It’s a relief to have this done. I planted half on November 1st and the rest on November 2nd. Approximately 220 cloves. The soil was pretty good, although somewhat wet from the weekend’s rain. I believe the varieties were German Extra Hardy, German Red (smaller), then Music. I don’t think I saved any of the Spanish Roja.
This is the first year I have had enough to save my own seed garlic. Garlic is one of my success stories. But I still felt anxiety planting it, fears that something will cause my garlic crop to fail. It’s the climate crisis, affecting everything, even my trust in the most reliable of crops.
The hottest day this summer? Good time to sit on the deck under the arbor and clean some harvested garlic. These are the Music variety which are so big and smooth and filled out.
I really enjoy the garlic crop. It’s so reliable. I take the mulch off to give the sprouts a chance to develop and declare themselves. Then I tuck the mulch back around them. Like tucking them back into bed. Maybe someday I’ll interplant something around them, but for now this is working.
Here’s a view of the unmulched bed on the left and the mulched bed on the right. Just reused the same hay mulch, which has already broken down quite a bit over the winter. So it is easy to grab handfuls and tuck. I handle the green leaves minimally when I have to pull them out of the hay. They feel so fresh and new.
Regarding hay carrying weed seeds and therefore not preferred for mulch – I have heard this from many many sources, but I’ve never found it to be the case. We’ve put a lot of hay on the garden over the years. Maybe it’s because we pile it on pretty thick. But isn’t that the point of mulch?
Still working on the big section in the middle. Excess mulch is on the ground outside the bed. Maybe I’ll add more.
An exciting day at Cross Road Gardens. It really felt like spring, for the first time, I think. A burst of gardening energy, although I only really worked for a few hours.
Frilly pink Hazelnut budDug about a pound of leeks from last year, stored under mulchPlanted peas and spinach under a relocated trellisSeedlings: Brussels sprouts and red cabbageKale seedlingsBroccoli and leek, shallot, cippollini seedlingsIndigo seedlings looking freshRemoved mulch covers from garlicGarlic sprouts ready to grow
Early spring is a sparse time of year food-wise. The hoophouse greens were mostly eaten by voles last winter, except for the arugula and some kale. We still have garlic and a few squash stored. But no onions, carrots, parsnips or potatoes. Our root-saving capability is just not there. I tossed a fair number of potatoes into the compost because they were shriveled and sprouting. I could have planted them, but I have no desire to dig in the ice-cold soil yet.
On the upside, I found a baby garlic sprout under the mulch the other day. Very exciting!
So, feeling somewhat lacking in fresh food, it’s time to get serious about what is still in the freezer. It’s so easy to forget what’s available right here at home. So here goes.
Freezer compartment above refrigerator:
Old stuff – Small amount of decaf coffee beans, jar of Brazil nuts, partial bag of commercial frozen corn, fist-size congealed clump of frozen banana
Flours/grains – Little bag of whole wheat flour, bag of masa harina, bag of almond meal
Herbs/flavorings – A few knobs of ginger, small bag of dill weed, a few disks of horseradish, packet of basil leaf
Small bag of shredded zucchini (3 cups)
Small bag of sliced okra
Small bag of blueberries for morning cereal
Small bag of diced jalapenos
Chest freezer:
Dyeing – Bag of avocado waste and a gallon of walnut dye
Squash – Bag of squash puree, 4 large bags of bite-sized squash, serving of spiced squash soup, serving of squash chili, 6 small containers of squash soup, two servings of pumpkin curry
Tomatoes – 5 thin bags of pulp, 1 small bag of salsa
Peppers – 1 serving of stuffed peppers, 4 small bags of chopped green pepper
Herbs – 2 flat packets of basil leaf, 3 bags of basil pesto, 1 bag of celery leaf, two disks of horseradish
Peas – 1 fat bag
Shredded zucchini – 6 small bags
Parsnips – 1 large bag
Blueberries – 5 large bags
Fava beans – 3 small bags
Two disks of homemade broth
1 serving of barley bean stuffing
Looks like we’ll be eating a lot of squash. There’s so much frozen squash because of the bountiful harvest and the need to rescue a lot of it during the winter as rotten spots appeared.
Goals:
Eat the prepared food servings for dinner over the next few weeks.
Use up some of the herbs and flavorings and miscellaneous vegetables in my homemade stock.
Eat some blueberries daily on cereal or salads.
Cook zucchini bread with the shredded zucchini after thawing and pressing.
It all takes some work. The garlic needs to be cured, the fingerlings dug and soil sifted, the fava beans shelled, blanched, released from their waxy coat, and frozen. The peas shelled.
I pick over the blueberries to clean them a bit then freeze them in a single layer on a tray. When frozen, we transfer them to a freezer bag. We pick blueberries every morning. This morning, hit a record of forty ounces.
Making room in the garden for a fall planting, which should be done – now!
Fingerlings Fava bean pods and their contentsPodful
What’s left from last year’s harvest, with my beloved garlic bowl, a long-ago gift from my brother GregScapes cut for dinnerCilantro pesto with scapes, white beans, lemon, and cayenne Garlic bed at back of garden. We’re having foggy gray mornings. Italian variety di Voghiera, 11 clovesThe massive Music, 15 cloves, forming scapes22 Inchelium Red
Other varieties planted: 50 Spanish Roja, 11 German Red, 45 Russian Red, and 23 miscellaneous cloves saved from 2019’s crop. Total planted: 177 cloves.
Harvest records:
2017 – 94 heads
2018 – 218 heads
2019 – 120 (approx.)
I use the same bed every year, adding hay, seaweed, and wood ash to the soil. It’s the perfect place for garlic which doesn’t seem to interest deer. I’m not sure what I would do if I decided to rotate this crop.
It’s always a milestone when we decide to put tomatoes in the ground. This year there was a lot of pressure because we started the seeds so early. The seedlings are huge and starting to be unhappy in their pots. But the weather is not yet totally reliable and we are obviously before the landmark Memorial Day.
Anyway, Sam planted one row today. 19 plants, 20 if you count each of the twins. There will be two more rows to come.
Tomato row
In other news, I’m starting to remulch the garlic.
