It’s Time to Plant Garlic

It is time to plant garlic for next July’s harvest right around now- mid- to late October. Today was a sunny and mild day and I decided this would be the day. Last year I planted in the freezing cold and did not want to repeat that scene. I don’t know what varieties I planted, though. A few different kinds but I’ll be guessing next summer- by the shape, color and taste.

Garlic is planted at  5 inches deep and 4 inches apart. When the ground starts to freeze in November I’ll mulch the bed with hay and also some compost to nourish the cloves through the winter. The sprouts will be among the first green to poke out next Spring and I am excited that the cloves are now in the ground.

Meanwhile, deer broke into my garden last night and ate carrot tops, all the beans and the bean leaves off the vines and some kale. I don’t know how they jumped the 7 foot fence, but I tightened the netting up again. Teresa suggested I put on a net roof, too. Will be up early to check, tomorrow.

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The Garden Update

I love reading Hatsy Taylor’s weekly posts on her site Weeds and Wisdom. She always has something of interest through the seasons of her NW Connecticut gardens. This week she writes about not wanting to face the weeds in her flower garden. It is very reassuring that I’m not the only one not wanting to deal with the flower beds.

AND, I am happy to report that the deep mulching in the veggie garden this summer was a great success and I am not going to be facing a terrible time putting the garden to bed and planting vetch as a winter cover crop. The beans are still producing, kale is going gangbusters, and the carrots are magnificent! I am now thinking ahead to next summer, and what I’ll have to do to have bigger onions and actually thinking that in the next few weeks I’ll be planting garlic for next July!!! Woohoo. Making a few quarts of pesto with my own basil and garlic last week was a big thrill. Photos to come, soon.

Lemon Cukes

They are wonderful. I am picking them when they are lemon-size. They are sweet, juicy and refreshing, just can’t figure out the best way to cut them, right now we are enjoying them as wedges.

No Space, No Excuse- You, Too, Can Garden

Great article at Sunset.com about gardening in a small space. I’ve been envious of Barbara’s large field of endless beds- well now I feel better about intensifying my garden beds-and a wonderful video on how to grow a garden in a container- watch this Teresa!!!  Let’s do some gardening on your deck this summer! 

Hat tip: Guy Kawasaki

Planting Onion Seeds

First of all they are very small. Tiny black seeds- onions, leeks, scallions all look very similar. I helped Barbara Putnam plant 8 flats. We put 4 seeds in each soil block (about 2″x 2″) with 50 blocks per flat. There are going to be alot of onions. We figured that I will take one flat home to grow storage onions for next winter. So I will have hopefully 200 onions for the winter- November through March. Barbara plants 4 seeds together and grows bunches of onions. We also planted leeks that way, too. The flats are in her greenhouse and I’ll keep you posted on how fast they sprout and gorw and when we put them in the ground. It’s too early to plant radishes or peas. A few more weeks though. Drove home from Barbara’s in the snow. That was a bit depressing.

I went up to my garden and found some baby carrots which I didn’t harvest last fall! They are very sweet and delicious- maybe taste a little like they froze for 4 months, but very tasty and fresh.

This feels like a very hopeful time. Starting seeds, planning the garden. Still have to find a source of horse manure. Still need someone to help me in the garden this summer. Anyone?

Eureka- black gold

   

 
I have found the gadget I’ve been dreaming of- better than worm composting, better than a trash compactor, better than shlepping out in the middle of winter to the compost pile with organic scraps, it’s an indoor composter. How’s this: – automatically mixes, heats and aerates, separates fresh materials from finished compost, allowing you to access finished compost continuously throughout the year, uses an internal air filtration system to eliminate unpleasant odors and makes compost in as little as two weeks! It is made from stainless steel and recycled food-grade polyethylene, uses only 10 watts of power, EnergyStar compliant. This composter recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life. Every kitchen needs one.