clump of elephant garlic

[habitat-gardener]

I've been working on a new community garden plot. A few months ago, I noticed a plant that didn't look like a weed, and I left it alone. This past week, after my partner rototiller the plot, I noticed this plant's leaves smell like garlic. I think it's elephant garlic! But it's a clump of, probably, 20 plants or so, about a foot wide and at least a foot high. Looks healthy.

It's 91F today. The usual time to harvest garlic is May. I dug around the plant and it doesn't look like papery covers have formed yet. Should I dig up the plant and separate it? When? Or let it be, and dig up after the leaves die back?

[Growing Coastal]

I would leave it alone. Too late in your season to move it and get a good result. It's almost May now. The larger ones should bloom and smaller ones die back leaving bulbs to be planted next season. They also make small bulbils around the base of the bulb.

[Paquebot]

Too many for elephant garlic if it were from one bulb. I've never seen more than 6 cloves per bulb from that. Sounds more like a softneck bulb was missed.

Martin

[svalli]

If the leaves taste like leek, it is an elephant garlic. Could the same plants have been there multiple years as perennial, so then it has multiplied to big clump?

Sari

[Clkeiper]

that is far too many to be elephant garlic. the regular hard neck will form a head of baubils and once those drop you will have oodles of them coming up in the same spot.

[habitat-gardener]

If the leaves taste like leek, it is an elephant garlic. Could the same plants have been there multiple years as perennial, so then it has multiplied to big clump?

Sari

I don't know when the plot last had a garden. None of the people who have had neighboring plots for a long time remember anyone having a garden in this plot! And no one remembers this plant, either! So it could well have been there for years, multiplying each year. It will be interesting to see what it turns out to be.

[Growing Coastal]

As well as the regular head of cloves formed by EG they also have wee bulblets at the base that would add to the amount of shoots around the 1st one's bulb. If it seeded itself, there would be more shoots yet. I had EG growing wildly in my garden when I worked. I thought they were ordinary leeks gone wild as singles and in clumps but no! EG!

When you dig, look for those small bulblets at the base. They are flat on one side and round for the rest of the bulb. That would be another clue as to which type of allium it is.