Garden Friday

2019 garlic

It's Garden Friday once again!
The weather has been absolutely stunning,
with much-needed rain helping our parched beds.
The fall garden is underway.

Last weekend, I was able to plant some of our garlic.

These are the heads you see in the first photo.

We had a beautiful harvest in May and used these same heads for planting a new crop.

The largest and most pristine cloves were chosen.

There were only a few cloves that were saved to use for cooking

because they were smaller than what I wanted to plant.

Using the best cloves will ensure a better harvest next summer.

The heads were separated just before planting,

so that they didn't dry out too much.

These are some seriously dense cloves,

originally acquired from Sow True Seed in Asheville.

I decided to use half of the hugelkultur bed to sow the cloves.

Last year, I used one of the 4X4 raised beds,

and it just wasn't enough garlic, so I needed to go BIG!

Using a tape measure, I planted every 4 inches along the row.

This California soft neck variety was planted about 2 inches deep,

making sure that the root end sat on the soil.

It has a mild garlic flavor,

and is perfect for those who say they don't like garlic's pungency.

Garlic is one of the most satisfying crops to grow

because it has virtually no pests, it overwinters easily,

and yields a whole head for each clove planted.

The gifts just keep on a comin'!

Using baling twine, I separated the other two rows that I planted with the same variety,
obtained from another source.
(I waited too long to order more garlic and Sow True sold out.)
All together, I should have almost 40 heads coming up,
so next year, there will plenty to eat, 
and enough to plant in the garden.

The other half of the hugelkultur bed has already been planted
with chard, kale, lettuce and spinach.
When I'm getting ready to sow,
I take the seeds packages out from my storage spot
and place them in this bin,
along with tags I've made myself from plastic water jugs,
and my favorite garden marking pen.
That way, everything's in one place and I can get the job done efficiently.

More spinach, as well as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower
are the next things to go in.

This garden marker is the best I've ever used.
It doesn't fade, no matter how long it sits outside.

One of the 4X4 raised beds is now filled with seeds.
This is the first time I'm really putting an effort into
creating a design with the plantings.
As the 4 foot width is a bit of a challenge for me,
(I'm on the wee side),
I decided to plant those crops that require less picking in the center,
and things like spinach, which are picked almost daily on the perimeter,
resulting in less reaching across the span.
(All of our new beds are 3 feet across for this reason.)
The nasturtiums are still doing well,
so we'll leave them in place.

The straw bales have been lacking any interest for a good bit.
The holes were filled with good soil and some worm castings.

These bales have already produced cucumbers, flowers, and okra
over the summer.
Now they will host new veggies and some parsley,
which I think will overwinter just fine.
Once we harvest these crops,
the bales will be taken apart to use as mulch
and a new batch of bales will be put in place.

 

 
The Egyptian walking onions are slow growing,
but I'll be happy with any I get,
as it's the first time I've grown these.

Leeks have successfully been grown at this time of year,
so I decided to plant a tub's worth.
This is one of my favorite veggies to use for soup.

 Speaking of dining,
someone's been enjoying the sunflower heads left out.

 The lemongrass and aloe vera were watered well,
so that they can be brought into the house for the season.

 The loofah is piling up!

   
It's always so exciting awaiting the seedlings' arrival!
With more rain predicted, 
here's hoping we get to see them before the next Garden Friday!