The first time we noticed there was wild garlic and chives growing abundantly on our homestead was the first time the orchard was mowed. I'm no stranger to wild chives. We had them growing up "in the country". However, I'd never seen garlic growing before. In addition to that, it looks very much like some of the native wild grasses that grow here. So when the first mowing occurred, wafting the savory aroma of the garlic, I went on a quest.

Once I found where the smell was emanating from, I grabbed a shovel to dig up a small section. Sure enough, there it was. I was not fond of where it was growing. This is wild purple garlic, although I do wonder if the previous owner intentionally planted it there because it's in a swale beside the apple trees in the orchard. I've read garlic is a pest deterrent, which was why I thought maybe it was planted there on purpose.

The reason I want to move it is because it's crowded out easily by the other plants. They are not known to get as large as the store bought varieties, anyway, but certainly don't get big when they are competing for the sun, water, and nutrients. Needless to say, that patch has been partially mowed over. That first year through to this spring it's stayed in that spot. Last year I collected the seed bulbs from the scapes, but did not dig up any garlic.

When scapes grow out they are tall thin stiff shoots the garlic sends up which is where the flower forms. They often form a loop at the top where the garlic flower is. When the flower opens, that's where the seed bulbs come from. They are called bulbils and look like little miniature onion sets, about 2-5 mm big. These fall to the ground in late summer to reemerge in the fall, before going dormant for the winter. If you'd like to learn more about them, this has some good information.

Finally this year I made it a point to dig some garlic up after it came out of dormancy to see if I could transplant it. I also planted some of those bulbils a couple of weeks ago, mostly to see how viable they are. They are growing great, even though it's not really the ideal time to be growing them with the heat we are having. All together, last year I collected around 150 bulbils.

Now I can plant those this fall in a more permanent garlic location. From bulbils it will take a few seasons to get good sized heads of garlic. What's great is they are a perennial. Once established in their new home, they will grow back every year with minimal, if any, work.

This post will focus on digging up and transplanting the wild purple garlic and also some of the wild garlic chives.

I used a spade to dig up sections of both wild purple garlic and chives. I used the wheelbarrow to move it. The garlic was lose from soil but I left the chives in blocks of soil.

You can see here how the garlic looks very similar to the grass. After carefully looking I was able to identify it. These are a couple of the garlic plants I transplanted.

Here is another angle. The lighter colored growth in the center right of picture is the garlic.

I also wanted to try transplanting wild chives because I have never been successful starting them from seed. Spoiler alert...These didn't make it either.

Here is a chunk of garlic before I separated them out. Wait, what's that I see?

Why, it's an earthworm!!! Hi little fella! He got put in the straw bale where the garlic was planted.

Last year's straw bale refreshed with compost and some coconut coir, ready for planting.

Holes made, garlic laid out where each would be planted.

All in, I transplanted about 50 garlic starts.

There was only one of the straw bales mulched with straw and leaves. The others I left bare. Mostly because of laziness, but also because I wanted to see which grew better.

Here is the straw bale I did of the wild chive blocks, which I did mulch with straw.

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT 2018 BY ME, @phedizzle. Hope you enjoyed them!

Really looking forward to finding a permanent home for the super tasty and useful plant. I will add updates of how this experiment went soon. Until then...If you enjoyed this, please consider upvoting, resteeming, commenting, and following. Until the next post, take care.

Here are previous posts of mine:

(Created by @bembelmaniac)

(Created by @soulturtle)

So come say hello in the following Discord chat rooms:

#homesteadersonline: https://discord.gg/VKCrWsS
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TRANSPLANTING WILD PURPLE GARLIC PART 1

Now I can plant those this fall in a more permanent garlic location. From bulbils it will take a few seasons to get good sized heads of garlic. What's great is they are a perennial. Once established in their new home, they will grow back every year with minimal, if any, work.

This post will focus on digging up and transplanting the wild purple garlic and also some of the wild garlic chives.

I used a spade to dig up sections of both wild purple garlic and chives. I used the wheelbarrow to move it. The garlic was lose from soil but I left the chives in blocks of soil.

You can see here how the garlic looks very similar to the grass. After carefully looking I was able to identify it. These are a couple of the garlic plants I transplanted.

Here is another angle. The lighter colored growth in the center right of picture is the garlic.

I also wanted to try transplanting wild chives because I have never been successful starting them from seed. Spoiler alert...These didn't make it either.

Here is a chunk of garlic before I separated them out. Wait, what's that I see?

Why, it's an earthworm!!! Hi little fella! He got put in the straw bale where the garlic was planted.

Last year's straw bale refreshed with compost and some coconut coir, ready for planting.

Holes made, garlic laid out where each would be planted.

All in, I transplanted about 50 garlic starts.

There was only one of the straw bales mulched with straw and leaves. The others I left bare. Mostly because of laziness, but also because I wanted to see which grew better.

Here is the straw bale I did of the wild chive blocks, which I did mulch with straw.

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT 2018 BY ME, @phedizzle. Hope you enjoyed them!

Really looking forward to finding a permanent home for the super tasty and useful plant. I will add updates of how this experiment went soon. Until then...If you enjoyed this, please consider upvoting, resteeming, commenting, and following. Until the next post, take care.

Here are previous posts of mine:

STORIES:

2011 GARDEN:

RECIPES:

POEMS:

PLANTS AND ANIMALS-EDUCATIONAL:

WALK ALONG WITH ME:

2018:

CONTESTS/REVIEWS

(Created by @bembelmaniac)

(Created by @soulturtle)

So come say hello in the following Discord chat rooms: