I haven't cut the scapes these last few years as I wanted to plant the bulbules when they grew. Next year I'll be cutting scapes and will see how that all goes as far as bulb size. Good demonstration, CG!
I love garlic. Someday I will grow some. It's always a thought to do, never get there. That's some lovely production. Seems cutting scapes does work..and they are edible. Win, win!
i've not really noticed enough of a difference. the reason i cut scapes though is to prevent them from dropping and spreading all over the place.
when i plant my garlic cloves i am always planting the largest cloves i can so that gives the plants a very large boost in size right there. i also plant them far enough apart i can get the stirrup hoe between them easily enough that i don't have to worry about nicking the stems.
if i showed you the difference i can get in size between plants this way it makes a bigger difference than if i were to trim the scapes.
the tiny bulbs up top can vary from small grain of rice size on the smaller plants to being even bigger than some of the cloves of the bulb down below. i still get thumb sized cloves or double cloves on these plants. and i don't use any fertilizers other than the worms/worm compost and i rotate plant so the garlic is not grown in first year worm/worm compost. clay is fertile stuff if treated well.