Double Bulbs on Garlic
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Joanne
Posted on: July 22, 2010

I’m growing Music & some Siberian garlic purchased from Richters and planted last fall. I’ve been cutting off the scapes for the past few weeks, but today I noticed that the garlic plants have bulbs growing about an inch or two above the soil line. I’ve never seen this before, and it didn’t happen when I grew garlic last year.

Any thoughts on what’s going on? I use an organic fish emulsion to fertilize, have mulched with straw, and have a 3 x 10 raised bed.

Garlic often does not truly set seed, but turns the ovules into little bulbs, sometimes without being fertilized. I suspect that the cut off scapes in frustration just grew some bulbils at their cut-off ends. It may not have happened last year, because the plants were not as strong -- perhaps storage drained them.

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