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bower · October 27, 2016

I am only a couple years into the garlic growing, but I think it may depend on the variety, whether it affects bulb size to remove the scapes.
This year I was growing up some Persian Star from rounds (2nd year). A couple kept their scapes and were much smaller bulbs than their sibs without. I also saw much smaller bulbs on my large porcelain Argentina with the scapes left on for bulbil production.
But the Spanish Roja that I left scapes on had bigger bulbs than I expected, especially since a couple of them were doubles. They were about full size anyway.

I would be surprised though if you didn't cut the scapes to sell as part of a commercial garlic venture, especially if catering to the chef market. Around here they sell $3 for a bundle of 5 scapes. That's an extra $60 on every 100 head of garlic, that comes in 2-3 weeks before bulb harvest for us. The scapes are a delicious treat at a time when everyone is hankering for some fresh garlic, and five or six weeks before the bulbs will be cured and ready to sell.

October 27, 2016	#7
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	I am only a couple years into the garlic growing, but I think it may depend on the variety, whether it affects bulb size to remove the scapes. This year I was growing up some Persian Star from rounds (2nd year). A couple kept their scapes and were much smaller bulbs than their sibs without. I also saw much smaller bulbs on my large porcelain Argentina with the scapes left on for bulbil production. But the Spanish Roja that I left scapes on had bigger bulbs than I expected, especially since a couple of them were doubles. They were about full size anyway. I would be surprised though if you didn't cut the scapes to sell as part of a commercial garlic venture, especially if catering to the chef market. Around here they sell $3 for a bundle of 5 scapes. That's an extra $60 on every 100 head of garlic, that comes in 2-3 weeks before bulb harvest for us. The scapes are a delicious treat at a time when everyone is hankering for some fresh garlic, and five or six weeks before the bulbs will be cured and ready to sell.