Former banker Paul Cooper, took the decision to vernalise part of his commercial garlic patch in Mypolonga, to increase the size and colour of his produce. However, things didn't turn out the way he expected, reports abc.net.au.
"Watching the main stem expand, expand, expand and then all of a sudden just splits apart, and inside there is all these little garlic plants," he said.
"It really has made a mess of what would have been quite large bulbs, and would have been great saleable material."
Vernalisation is the process of exposing bulbs to cold temperatures to try and encourage faster growth.
It has worked for Mr Cooper in his patch of imported bulbs, but for reasons unknown, his vernalised garlic this time grew individual plants instead of cloves.
"That is what I have done with the imports and that has worked really well, and so I have tried to translate that into some of my commercial varieties.
"I have come a cropper with that this year, and probably what has made it worse has been the extended cool period that we have had."
Despite the damage, expected to cost him about 15 per cent of the total crop, Mr Cooper was confident some of his already-harvested smaller stock could be worked with.
The former banker is one of the only garlic growers in Mypolonga, and is still relatively new to the farming game.
Challenges aside, Mr Cooper recognises the commercial opportunities that could arise, and will not be deterred from vernalising in the future.
"If I can actually refine it in this environment, it means that if I can get to market a month earlier than I normally do, then that is putting me on a par with the earliest regions in Australia," he said.
