Yesterday, popular TV gardener Monty Don dug up his garlic bulbs. They had a bit of rust but were nearly ready anyway. Better out than in. Today, I dug up mine. They had so much rust that the leaves had dissolved leaving spindly black stumps in the ground. Despite not reaching maximum size, Monty’s bulbs were nearly as large as his fist. Mine, in comparison, are puny.
But we’re not competing with Mr Don and I’m still pleased with my crop, especially considering the destructive rust and rain soaked conditions they’ve been through. The muddy bulbs have been transferred to the garden shed for three weeks to dry out (they’ll go outside if we ever see sunshine) when the best ones will be trimmed for storage, with those that don’t look like they’ll keep for so long getting pickled.
I’ve still got a container full of garlic to harvest which have avoided the rust and should be significantly bigger. Monty, meanwhile, has a whole plot of healthy garlic to dig up next month. I don’t want to see how big those are…
Good to know it’s the right time to dig – thanks. I was peering at my dead leaves this morning and wondering if it was ready to go. And mine won’t look like Monty’s either -but a miracle anything’s survived this season. My neighbour’s (spring-planted) garlic all died…