Peeling garlic a week before planting
 

I have the good fortune of being in Florence right now,and see the most amazing looking "Aglio Rosso" garlic at the market. I want to bring some home to grow, but you can only bring peeled cloves. I would end up arriving home about about three days after peeling. It would be about first week of October. I usually plant my cloves late November, but I'd put them in pots right away. It will probably be in the 70's during the day, 50's at night until late November. Heads are 1.5 euro, so not a major loss if it doesn't work. Any thoughts ?

Peeled cloves would be better in the ground then waiting to plant them later. Nice looking garlic I see no reason not to give it a try as you are allowed to bring peeled garlic back.

Thanks!

I'd definitely bring them back peeled, and plant them immediately. Seems to me like things tend to grow better in the ground than in pots.

Thank you. Unfortunately, not much can compete with my redwoods.

Those are beautiful! I would definitely bring some home and plant them right away.

Made it through customs! Planning to soak before planting, since the peels are already off, and I've had a problem with rot.

I found this on the earthboxes forum, which I value, since I grow in earth boxes. I have had a problem with rot, which I assumed was becuase the boxes are too wet in the winter. More recently someone warned me about "white rot".

[URL="http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html"]http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html[/URL]

"Preparing the Garlic for Planting
**Garlic is subject to fungal diseases and pest infestations that can be virtually undetectable until they strike. Prevention is the best way to deal with them. In our experience, garlic that is soaked in certain solutions and with the clove covers peeled off have a better chance of growing free of pathogen or pest.
**When your soil is fully ready to be planted, take the bulbs you want to plant and break them apart into their individual cloves (Being sure to keep each variety separate from others. Soak each varieties' cloves in water containing one heaping tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and liquid seaweed to protect them from fungus as well as give them an energy boost. Leave the cloves in the soda water overnight or long enough for the clove covers to loosen so the liquid comes into contact with the surfaces of the cloves. Garlics clove covers can contain fungal spores, or conidia or the eggs of pests such as mites and are best discarded rather than planted since the first thing the cloves do is to shed them, anyway. The baking soda helps neutralize the fungi. Commercial growers don't have time to peel cloves bare but gardeners do.
**The cloves should then be soaked in rubbing alcohol or 140 proof vodka for three or four minutes and then planted immediately. The alcohol kills pests and pest eggs and any pathogens the first soaking missed. Every time I have done this, the treated garlic turned out better than the untreated control group. Alcohols are on the National Organic Program accepted list and baking soda is accepted..."

The original source

[URL="http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html"]http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html[/URL]

Do you know where the garlic was grown was it in Italy?
The reason I ask is because I was doing research on why garlic was so expensive here in the US even though much of it is grown in China.

Worth

I assume it was in Italy, presumably since they were sold at an outdoor market. I can't be sure though.

This is not the article I was looking for but it references the same idea ( "In Europe, smuggling garlic in from China is a big business, often wreaking havoc on the market price of garlic.")

"Chinese Garlic, and Why the Italians Aren't Buying It"

[url]http://grandvoyageitaly.weebly.com/the-piazza/chinese-garlic-and-why-the-italians-arent-buying-it[/url]

Makes me wonder though; what do you consider "so expensive "? I was thinking the sign in the picture reads 1.5 euro per litre, but I think it meant each. I didn't care!

I hate to stereotype people unless it is in a good way so I am going to try and stereotype Italians in a good way.
From observations in life I have found not only Italians but many other people in Europe care one heck of a lot more about their food than folks in the US.

If it wasn't for protection tariffs and customs laws China could flood the US market and run what is left of California garlic farmers out of work.
I dont mind free trade and am all for it but not garbage that is of poor quality or out right poison.

Worth

'assumed was because the boxes are too wet in the winter'

I think that is what happened to my garlic last season. I did get garlic but most of it was smaller than normal. The only change I made was adding compost to the mixture which made it heavier than usual and take longer to dry out.

Good to read about soaking it. Thanks for posting that though my garlic is already planted for this year. I planted a few cloves from some store bought garlic that came from Argentina to see how it would do here.

The upstate NY farmer I bought my first seed garlic from gave me those same soaking instruction. I've used them every year and so far the only problems my garlic has had are all weather related.

I'm still growing German White originally from his seed stock and it typically holds and produces more consistently than any other new stock I've tried.

I suppose I have been fortunate because all the years I have grown garlic I just stick the cloves in the ground and they just grow. I leave a lot in the ground and they sprout and grow quite well. This has been happening for years,so I doubt I will change unless problems develops. It is good to have the information though.

Jon

Since your cloves are peeled, there's nowhere for the baddies to hide. :lol:
I just cracked my garlic to plant tomorrow. I was as careful as could be to choose my best for seed and kept them apart from the others. And most of the cloves have nice tight wrappers and look as perfect as can be.
But sure enough, one or two bulbs had troubles and won't be planted.:no:
One bulb the mites had obviously found their way into the loose wrappers and were having a party. The mites are not as scary as I thought, they aren't flyers and don't move around on invisible threads, just slow very slow crawling, so their damages can be controlled pretty easily (not like spider mites.. aphids!! or thrips..) You can spot them by the rusty orange trail they leave on the wrappers. And see them with a hand lens.

And I had another bulb in my softneck stock with some black mold (looks like) around the base of the cloves. Not gonna risk planting that either.

I think I may try the alcohol dip for the stock that had the mite problem, in case there was any transfer.

