Garlic Sex
Hardneck garlic reproduces asexually by producing bulbils from the scape, sexually by producing cloves, and vernally by producing flowers and bulbs that are capable of reproduction.
Garlic reproduces in three ways, bulb division, bulbils from top sets, and seed. Garlic growers sometimes refer to garlic cloves (the mandarin-orange-shaped orbs that are inside a garlic bulb), as "seed garlic". Though garlic's true seeds, the product of sexual reproduction, are much smaller than cloves and form at the end of a hardneck garlic scape. Garlic was long thought to be sterile, but in 1875 Eduard Regel described unique flowering characteristics in garlic found in the wild, raising the prospect that some garlic might still be capable of producing true seed.
Garlic reproduces in three ways:
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Asexually, by producing bulbils from the scape
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Sexually, by producing cloves
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Vernally, by producing flowers and bulbs that are capable of reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction is the process of creating new plants from a single parent. In the case of garlic, asexual reproduction occurs when a bulb produces bulbils. Bulbils are small, bulb-like structures that form at the base of the scape. They can be planted and will grow into new garlic plants.
Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction is the process of creating new plants from two parents. In the case of garlic, sexual reproduction occurs when a garlic plant produces cloves. Cloves are the dormant bulbs of the garlic plant. When they are planted, they emerge from the ground and begin to grow. The cloves will eventually produce a bulb, which will then produce more cloves.
Vernalization
Vernalization is a process that is required for some plants to flower and reproduce. In the case of garlic, vernalization occurs when a garlic plant is exposed to cold weather for a period of time. This exposure triggers the garlic plant to produce flowers and bulbs that are capable of reproduction.
How to Reproduce Garlic
There are several ways to reproduce garlic. The most common way is to plant cloves. Cloves can be planted in the fall or spring. If you plant cloves in the fall, they will emerge from the ground in the spring and begin to grow. If you plant cloves in the spring, they will emerge from the ground in the fall and begin to grow.
Another way to reproduce garlic is to plant bulbils. Bulbils can be planted in the fall or spring. If you plant bulbils in the fall, they will emerge from the ground in the spring and begin to grow. If you plant bulbils in the spring, they will emerge from the ground in the fall and begin to grow.
Tips for Reproducing Garlic
There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of successfully reproducing garlic. First, make sure that you use healthy cloves. Second, plant the cloves in well-drained soil. Third, keep the soil moist. Fourth, provide the garlic plants with plenty of sunlight. Fifth, harvest the garlic bulbs when they are ripe.
Do Humans Help Garlic Reproduce?
It's not like garlic wants to be eaten by us. Its mission is to reproduce. Then, we come along and eat or plant their children. Then again, maybe garlic is thankful for humans, as we help them reproduce.
Garlic does not have sex in the traditional sense. Garlic is an asexual plant, which means that it does not reproduce sexually. Instead, garlic reproduces by cloning itself. When a garlic bulb or head is harvested, it produces cloves. These cloves can be planted and will grow into new garlic plants. However, there is a way to induce sexual reproduction in garlic.
If hardneck garlic is exposed to a cold temperatures duing the winter, it will produce flowers and bulbs that are capable of reproduction. This exposure to cold is called vernalization. Vernalization is a complex process that is not fully understood, but it is thought to be triggered by the cold weather that garlic experiences in the fall.
Garlic bulbils are produced on the hardneck garlic scape, which is the flower stalk of the garlic plant. The scape is formed when the garlic plant produces a bulb and then continues to grow. The bulbils are small, bulb-like structures that form at the base of the scape. They can be planted and will grow into new garlic plants. Bulbils are a good way to propagate garlic if you don't have any cloves. They are also a good way to increase the number of garlic plants in your garden. To propagate garlic bulbils, simply remove a bulbil from the scape and plant it in a pot filled with well-draining soil. Keep the soil moist and the bulbil in a warm place. The bulbil will eventually produce a new garlic plant.
Garlic reproduces by cloning itself. When a garlic bulb is harvested, it produces many cloves that each can be planted to produce new garlic plants. The cloves are actually the dormant bulbs of the garlic plant. When they are planted, they emerge from the ground and begin to grow. The cloves will eventually produce a bulb, which will then produce more cloves.
Garlic can also reproduce asexually through bulbils. Bulbils are small, bulb-like structures that form on the scape of the garlic plant. They can be planted and will grow into new garlic plants. Bulbils are a good way to propagate garlic if you don't have any cloves. They are also a good way to increase the number of garlic plants in your garden.
