Hi Tui, my garlic has tall leafy growth. Can I cut or trim these back to promote bigger bulbs. If so how much? Thanks.

Hi Robin, the leaves are supplying food to the bulb so by cutting the foliage back you are reducing the food source and will end up with smaller garlic bulbs, not larger bulbs. The plants energies will go into producing more leaf, rather than root or bulb. If your plants are leafy then that is a sign that you have too much nitrogen in the soil. This could be from adding compost which is nitrogen rich, or from a nitrogen rich fertiliser such as Blood and Bone. Nitrogen is for leaf growth, what you need is Phosphorus for root development. To balance the soil add a side dressing of Tui Potato Food or Tui Bulb Food both are high in Phosphorus to help fatten up your garlic bulbs. The Tui Team.