Garlic - Growing Your Own / RHS Gardening

Garlic is usually trouble-free in good growing conditions. However, it can potentially be affected by similar problems to onions and leeks (see Common problems, below). The following issues, related to growing conditions or harvesting, could also arise:

• Cloves forming on the stem – this is usually due to adverse weather, such as fluctuating temperatures in spring. Called ‘top sets’, the cloves can be used in the normal way
• Bulbs These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes. not dividing into cloves – this is usually the result of insufficient cold weather over winter
• Flowering ( bolting When a vegetable plant starts flowering and forming seeds, often prematurely, making the crop unusable – salad leaves may turn bitter and root crops fail to swell. Adverse weather or changes in day length can cause bolting in a wide range of vegetables, including lettuces, onions , carrots and otheer root crops. ) – hardneck garlic readily produces flower stems, which should be removed as soon as they appear and can be used in stir-fries. Softneck garlic occasionally produces flower stems due to poor growing conditions, such as high temperatures or drought
• Split bulbs – this can happen if the crop was harvested late
• Green cloves – usually due to shallow planting. They can be used as normal, but are unlikely to store well

Related RHS Guides

Controlling problems without chemicalsPreventing problems

Common Problems

Allium leaf miner

Allium leaf mining fly was first detected in Britain in 2002, it has become widespread in England and parts of Wales. The larvae bore into the stems a...

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Leek rust

Leek rust is a common fungal disease of leeks and garlic, but also affects onions and chives. The fungus causes bright orange, raised spots (pustules)...

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Onion downy mildew

Onion downy mildew is a disease of onions and related crops that damages foliage and bulbs, resulting in loss of yield or even a complete failure of w...

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Onion white rot

White rot is a serious fungal disease of onions, garlic and leeks causing yellowed, wilting foliage and decay of the roots and bulb. It may persist in...

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Leek moth

Leek moth was mainly found in southern England but it is spreading north, it is not as frequently seen as the allium leaf mining fly. The caterpillars...

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Onion fly

The maggots of onion fly can damage the roots and bulbs of onions and some related plants, sometimes killing seedlings.

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