Please let me know how it went!

Scuzi my ignorance, but what in Sam Hill does peeled garlic have to do with the price of tea in china?

Why not leave the wrapper on, surely customs...........

Shrinkrap, I didn't plant anything with mite damage (that I could see) but I did the alcohol dip 3-4 minutes before planting, on the cloves from that same stock of bulbs that were stored with the bad one. Didn't dip the other ones that looked good, will see what happens.

The original stock that I planted last year from the farm (3 kinds) had been soaked in soda and seaweed but didn't have an alcohol dip. This time I just didn't have time to do the whole rigamarole but figured the alcohol is most important for tiny pests. I mulch with seaweed anyway and there's some layered into the bed I built so they'll be getting that as time goes on.

MyFoot, the point of peeling wrappers to cross borders is pretty clear, when you realize that pests do hide and live in the wrappers! ;) And fungus too I suppose, if anywhere.
At least it's pretty cool you could bring them back peeled! :D

[QUOTE=My Foot Smells;595720]Scuzi my ignorance, but what in Sam Hill does peeled garlic have to do with the price of tea in china?

Why not leave the wrapper on, surely customs...........[/QUOTE]

I sure wouldn't want to be the source of some sort of agricultural epidemic here in California! I seem to remember reading that the Mediterranean Fruit Fly here in the US could be tracked to one traveler!

Here is an old thread from Chowhound, but it doesn't a dress peeled garlic.

[URL="http://www.chowhound.com/post/customs-questions-353902"]http://www.chowhound.com/post/customs-questions-353902[/URL]

[QUOTE=My Foot Smells;595720]Scuzi my ignorance, but what in Sam Hill does peeled garlic have to do with the price of tea in china?

Why not leave the wrapper on, surely customs...........[/QUOTE]


When trading you get less garlic for the tea you trade to China that was brought from India if it is peeled. :twisted:

[QUOTE=Shrinkrap;595299]Made it through customs! Planning to soak before planting, since the peels are already off, and I've had a problem with rot.

I found this on the earthboxes forum, which I value, since I grow in earth boxes. I have had a problem with rot, which I assumed was becuase the boxes are too wet in the winter. More recently someone warned me about "white rot".

[URL="http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html"]http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html[/URL]

"Preparing the Garlic for Planting
**Garlic is subject to fungal diseases and pest infestations that can be virtually undetectable until they strike. Prevention is the best way to deal with them. In our experience, garlic that is soaked in certain solutions and with the clove covers peeled off have a better chance of growing free of pathogen or pest.
**When your soil is fully ready to be planted, take the bulbs you want to plant and break them apart into their individual cloves (Being sure to keep each variety separate from others. Soak each varieties' cloves in water containing one heaping tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and liquid seaweed to protect them from fungus as well as give them an energy boost. Leave the cloves in the soda water overnight or long enough for the clove covers to loosen so the liquid comes into contact with the surfaces of the cloves. Garlics clove covers can contain fungal spores, or conidia or the eggs of pests such as mites and are best discarded rather than planted since the first thing the cloves do is to shed them, anyway. The baking soda helps neutralize the fungi. Commercial growers don't have time to peel cloves bare but gardeners do.
**The cloves should then be soaked in rubbing alcohol or 140 proof vodka for three or four minutes and then planted immediately. The alcohol kills pests and pest eggs and any pathogens the first soaking missed. Every time I have done this, the treated garlic turned out better than the untreated control group. Alcohols are on the National Organic Program accepted list and baking soda is accepted..."

The original source

[URL="http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html"]http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/planting-and-growing-the-garlic.html[/URL][/QUOTE]

Hi

I tried garlic at my last house in an earthbox and lost all of it due to rot, those things in my opinion hold onto too much water for overwintering, only time I didn't grow garlic in the ground. A large plain jane pot may do better.

The first time I grew garlic I also did the complete peeling and dunking of cloves. All my garlic survived and came up except for 2 cloves I think. I don't peel and soak anymore though, just that first year and *except for the earthbox's, I haven't had any problems.

Good find on that garlic.

Here they are about a month after harvest. I left some too long, the wrappers split, and I ate them. The ones that grew hydroponically after about two months seemed to do the best.

Glad to see your efforts paid off!

They look great! Will you be keeping some to replant?

The garlic that I dipped in alcohol (an old tincture actually likely a bit less than 40%) is looking good but still far from harvest - they are just beginning to peep the tips of the first scapes.

Besides the alcohol dip, I had some porcelain bulbs with minor mite damage on exterior wrappers that I treated and cured differently. I took them down to a clean wrapper, cut the greens off leaving about eight inches of stem, trimmed the roots to an inch or less, and used a soft brush to scrub just the root area briefly under hot running water. Then I stuck them upside down to cure - which they did very well. I ate a few and saw no sign of mites on them - in fact they looked the best of the bunch so I decided to plant just five cloves - with no alcohol dip - to see whether they were viable and mite free. They all came and are looking as good as the rest at this point. So if they come out clean as the others or better, I might try this again if I have a mitey year.

The porcelains which were so appealing to mites last year, are the tall ones on the right in this pic.

Speaking of looking great, those look amazing! I might keep one, but they are sort of small. I might see what Creole are available around here in the fall. I especially liked that they were Creole, which should do well here, but I have not easily found them in years past. In researching these, it seems they might be a bit easier to find now, if you don't wait until the fall.