|
Whilst there have been some experiments in producing garlic "seeds", almost all garlic
is grown from individual cloves. You can start growing garlic simply by taking the
biggest, healthiest looking cloves from an ordinary bulb of garlic and planting them.
So why, then, should we worry about seed garlic? Why should we pay money for garlic seed when we
can start growing our own garlic without buying anything?
Why Buy Seed Garlic?
The answer is quality. Growing garlic from randomly selected cloves is a lottery. You can increase
your chance of success by using the best cloves from the best bulbs. However even then there is always
a chance of disppointing results.
One basic issue is that garlic is asexual. Because it is grown from cloves with no pollination,
a bulb of garlic is effectively a clone of the head from which the seed garlic was taken.
This means that if the original bulb was prone to weaknesses then the seed garlic will also be
prone to these weaknesses and so on through the generations. Commercial seed garlic is selected to
avoid weak garlic wherever possible.
Another problem is disease. It is almost impossible to keep the average home garden clear
from all the
possible diseases, fungi, etc that can affect your crops. This means that - especially after a few
years of cultivation - the chances are that your garlic has at least some minor infection.
Obviously if you start growing garlic with an infected clove then the odds are stacked against you.
Buying fresh, commercial seed garlic avoids this problem.
Finally, buying in seed garlic gives you the opportunity to try growing different
varieties of garlic. Most shops stock only one or two varieties. If you use shop bought
garlic as your seed stock, it is often
difficult to be sure exactly what you are growing!
It is definitely possible to grow great garlic in the home garlic without spending money
on commercial seed garlic. However if you have been diappointed with your results then
perhaps a small investment in some garlic known to be healthy and
without disease would be a good way to kick-start your gardening.
Please read the site terms of use.
| 
