Starting planting Garlic (Germidour), recommended sowing apparently is October but weather is still a bit sunny and warm during the day and cold at night, did I plant too early?

14 days ago by Dis32 to c/gardening

Planted in pots and raised beds at September 30th.
Garlic Germidour. Apparently according to gardening websites sowing season is around October so no problems there.
Weather is still a bit sunny during the day averaging about 20+°c and cold during the night around 10-15°c'ish. It is currently October 1st, 23:43pm as of writing and posting and it is currently at 13°C if anyone wants to be specific.
Live in UK, hardiness zone is 8b (if you want to be specific).

Did I plant too early and should've waited until mid October at least or am I okay? It's literally my first time planting these and hoping for the best lol.

Lastly, would I need to invest in a poly tunnel and or covers for my garlic plants during the cold weather or are they (Garlic) hardy crops?

Thanks in advance!

EndOfLine 5 points 14 days ago

If this page is correct, you are about 2 to 3 weeks away from your first frost, so you should be fine. https://www.plantmaps.com/...

My notes on planting and growing garlic: I've always followed the rule of planting a couple of weeks before your first frost and then mulch over it. What happens is those first couple of weeks allows the garlic to establish roots and make a nice home for itself. Then the frost comes and the bulbs will focus on developing roots and not try to grow upwards. Once winter is over, everything underground should be well established and the shoots should start to pop up with the warmer weather. Keep it watered through spring and prune off the scapes (tail like growths from the center of the stalks with a pointy bulb on the end). Stop watering in early to mid summer, a couple of weeks before you plan to harvest. Once about 1/2 to 1/3 of the leaves have turned brown, you're ready to harvest.

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Dis32 4 points 14 days ago

Nicely put! That's what I imagined it'd look like I was just worried if I planted it too early or not, it's just up to nature now lol, I know it's probably common sense at this point but should I only water the garlic once every time the soil is somewhat dry during the colder months/winter?

I also have some freshly cut leaves from our tree cut a few days ago (or maybe a week ago?) would that be fine, maybe some grass clippings too? Sorry I'm really new to these things hehe

I've been watching how to grow garlic and all those things you've mentioned are included so I must be watching the right stuff, thanks! 😄

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EndOfLine 1 point 13 days ago

The leaves and grass clippings might work, just keep an eye out incase they breakdown too quickly and you need to top ofg. I've always used hay / garden straw for my garlic mulch. It lasts the winter and when I harvest the garlic I just mix it into the soil to continue to compost in place.

The one problem I keep running into with the hay is seeds, even though they are not supposed to have any, causing new hay to start growing. So there's some extra wedding that I need to do. It can be hard to distinguish from the garlic at first, but as they mature it becomes more obvious and I've learned how to more easily tell them apart.

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Dis32 1 point 13 days ago

I've got a bag full of fresh cut leaves, so hopefully that would last long, if not, I could use some grass clippings, speaking of which our grass could use a mowing right about now, maybe first thing in the morning 😅

Didn't know that about hay having "rogue" seeds in it but I guess that makes sense, I wouldn't know where to get hay where I live although I live near a farm so I could ask them if they got any spare but I don't have the social skills to randomly just turn up and ask for some lmao 😅

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hyperencabulator 1 point 13 days ago

Thank you. I screwed it up last year and I think I had both not enough hay/mulch and didn't consistently water.

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Arcanepotato 3 points 14 days ago

Its softneck? I believe they prefer to be mulched to survive the winter.

The purpose of planting in the fall is to allow the roots to establish so they can go right to growing in the spring. +/- a few weeks won't make that much of a difference. With the raised beds and containers you shouldn't be at risk of rot (as long as they have drainage).

Good luck!

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Dis32 2 points 14 days ago

Yeah, it's a soft neck. Now I gotta find some mulch to invest in somehow 😅 would freshly cut leaves be fine? We trimmed our leafy tree a little bit and could use that for mulch, unless I need to wait for the leaves to turn brown maybe?

Yeah that's what I've read too, to get them "acclimated". Yeah I'm good with the raised bed and the containers, no problems with draining and whatnot. 💯

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bigfish 4 points 14 days ago

Leaves yes. Run them over with your lawn mower to break them up first though. Some leaves, fucking maple, mat up real bad and strangle out whatever is below it.

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Simon_Shitewood 0 points 14 days ago

I haven't grown garlic myself but you're probably fine, it's meant to do all the work itself. Don't cover it, it wants the cold weather to grow nice and fat, and don't water it too much - it'll want some if there are long periods without rain, but rots easily if it gets too wet.

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Dis32 2 points 14 days ago

Yeah, I've heard they're pretty "hardy" crops to take care of so I'm guessing they become "dormant" in winter on "sleep/energy saving mode" correct me if I'm wrong lol.

But what about if the autumn/winter months have constant rain, I'm worried the crop might drown if it's watered too much, would I then need to cover it or keep it uncovered, just mulch it?

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The_v 3 points 14 days ago

Garlic is a bulb that spreads by generating bulbets (cloves).

What would happen if you planted a clove of garlic and then just left it there for 3-4 years?

It would slowly spread outwards over time with a mass of plants all clustered together. Just like daffodils etc.

It will grow based upon the environmental conditions. It's literally one of the easiest crops to grow because of it. You can plant it in July and if it's hot it will remain dormant for a month until cooler temps.

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PokiLoki 3 points 14 days ago

@The_v @Dis32
I have grown garlic 30+ yrs. I used to let some go to seed and harvest it 4 years later when it was mature, but you have to take the seed head off to avoid a field of nothing but garlic.

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Simon_Shitewood 1 point 14 days ago

Yeah I probably wasn't clear enough there - it grows perfectly fine in British weather, so don't water it unless there's a drought, the rain will do the job fine. Unless you have some kind of particularly bad soil, it should be as simple as planting bulbs and leaving them there until harvest.

I asked my dad about mulching and he said "I dunno, I always just stuck 'em in the ground", so I'm gonna say probably not necessary - when he grew it on the allotment we never lacked for garlic.

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Dis32 2 points 13 days ago

No, no, you're crystal clear tbh, I was just making sure I understood what you said so no worries there.

No problems with soil on our part so everything should be fine and dandy. Now I need to save some leaves and grass cuttings asap heh. I forgot to mention I bought the bulbs at a local garden centre so I know it's locally grown and I don't have to worry about it if it was grown in another country or if it's sprayed with pesticide of whatnot.

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