Weedwhacker said: You leave your garlic in the ground for multiple years?
A bulbil planted year one, becomes a clove or a round in year two and can sometimes be harvested as a full bulb in year three. Generally. So I have Bulbils (seeds) in one bed, cloves/rounds in another (as they might need another year) and then the usual cloves planted to be to be harvested as full bulbs the next summer.
I wanted to try some different varieties for cheap. So bulbils. I also harvested my own bulbils from garlic I allowed to go to seed.
It generally takes three years in my garden, but can be anywhere from 2-5 years for a bulbil to eventually become a full head of garlic. Depends on variety, soil conditions, the usual variables.
Requires patience sure, but time passes so quickly. I don't need to buy fall garlic anymore, I have my own supply from the bulbils I started three years ago, in a few varieties.
Some garlic blooms give hundreds of bulbils.
Here is a picture of a full garlic bloom with bulbils ready for harvest. Like small pink kernels of corn.
