From: nowhere@nearyou.com   
      
   On 9/27/2022 6:33 PM, songbird wrote:   
   > 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   
   I think not cutting off the scapes means you are missing out on a wonderful   
   garlic by-product of Scape Pesto. And you WILL get bigger bulbs that way. I   
   cut my scapes off when they tips have made it 3/4 of the way back to   
   vertical. I keep the stem and toss everything from the blossom out.   
      
   We planted 2 x 96 of our biggest cloves and got garlic on them all. And the   
   scapes processed with olive oil, parmesan cheese, a bit of salt and nut of   
   your choice (walnut works for me) and we got over 24 cups of pesto. Instant   
   garlic bread spread, put on crackers or with pasta. Yum   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)