Problem with GARLIC????

dawnfuller

Hi,
I planted some garlic on my allotment before the frost + snow.
I checked the depth of planting + spacing.
Been back over the lottie since the snow and most of the cloves of garlic are now clearly visible on the surface of the soil. Green shoots + roots + all.
Do I gently push them back down below the surface ?
Do I mound up soil to cover them from Squirrels + rabbits + birds?
Do I leave them ???

Please help

adouglasmhor

mound them up.

Monkeysee_monkeydo

It just sounds like your soils a bit loose. Just replant at double their depth and firm them in a bit with your hands. Then just let them get on with doing what they do best.

valk_scot

Either birds have pulled them out or frost has pushed them up. Don't push them hard back into the ground as you'll break the root plate. Make a little depression and gently lower the clove back in then mound soil over.

I have a lot of birds on my allotment so I always plant garlic, onion sets and shallots a little deeper than recommended. The trick with birds is to get the garlic roots growing long enough to grip the soil before the green "worm" of the top shoot breaks the surface. I have very crumbly soil though.

foxgloves

I also suspect a combionation of frost and birds. The usual culprits tend to be woodpigeons, but they are just scoffing machines & would probably have eaten it too. Blackbirds pull things about while trying to find things to eat, and I've certainly seen them chucking smaller spring bulbs around in my garden, so if you see a blackbird watching next time you're at your allotment, he or she could be the guilty party. Nice birds though.

kazwookie

Mound them up, good luck.

Grebe

Mound them up, it is possible that they have thrown up a wee shoot and the birds have thought .........." Yum" and yanked them to the surface, on the other hand you have to remember they are a member of the onion family and they bliddy love to come up to the surface to say hello. ( As I know from my endless days mounding up zillions of shallots I planted after going on a tantrum about how expensive they were at the supermarket)

Yorkshire_Lavender

dawnfuller wrote: »

Hi,
I planted some garlic on my allotment before the frost + snow.
I checked the depth of planting + spacing.
Been back over the lottie since the snow and most of the cloves of garlic are now clearly visible on the surface of the soil. Green shoots + roots + all.
Do I gently push them back down below the surface ?
Do I mound up soil to cover them from Squirrels + rabbits + birds?
Do I leave them ???

Please help

Gently push down the roots - Garlic cloves need to be planted 2" deep. The green shoot are ok to be visible now.

fdavid_2

They are fairly robust and can be set back in the soil provided you take care not to damage the roots. You can also mound as others have said but winter rains will tend to flatten the mounds.

The problem can be avoided next year by firming the surface somewhat after planting. This reduces the effect of soil settling.

adouglasmhor

I admit I tend to mound up as I have very heavy clay soil (you could throw posts out of it) it would also be heavy to push back into. Lighter soil you are probably better with YL and fd's advice.