I've been reading the blogs of a couple of people trying to get garlic to set seeds so they can hybridize them. (This involves carefully picking out the bulbils of top-setting garlic and finding some wee flowers that usually get crowded out by the developing bulbils.) They complained that seed-grown garlic grows too slowly to please them. Obviously, these are not bulb growers. We need saintly patience and a long lifespan. They are probably growers of the only super fast bulb - onions - and expect the garlic should be equally speedy. I wonder how the onion does it? I think there are competitions for giant onions. From seed to exhibition in about six months. Astounding. If someone would like to do a bit of worthwhile gene tinkering, how about isolating the FastGrow gene for those of us trying to grow all the rest of the bulbs? Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate mild rainy winters, mild dry summers