Poor garlic. No birds, no bees, no sex life. Garlic's popularity may have cost garlic its sex life. And, today, garlic growers typically remove scapes deliberately to allow the growth of larger bulbs. Speaking of Sex, according to some human and animal studies, eating garlic may improve sexual function by increasing blood flow and enhancing fertility, especially in men. (Healthline.com). According to Men's Health Magazine, "women sniffed the BO both with and without garlic and found the garlic-tinged aroma more alluring. Fialova says garlic’s sulfuric compounds have potent antioxidant powers and may reduce hypertension, improve cholesterol, and fight cancer. Plus, garlic may help your heart, say researchers in Germany and Austria. The bulbs contain four compounds with antioxidant capabilities that could lower total cholesterol and improve systolic blood pressure. "
Ancient hardneck garlic plants grew well whereas many other plants could not survive. They had strong roots and searched deeply for moisture and nutrients. Ancient hardneck garlic had a few different means of procreation. This was garlic's Insurance policy. In addition to the cloves, garlic had a flowering stalk or scape, which had a plumb bob-shaped umbrella at the end. Inside the thumb-size vessel was an intricate arrangement of tiny flowers and bulbils which look like miniature garlic cloves. Asexual reproduction, growing garlic from cloves or bulbils, produces a genetically identical clone of the mother plant. This can be desirable for securing consistent growth of a hardy plant. Order Seed Garlic from the GroEat Garlic Farm.
Even today, some growers believe that growing garlic from garlic 'seeds' (bulbils) can help the garlic adapt to a new climate, and may result in more robust garlic. Growing from bulbils can also be an economical way to propagate garlic. A garlic scape can contain hundreds of small bulbils (depending on the variety of garlic). In the first generations of garlic seed production, growing garlic from bulbils is not particularly easy and is time-consuming.
Which garlic cultivars are capable of producing seed? “Softneck” cultivars are clearly not candidates, since by definition they do not produce the necessary flowering structures. Genetic studies have shown that the "hardneck" Purple Stripe group comprises the most ancestral garlic forms currently in existence. Some garlic farmers have indicated the Marbled Purple Stripe group has been the most reliably productive, as they generally have a thicker flowering stalk.
Back to the ancient garlic. As a scape uncoiled and established vertical growth, its umbel begins to mature and swell, filling with developing bulbils and flowers. When the scape becomes nearly straight, the spathe (bract or leaf covering the umbel) slit open. When the bulbils opened and dropped off, they were carried by the wind and water to a new location, where they took root and established themselves. It took several years to develop into large multi-colored bulbs. Some garlic still reproduces via seed as well as asexually, but wild garlic plants appear to strongly favor asexual mechanisms.
Not only in cultivation but also in the wild, it appears that garlic’s capacity for sexually reproducing itself may be diminishing. In other words, garlic's popularity may have cost garlic it sex life. Slowly, over thousands of years, its bird and bee method of procreating has nearly disappeared. Garlic was a desirable crop and farmers were clever; They knew they could harvest bigger and better bulbs the following summer if they planted the cloves (of exceptionally desirable plants), those with stronger disease resistance, larger bulbs, better-tasting cloves, and longer shelf life. These bulbs were often produced by plants with weaker scapes and flower production since the energy of those plants went into the bulb, not the flower. As many generations of plants grew, garlic plants with flowers were deselected, or flower scapes were deliberately removed by clever farmers, to allow the growth of larger bulbs, garlic largely lost the ability to flower and set seed. Some flowers appear in today's hardneck garlic, but they've become impotent.
On August 15th, the garlic bulbs at the GroEat Farm were freed from the dark earth with my grandma’s ancient spade. The pearly orbs were covered in clods of dirt. Their papery coverings, seal in garlic goodness. I'll save some for eating and the rest for planting next year's crop. I also kept the scapes on a few of the Purple Stripe garlic. I typically remove the scapes of garlic to ensure the plant’s energy is directed to the bulb for maximum size. For garlic intended for seed production, the scapes and the developing umbels must be retained.
Garlic Bulbils (also known as true garlic seeds) from MUSIC Hardneck Garlic. The garlic scape was not removed and these bulbils were produced by the garlic plant at the end of the scape.
Garlic Bulbils (also known as true garlic seeds) from Chesnok Red Hardneck Garlic. These are small seeds that are similar in size and shape to rice. If planted, these will produce a single garlic bulb, in their first year of growth. The bulb is similar in size and shape to a ping pong ball. In the second year, the garlic plant will produce a garlic bulb with multiple cloves.
