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Bulbils & Umbels
Umbels can be purchased in our Online Garlic Store. Select them from the cultivar's product page drop-down menu. Each product page provides information about how many bulbils are, on average, contained within each umbel.
We allow a good number of umbels to grow to maturity for each cultivar. However, if you know ahead of time that you'll be wanting a large quantity of a specific type, please contact us so that we'll be sure to reserve them for you. If possible, contact us before scape removal in June.
![]() What is a Bulbil?Are bulbils the true garlic seed?One of the most fascinating features of hardneck garlic cultivars is that they still "bolt," which means that in the second half of their growth they produce a towering stalk (the scape) that carries at its tip the now mostly impotent reproductive organs of the garlic plant. There are delicate, tiny flowers that emerge if the scape and the umbel at its tip are left to mature, and there are also tiny (and not so tiny depending on the cultivar) bulb-like features contained therein; but these tiny bulbs are not garlic's true seed... they are bulbils.
Why plant bulbils?Bulbils are like miniature round or oblong cloves. They can be eaten just like a clove (many people don't bother peeling them but simply crush them and use them in recipes) but more importantly for us, they can be planted.
How Do You Plant Bulbils?Selecting the CultivarGrowing from bulbils can be fun and profitable. Use the same criteria used to select which bulb to plant (cf. Selecting Garlic "Seed" Stock) to choose which cultivar of bulbil will best suit your culinary and gardening needs. Here's a quick breakdown of what you can generally expect from umbels/bulbils in a given family of garlics.
Planting MethodsThere are several methods for planting bulbils and you'll need to determine what works best for your specific climate and situation.
Regardless of the method chosen some basic principles apply.
![]() Outdoors in Fall - FurrowsFALL PLANTING: You can plant bulbils in the fall at the same time as you plant your cloves, however there is more risk of losing the crop to winter kill or vole/mole activity when planted in fall. At RCF we've had both great success and catastrophic failure using this method. If planting in the fall, DO NOT MULCH UNTIL JUST BEFORE SNOWFALL. Mulch creates a wonderful habitat for voles/moles and they'll be nesting right above their winter snacks.
All but the biggest of bulbils (Rocambole bulbils are huge and can be planted with regular spacing, or at least 4 inches apart) are planted differently than cloves. You can literally plant thousands of bulbils within a very small area. Here are the steps we use:
NOTE: Bulbils can be very difficult to distinguish from weeds in the springtime. We plant in furrows so that it is clear where the bulbils should and should not be coming up. This makes it much easier to weed around them.
Outdoors in Spring - FurrowsSPRING PLANTING: Benefits to spring planting are that you'll have side-stepped the possibility of winter kill and other problems, like voles and moles, that can occur out in the field. But keep an eye on them in storage to make sure they are dry and well preserved. Mold can settle onto bulbils if kept in a dank environment with no air circulation. Very disappointing.
You'll be using the same basic technique as fall planting but you'll want to make sure that the bulbils have been properly vernalized (stratified) by placing them in a breathable bag in the fridge or freezer (not deep freeze) for a couple of weeks prior to putting them in the ground. Basic guidelines:
Bulbils in Seedling TraysWe've never done this at RCF, but we've got customers and friends who have reported great success using seedling trays for their bulbils. If the trays are large enough (or the bulbils small enough) then the bulbils can remain in the tray for the entire season, then "harvested" and replanted in the fall. Others have grown garlic "plugs" from bulbil and then transplanted out of the trays and into their fields in the late spring. For most cultivars the first year will only produce a round the size of a large marble and so a tray with 50 or so cells will work. Other cultivars, like the Rocamboles, will produce a small cloved bulb the first year and so would require a much larger cell, or to be transplanted.
Regardless of when you plant them, bulbils should be planted about 1 to 1.5 inches deep in the tray. The soil pH should be between 6.2 and 7, and if planted in the spring you'll want to protect from deep sudden frosts as the shoots are just beginning to emerge.
![]() Russian Red bulbils growing in furrows
![]() Porcelain bulbils growing in furrows
What to ExpectWe've received many inquiries in the early spring from growers who are wondering just exactly what they should be looking for in their bulbil patch. Does it look like regular garlic but smaller? How does one tell them apart from weeds? Things like that. Very good questions and we'll list the answers here.
Planting Bulbils - Year 2Once you've achieved a successful harvest of 1st year bulbils you'll most likely be turning around and putting them right back in the ground. This doesn't mean you should just leave them in the ground to grow another year... for two reasons:
Marble sized rounds (1/2" diameter) should be planted about 3 inches apart for the 2nd year. 3/4" rounds need a bit more room, perhaps 5 inches or even the full 6 or 7 if you've got the space. Plant the rounds right side up and the same depth as your cloves (about 2" to the top of the clove/round, typically).
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