Quote:
Originally Posted by TomNJ
Not bad. For consistently large bulbs you should remove the scapes when in the curl, and keep the bed well weeded. Garlic and onions don't play well with weeds - having such small leaf area they need all the water, nutrients, and especially sunlight they can get.
I pull mine when I am down to four mostly green leaves. This can vary by variety, but works well in my garden. I only dug a few so far and they are running 2.25 - 2.75 inches, not bad for the early maturing ones. I'll start digging in earnest later this coming week.
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I got the remaining scapes off, and took out some of the garbage. The grass is from seeds in the straw mulch (oat grass?) so they come out easily. It was not the certified weed free straw, which was $12 bale and wasn't exactly weed free last year. The problem is that every time I leave the garden, a fresh batch seems to grow back overnight. All the rain we are having, combined with the liquid miracle grow I used is keeping the weeds very happy.
I didn't mulch the onions with straw, and that bed got overgrown with real weeds. Those are in the lower portion of the photo. The onions shaded by the weeds and are almost nothing. I weeded a small section right around the equinox, and those onions are showing some promise of recovering. Just a learning experience. I was mistaken in thinking wet straw would rot onions.
Now comes two weeks of rain - free sunny July heat. Yay for the garlic, but not for me.
- Lisa