To be honest, I’m not that impressed with the garlic that I got this year from Mr Fothergills. When I unwrapped the 4 bulbs when it arrived about half of each bulb was rotten, and the few that I did manage to plant, it only added up to 28 cloves. It should have been more than double that. Then out of those 28, I had to throw away about 8 today, as they had gone mouldy and not sprouted or even produced any roots. So that’s a bit crap to be honest. Even some of the cloves that I planted outside today seemed a bit soft, so I’m not holding out for anything major this year. Anyway, apart from that I managed to dig over another bed, which is rather large, as I’m going to start to put my onions in tomorrow, and them the potatoes can go in. I’m hoping to get all the onions in by friday. You may be thinking “How long does she think that’ll take?”, but I do have about 250 to plant in straight rows! I’ve also had a “Live Chat” with someone at Tesco, as I had to change my number over to my new phone. It’s the first time I’ve done one of those, and it was quite interesting. I’m no longer a “Live Chat Virgin”.
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Clairesallotment's Blog 
Hi Claire lovely post you should of contacted the company and told them and I sure they would of given you some more for free
It may be too late to get any more started now. I’ll just get them from somewhere else next year.
True
Hi Claire, can you grow Garlic from a normal old Garlic bulb which has Sprouted ? As i always buy packs of three bulbs for cooking and never seem to use them all before they are going off. Also, this year i have got my hands on some James Wong’s Inca Berries seeds. Have you ever grown them and if so any tips ? Reading about them folks do say they are much like Tomatoes to grow and are one of these “super-fruits”
If it’s one that you’ve grown then yes. But I’ve heard that you should use one that you get from the supermarket as you don’t know what has been sprayed on it whilst it was growing. Inca berries are also known as Cape Gooseberries, and I’ve grown those. I grew mine in the greenhouse, and they grow really easily. They taste amazing.
Hi Claire. I planted garlic in spring for the first time (about a month ago) but usually plant in autumn and get a great crop. Forgot this year! Do you normally plant in spring, and if so do you get a decent crop?
There are 2 types of garlic, autumn planting and spring planting. I usually get spring planting. I have planted in the autumn before, and one year they were brilliant, but the season before last they didn’t work at all. I’m not sure if it was because the winter was so cold for so long or something else. I did miss a few cloves from last years haul, and they’ve started sprouting again, so I’ve just left them in the soil. They’re sometimes called “Hard neck” or “Soft neck”. The Hard is the autumn planting, and the Soft is the spring. I usually do get a decent crop with the spring planting, they did really well last year.
Did the Tesco person recognise you when you ‘Live chatted’? Heehee! I don’t actually know what it is.
Anyhow…allotments! I recently swapped my plot for a smaller one, it’s closer to the gate and near the other plots so it’s perfect. I decided to test out this ‘no dig’ thing, have you ever had a bash at it?
Xxx
To be honest I didn’t know what “Live Chat” was until it came up on the computer. I’ve never tried the no dig method. If I ever have to start again from scratch I may give it a go, just to see how it works. It does look really good.
This is exactly what we were looking for and the content is awesome.Keep up the good work.Thanks for your helpfull tips,Cheers!!
I’m glad you find my blog useful. Happy gardening.
Hi Claire,
We get our seeds from DT Browns. The Garlic that we got from them there were no rotten ones and every clove has grown!!!! I was so surprised.
I usually get mind from Thompson and Morgan, but thought I’d have a change this year. Won’t be getting them from Mr Fothergill’s again. I’ll have to try DT Browns next year. I have got seeds from them before and they did really well.
Hi Claire, enjoyed reading your post! Thats ashame about the garlic. How is yours getting on? I planted some for the first time this year and have sprouted in about 2 weeks? Is that about right?As not done before unsure if its normal! Thanks for all your help xxx
The garlic that wasn’t mould is doing quite well. I missed harvesting some last year, and that’s growing really well, so hopefully I’ll have enough to keep us going for a while. Yes they sprout very quickly. Once they’re settled in the soil make sure you water them regularly so the bulbs grow. they are ready to harvest when the tops go brown and droop. this is usually from July onwards. They can stay in the soil until you are ready to harvest them. But make sure you dry the bulbs out thoroughly before you store them.
Lovely thanks for all your help! So glad I found your blog, so much useful information!xxxx
I’m glad you enjoy it. Have a great season.
Get your garlic from a good garden centre or garden shop, you can see what condition they are in before you buy.
I thoroughly inspected mine before I bought it.