From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   fos@sdf.org wrote:   
      
   > is getting close to planting time for garlic. which is mid-october-ish   
   > here in western new york.   
   >   
   > i'm learning from mistakes and hoping to increase my yield in 2023. in   
   > 2021 we planted 120 cloves. out of that we harvested 87 bulbs. during   
   > curing some went soft and we were left with 76 bulbs. the largest were   
   > set aside to plant another 120 cloves. we have plenty to left to enjoy   
   > eating but not enough.   
   >   
   > i used shredded straw as a mulch for the winter and think i put it down   
   > too early and pulled it off too late. there were quite a few plants   
   > which sprouted but never made it to the surface through the mulch. it   
   > matted heavily over the winter. a few plants that crawled around a bit   
   > underneath trying to get out survived but grew into 2 clove mini-garlic.   
   >   
   > is it wrong to expect a better yield using a better methods. 63% seems   
   > quite low.   
      
     that is pretty low.  i may not always get perfect bulbs   
   back but i rarely lose a lot of what i plant.   
      
     i don't mulch at all.  hard neck garlic.  normally plant   
   anytime between Oct 1st and the day before the ground   
   freezes.  it is very hardy stuff - i've never been able   
   to kill it off.   
      
     mainly for us it is a matter of me remembering to get it   
   done.   
      
     this past year i didn't plant enough so i'll increase my   
   cloves this time around.   
      
     full sun, good drainage, reasonable soil quality.  keep   
   watered and weeded.  i don't trim scapes.  the largest   
   cloves planted give back nice sized bulbules so i grow   
   those to give away to people who want to plant garlic.   
   it is one of the most popular things i have to give out.   
      
     i better put it on my list of things to get done the   
   next few weeks as after that i'm likely to be too busy   
   with other things.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)