TorontoJoe
Administrator
They're beautiful! But yeah, that's a lot of scratch. What's Powerball up to this week? 
Nice surprise in the garden this morning
- Thread starter Figgerlickinggood
- Start date
TorontoJoe
Administrator
I just can't imagine prepping a large bed by hand anymore. I'm not getting any younger. When I'm done turning over just my 90 foot tomato bed in the spring I'm ready for a nap.
Poplee
Well-known member
Here is something to dig holes for figs.
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Figgerlickinggood
Well-known member
@Jigfig I just did a walk about in the backyard and I saw those pesky squirrels been digging now in the garden bed right next to my garlic. Suddenly I noticed that the row of garlic that didn't come up, they have come up now and growing fast. This is a nice surprise for me. I thought they didn't make it.
Figgerlickinggood
Well-known member
Garlic will grow in a grow bag very nicely. You could probably fit 4/5 in a 10 gal size.
ktrain
Moderator
Not a bad idea at all, I used to have a bunch of grow bags...might have to order some more.
Figgerlickinggood
Well-known member
How long for garlic to sprout from the ground and be ready for harvest?Garlic is definitely worth it. I find it very satisfying. It’s easy to grow and critters don’t touch. It matures so early that even here I can use the same beds for a second crop. After harvest I mix in a bit of compost and direct sow something like beans or peas.
What’s a tractor go for these days?
Jigfig
Well-known member
Very cool. lol so now we’re back to just picking our favorites for which is the soaked and which isn’t. Awesome that they all sprouted for you!
TorontoJoe
Administrator
They generally pop out of the ground end of March and I'm harvesting end of July.
Depends where you live. I planted out garlic in November.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
I basically plant my garlic as late as I can while the ground is still workable. I actually don't know how bad it is if you plant too early and it sprouts before winter.
The hardnecks seem to really like the cold. It has to be the most maintenance-free thing that I grow.
Oh! And I promise this is 100% true.... since I've started growing garlic I have not seen a single vampire here.... Not one!
Mine started sprouting before it got really cold and survived a few 8-degree F nights in a really small grow bag. Still trucking.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
I moved to North Carolina from Southern California in 2024. This will be my first garlic harvest here if it succeeds. I didn't do the math but I think we're close to or beyond the hardneck cutoff here in NC, so I refrigerated the bulbs before planting, just in case. (We had a really abnormally cold winter here though, so it probably would have been okay without refrigeration.) We'll see how they turn out.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
Thanks! So do I!
TorontoJoe
Administrator
Yes, surprisingly enough I just shoved some supermarket cloves into 2x2 patch of alkaline desert clay and that summer we had a bumper crop! I wouldn't have tried it except my neighbor told me his dad (who lived there before he died) used to grow a lot of garlic literally across the fence from where I eventually planted it. I'll see if I can dig up a photo.
(That was softneck garlic of course)
TorontoJoe
Administrator
Thank goodness! I mean... because of the vampires!
Would love to see some pictures. I hear some softnecks get scapes. Did you get any there?
Would love to see some pictures. I hear some softnecks get scapes. Did you get any there?