Garlic Scapes for planting

[Jodie MasellaStudent]

Hi I am a new student and first time posting in the forum. Every year I cut off the scapes to my garlic plants. I have tried in past few years to take a few scapes dry them and then plant the little seeds in the ground.  I have not had success yet. Anyone had success planting the scape seeds to get a bigger harvest of garlic? I heard it can take up to 3 years before they mature.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Jodie Masella.

[Greg BoggsStudent]

Welcome Jodie! We haven’t done that at our place, I don’t have the space to dedicate to something growing for 3 years that might not turn out. We just plant garlic every fall and it works great for us

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Lisa Derksen

[JoelleStudent]

Hey Jodie! Are you saying that you let the scapes grow instead of harvesting them when they are tender, then they flower and produce seeds and you take those seeds to plant? We’ve always just harvested the scapes when they are tender and cooked them like asparagus. They are such a delicacy at our house that I don’t think my family would want me to sacrifice them to true growing garlic from seed. 🙂

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Lisa Derksen

[JeanStudent]

Hi Jodie, Yes, I have planted the scape seeds to create new garlics. Like Joelle said, one must let the scapes grow into mature seeds.  They kind of look like pearls later on.  The early scapes are not mature enough to use for seed. In other words, you have to leave the scapes on the plant until they enlarge and some of the seeds even fall off.

[Linda BuckleyStudent]

Jodie, like Joelle, I also cut off the young green scapes for cooking, after they’ve curled around once and are still tender. I also leave a few plants to make the bulbils that I plant to grow new garlic the next year. I collect them when they are very mature and dried, then plant in late Fall, giving them a nice thick grass mulch. Thousands came up and I had to give so much away! They also drop their bulbils and “self seed” that way. I have winter-hardy, hard-neck varieties that do well in my cold climate (NH) and my garlic production is pretty well sustainable at this point. It does take 2-3 years for mature bulbs to develop, depending on the soil quality and growing conditions. Don’t give up, it’s worth it!

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