From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   T wrote:   
   > Hi Songbird,   
   >   
   > If I like the Trader Joe's garlic I just planted,   
   > I was thinking of letting a few go to seed.   
   >   
   > They are right next to my green onions.  Will the   
   > cross pollinate?  They are similar families.   
   >   
   > If they turn out to be soft neck, will they flower   
   > and seed?   
   >   
   > Does garlic take two years to bulb up from seed?   
      
     from seed three or more years, but of course   
   depending upon variety and if there are even seeds   
   available as many garlics now do not get seeds at   
   all.  it's possible to find some garlics that will   
   bloom and get seeds but you'll have to look for them   
   and even if they do bloom and you do get seeds they're   
   not normally a very high rate of germination.  it's   
   something talked about in places.   
      
     even from a large scape it will take several years   
   to get a decent sized bulb from some garlics.  even   
   when i plant a large scape (which is huge in comparison   
   to a seed in terms of starting energy) the first year i   
   may get a single (an undifferentiated clove) or a tiny   
   bulb with small cloves if i were to dig it up again and   
   check it out.  most the time i'm not planting scapes   
   any longer (i try to give them away to people who want   
   them and otherwise i chop them up and use them as worm   
   food or bury them deeply in a garden because i don't   
   really need any more garlic growing around here :) ).   
      
     i get large bulbs (3-5 inches in diameter) because   
   i plant large cloves to begin with.  the small cloves   
   we eat.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
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