Garlic planting day!
My garlic bulbs from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange arrived today!
This is our first year growing garlic in our deci-acre garden. I have always been hesitant to grow garlic, primarily because the flavors of a given variety can vary widely with differing soil conditions. What if I planted them and they were duds?
Then again, what if my little lot has a special terroir that makes great garlic!
We had recently dug up our sweet potatoes, and the bed was already growing over with a fine layer of chickweed. Speaking of that, did you know that you can eat chickweed? It is one of my favorite edible weeds. (Good thing, because I have it in abundance!)
I planted the garlic bulbs a little over 2 inches deep, 6 inches apart.
The final job was to fence off the area from the ducks. They love to root around in freshly disturbed soil. As I worked, they stood above me on the next bed, softly quacking at me to get out of their way so they could have a turn.
I use lightweight bird netting as a temporary fence for the ducks. It is not incredible strong, but it is cheap ($8 for a 100 x 7 ft section, which I halve to two 100 x 3.5 ft sections to make it go even farther). It is also extremely light-weight, and I can move it quickly and easily around the garden as I need to shift the ducks from one area to another. I attach bright pieces of yarn every so many feet to remind the ducks (and me) that it is there, as it can be hard to see sometimes.
With luck, I will see some garlic scapes pushing through the soil soon. I’ll be mulching them later to give them an extra boost of protection through the winter.
But if not, I saved several cloves of each to try again in the spring.
One more new crop on our path to sustainability.
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