Garlic Experiment - Preliminary Results

My garlic glut is planted out now and sprouting strongly on the allotment. I have some preliminary results to share with you from my experiments in February. This is to see if fridge or freezer treated garlic can be used successfully in the event of us having insufficient winter cold to encourage bulb formation.

Garlic in the freezer
Don't bother - as dND predicted, the cloves' structure was damaged. They turned squishy and orange and are now on the compost heap.

Garlic in the fridge
These were placed in the fridge the same nights as frost was predicted, but taken out of the fridge during the day to simulate the same daytime warming as the outside garlic would be getting. They were unharmed by the experience and were beginning to sprout when planted out on the allotment.

Garlic left outside
My experiment's control group - left outside during the whole period and then planted out in a block on the allotment. They experienced 10 nights of frost and like the fridge garlic, they were beginning to sprout on planting.

General Observations
Preliminary results show that fridge treatment doesn't harm garlic. Unfortunately, there were frosty nights after planting, so I won't be able to see if fridge treatment alone is suitable for encouraging these cloves to form bulbs properly. However, I will still be able to compare the two groups for potential yield differences later on this year.

Comments

  1. Anonymous25 April 2008 at 12:21

    THis is very scientific - I have enough problems remembering to plant something let alone trying it in different environments - I'm impressed at your thoroughness

    ReplyDelete
  2. emmat25 April 2008 at 14:48

    so annoying that it frosted late... But I, like Helen, admire your very scientific approach. It reminds me, actually, of Charles Darwin and all his home experimentation. I know it's a bit far away and London-ish, but Downe house, his home, (in Bromley, just in the SE suburbs of the big smoke) has a really nice garden which is kept the way Darwin had it - vegetable plot n all - and includes some cool insectivorous plants he used for experiments. If you like garlic experiments, you might like that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Saikat25 April 2008 at 16:31

    Hi,
    Saikat from BlogsJam here.
    Wanted to email you, but could not locate your email address on the
    blog. we have 2 cool widgets ( a slideshow widget and a content widget
    ) which can help enhance site interaction and reader's experience. pl contact me at saibose@gmail.com so that i can send you the slideshow widget for your blog.

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    ReplyDelete
  4. Suburbia25 April 2008 at 22:34

    We plant loads of garlic because it's Small Sprogs favourite! He helps to plant it. How do you make yours look so clean? Ours is always hanging with mud!

    ReplyDelete
  5. CanadianGardenJoy26 April 2008 at 23:34

    VP... you got back from your holidays ! and didn't tell me ? LOL
    I tried to grow garlic as a kid .. didn't work ... I kept digging it up to see what it was doing .. end of garlic growing LOL
    Joy

    ReplyDelete
  6. VP2 May 2008 at 15:42

    Helen - welcome and thanks for the compliment!

    Emma - hello again and once again you flatter me :) I'm accumulating a long list of visits for 'The Smoke' - I'll add your excellent suggestion to it.

    Insane scribbler - you look like spam to me, I'm not playing

    Suburbia - I just pick a nice sunny afternoon, plonk a big trug on the patio, clean off the outer skins and mud into it and hey presto! I then plait them into sets of 3. It's probably the most relaxing and aesthetically pleasing bit of gardening that I do!

    Joy :( I did 1 of my cloves up the other day - found I'd planted it upside down and there were also 2 slugs attached - ugh. Naturally I used my new way of using couch grass to spear them!

    ReplyDelete

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