This is my first year growing, and I need help with my struggling garlic. It grew more than I anticipated during our mild fall and winter, with the foliage never dropping away. Now that we're in spring, I've regularly watered and fertilized, and yet, my leaves are turning yellow.
How do I help these plants make it two more months to harvest? I've used both granular fertilizer, tomato tone mixed with bone meal, as well as liquid Alaskan emulsified fish. About two months ago, I also top dressed the soil with compost. Time to break out the blood meal? Any suggestions are appreciated.
by NickyCharisma
7 Comments
Garlic aside…
Is that a Garden in Minutes grid? How is it working for you? Does NOT work for me and customer service just spews crap at me.
I hope someone can help with the garlic!
If you expect harvest within the next two months, then I would wager you might want them to be even *more* yellow at this point, like bottom leaves yellow or fully dead? I would take it as a good sign of bulb formation when you stop getting a bunch of lush green growth as the plant puts it energy towards bulb formation. They look perfectly good to me color wise but I’m not an expert at garlic.
If these are soft neck then the mild winter should be okay as long as you still had a little while of colder temps below 40 or you cold stratified them. I personally have more leaves on my own garlic planted in the fall so that’s where I’m seeing maybe an issue as I’m counting 4-5 sets on yours. This might be where the nitrogen is concerned. So maybe do the liquid fish more heavily/more frequently.
Garlic only needs a few feedings and roughly an inch of water a week, and needs no more water after a certain point. When the bottom leave are dry and brown it’s usually time to pull. Your garlic looks fine.
Your garlic looks like mine did a month ago. I’m growing hardneck; it’s just about ready to shoot up the scapes. The bottom leaves are browning and the tips of the second and third leaves are browning. It’s a little early, but we had some early warm weather. I’m guessing mine will be ready to pull in 6 weeks or so.
I’m not sure why you think they’re struggling. They look healthy to me.
What are you worried about? The plants look just fine to me. Garlic really don’t need a lot of pampering if you started with good soil; I usually mix in compost in the fall when I plant and then do nothing else other than mulch with straw.
Those look perfectly healthy? I don’t understand what you’re concerned about?
It looks totally fine to me. In fact you’re probably over feeding them now. They don’t need all that much.