How To Plant Garlic (Part 1) - Step By Step On A UK Allotment 

thank you very much for your comment! much appreciated.

thank you very much for your comment!

Thank you very much for your comment, and good luck with your growing!

Thank you very much for your comment - much appreciated!

Thank you very much for your comment. For the biggest bulbs, I suggest planting 20 cm between cloves leaving 30 cm between rows, but in the video I planted the cloves about 6 in or 15 cm apart.

thank you very much for your comment.

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a comment. Much appreciated.

Thank you!

yes, I would plant them now, some varieties perform well in the spring. I prefer to plant in the autumn, but if you have the garlic to plant now it is still worth getting them in the ground. good luck!

I would like to know also

yes it's possible, but they should be planted before warm spring weather arrives. Some varieties are more suited to early spring planting than others, usually the stockist will display this information. Having said that, today my ground is frozen, so it's not possible to plant. I would wait until this really cold snap goes before planting, or try warming the soil first by covering it with cardboard or fleece a few days before sowing.

@@AllotmentBook thankyou!

Sounds tricky! Garlic prefers lighter soils. Depending on how heavy the soil is, planting in free draining compost (in modules or containers) and transplanting when the ground is less wet in the spring may be best. Or, perhaps easier, select varieties suited to planting in the spring. I hope you find a way that works!

My soil is quite light (sandy) and does not clump easily. Nearly every time the handle goes in easily. If it doesn't, I dig it over with my hand trowel and try again. Also, planting in autumn means the soil is often wet and soft.

@@AllotmentBook I guess we just have very different soil.. Even after mixing with a lot of compost and store brought soil, it seems to go as hard as clay after a few days.. (though, still looks the same colour as normal soil)

Could it be the sun scorching the surface causing it to harden smooth? If so, I would keep going on mulching and sow seed when the sun is less hot or with unsettled weather. The more organic matter the soil contains the less likely it will be to harden solid.

Daily watering in the evening may help too

Yes, sandy soil is good for onions sets. Generalising, the closer the plants are packed together the smaller they will be, as they will have more shade and less water and nutrients. Good combinations are when neither the roots (ie shallow v deep rooted) or leaves compete (tall v small). I’ve never tried carrots with onions and garlic, but I think this could work. I’ve stopped growing carrots owing to persistent problems with carrot fly…

This sometimes happens! This has happened to me several times with elephant garlic. On my sandy (dry) soil, I plant the cloves quite deep to help ensure the roots of the plants stay moist. At a depth of about two times the height of the clove itself beneath the soil. Ideally planted in the autumn. This summer has been very hot, so I watered the plants once a week too in dry spells. I’ve found this helps the plants fully mature to whole bulbs.

Fabric is very much optional. Last year I didn’t use it anywhere. I think it’s most helpful on new plots that may have a lot of fresh weed seed in the soil. The fabric degrades over 6 months compared to newspaper.

Thank you!

Still time!