Garlic, done!

I left some of my Autumn planting stuff a bit late last year and then struggled planting in frozen ground (also struggled with planting spring garlic in frozen ground!), so I've got planting garlic on my to do list for this & next week, well it is October tomorrow.

 

Half of mine is up - trouble is I dont remember if its the new seed garlic or last years best bulb saved.. must label things..

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I've still got some to plant and I'm wondering about planting it through mulch sheet which I'm a big fan of (because I can do lazy composting and don't need to weed).

@Dave W grows his leeks through weed barrier, so thought I'd try garlic planted through small X shaped holes cut in it.

I believe it's important to try a few new things every year and also want to try lettuces transplanted into holes through Mypex barrier and maybe clumps of spring onions.

 

Found this http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/gardening/garlic-adds-a-kick-247370.html

Will also try planting spring sown onion sets through it.

 

I tried that (rather unsuccessfully) with onions this year, crop was poor and I'll revert to lines of onions and hoeing next year.

That's not to say it wont work with Garlic though.

Steve...

 

I hope it will be OK as I'm planting 160 cloves through Mypex. I tried burning holes using a gas blowtorch but it didn't work for me (although I've seen pics of rows of neat holes). My pics to follow (forgot to put a camera in my pocket today)

@Steve R Did you use plants or sets and were they planted though X cuts or round holes? I'm planting 2 adjacent beds with the same varieties, with one bed through Mypex as a comparison and might do the same with spring planted onion sets.

 

It's probably over fussy but when I make holes in membrane I use a gas blow lamp to heat the end of a bit of alloy scaffold pole and use it to melt a hole. I can do three or four holes before reheating the tube. Makes a nice neat job, but a quick blast with direct flame might be a lot faster. I use a long plank to guide the straight lines and burn holes down each side of it before flipping it over for the next row.

 

I've only had that when it's been an awful wet summer and it destroyed my crop. If I spot it early enough I spray with Listerine/Baking Soda/Oil/WU liquid mix. (probably banned by the EU). Making sure they're not in a shady spot helps.

 

I have severe rust too. Was going to check whether any of the varieties (due to ordering cock-up last Autumn I have several ...) are less oxidised! than others. I can't see that they have bulbed up much / at all - might be the mild winter?

I also have some that were not harvested Oops! They have bulked up beautifully, already died down (I probably ought to lift them??) and possibly have less rust (perhaps they were maturing ahead of the infection arriving??

 

I found a couple like that whilst weeding an autumn re-planted garlic bed, for some reason they'd worked themselves almost to the surface.

Otherwise a great garlic season for me.