fries with success.
I've also harvested some garlic "Scrapes" , which were fantastic chopped up and cooked in an omlette.

My question is this.....can I use some of my home grown bulbs to plant in autumn, or am I asking for trouble?
They are from hardneck garlic I bought from a seed merchant last year. (can't remenber the variety)

They were BTW the only thing that the free-ranging hens DIDN'T manage to eat at the back end of last year, before I confined the darlings into a chicken run! (They saw off the sprouts/leeks/onions and went mad about the broad beans!!)

[zazen999]

Yes you can.

[rustylady]

If they've grown well and had no disease then you can certainly replant your own garlic

[bluemoon]

I always save the two best looking bulbs. Unlike most plants, which can take decades to aclimatize to your soil and climate, garlic does it quickly, which in theory at least, means that saving your own garlic is probably going to give you the best crops.

[Sue]

Can I ask an additional question, got my best ever garlic this year and although the bulbs are fine it did get rust very badly, does this matter if I want to plant my own bulbs this year? It's a soft necked garlic, label washed blank so don't know what it was except it's a garlic with a purple blush.

Sue

[colser]

Maddie -- i would recommened saving your best looking bulbs for re-planting next year. (unlike bluemoon i re-planted 15 bulbs,3 different types from my store, possibly garlic overload but i love it )

Sue -- i had very bad rust last year and still re-planted from it, looks like a monster crop for this harvest so i don't think it makes much difference

[bluemoon]

We always get rust on our garlic and leeks, it doesn't seem to bother either much.
15 bulbs, Colser!!!!! Two is more than enough for me, I can't stand the stuff, won't have it in the house and only grow it for the kids who have to come to the lottie to collect it. If they don't collect it then tough coz it's not going in my car! When we went on holiday last year we left number 2 son in charge at home, when we arrived back I opened the fridge to find 2 garlic cloves there!!!!!!! OH thought I'd found a dead rat.... the whole screaming, shouting, retching thing. And then I couldn't even have a cuppa because I was scared it had tainted the milk.

[colser]

no one in my work gets that close to me as a generally stink of the stuff (or should that be )