In August, I harvested the two beds of garlic I planted last year.
The garlic has been sitting in a box on the back porch, waiting for planting. Periodically we'll dip into it for some fresh garlic for cooking, but mostly it's just been waiting for planting.
Last week, I finally got things done. First I had to prep the beds. I wanted to plant four beds instead of two this year, which meant weeding and raking things smooth.
This time of year, the oak that dominates this corner of the garden is stunning. There are worse things to do than prep garden beds under autumn foliage, y'know?
Prepping the beds didn't take long. I raked off the summer's straw mulch and put it aside, pulled a few weeks, raked the dirt smooth, and voilà.
Next I sorted the garlic.
I knew I could fit 100 cloves per bed, so I made four piles of 100 cloves each.
I laid out four rows of 25 cloves each. I later revised this to five rows of 20 cloves each, which fit better, but didn't get a photo.
After each bed was planted, I mulched it with straw.
And that's it, except for a little light weeding, until it's time to harvest late next summer. That's one of the things I enjoy about growing garlic: It's almost maintenance-free and produces an abundant harvest.
What's not to love?
Mine has been waiting in the fridge since we've had unseasonably warm weather.
ReplyDeleteI've been emptying, moving, and refilling big pots with refreshed soil, adding all sorts of things for plants and the worms. Some of the pots are almost pure worm castings which is part of why the soil all has to be emptied and redone.
For the worms I'm putting a bunch of peat mixed with rehydrated coconut hulls on the bottom. They'll be happy on the bottom through the winter in that mix and maybe work some magic on it since winters here are typically mild with some nice warm days.
The top layers will have the worm castings incorporated into some older good soil, plus ammendments. The collards were needing thinning in the pots of worm castings so they're all going to be replanted in the refreshed pots of dirt. Garlic will be interplanted with the collards. Rain is coming in tomorrow night so my deadline is tomorrow. There are 16 of those big pots but probably only half will get done in time.
I'm trying not just to get this done for now, but relocations are for spring garden plans to make spring planting easier.
Getting all the large pots on sale long ago was one of the best purchases ever.
I had forgotten about the great raised beds Don had made for you. They are stunning!
ReplyDeleteWow 400 cloves! I thought we did a lot w/ 200. The easiest crop we grow. Plant it cover it w/ leaves & forget about it until we harvest the scapes.
ReplyDeleteDebbie in MA