Yesterday I got the garlic planted. I think/hope our daytime highs in the upper 90’s have ended and, though it isn’t as cool as I wish for mid-October, I had to get the garlic planted. The downstairs garage where I store it has been rather warm with two canners going almost every day and I’d be very sad if the garlic went back before I got next year’s crop planted. After pulling out what I wanted to plant, I have a much smaller box of garlic remaining so I’m going to go ahead and bring it inside – still in the basement but away from the heat of the canners.
I planted about 120 seeds, which is simply cloves from this year’s harvest. For those wanting to know exactly how I did it, I raked the soil so at least the top 4″ was loose and free of clumps and weeds. Using a hoe, I made a trench about 3″ deep, spread a layer of bone meal in the trench, the poked the garlic cloves down in the trench and then raked the soil back over them. I watered them, covered them with about 3″ of straw. My garlic is grown in raised beds and we have a rather annoying squirrel problem. They want to bury all their walnuts in any freshly dug soil and then they seem to think I’ve buried garlic treats for them and they will dig every one of them up in one or two days so we spread chicken wire over the beds and staple it down to the wooden sides of the beds. Once spring arrives, I’ll remove the chicken wire, roll it up and save it for next year. I sometimes leave the straw on and sometimes take it off. Most often when I take it off, it’s because I need it somewhere else in the garden.
Since Vince brought a bale of straw around back for the garlic, I put a thick layer of straw around the broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I’ll probably add more straw before we get a freeze.
Well . . I just looked at the weather and I guess I might should add that straw soon.
Here’s our weather for yesterday – 93. It was HOT!
Here’s our weather for Tuesday (tomorrow!)
A 61 degree difference in less than 48 hours. Crazy weather! 32 on the forecast means 29 or 30 at our house. I guess I need to spend some time thinking about what else I need to do today. Pick the rest of the beauty berries for a second batch of jelly for sure. Pick a bunch of little tomatoes for Cooper. Cut all the basil or bring it inside. Bring in the bay leaf trees. Ughh . . I needed a little more prep time for this.
Rebecca L says
Tomatoes for Cooper? That’s a new one! 😀
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Cooper loves tomatoes! At least he sits and waits for me to pick them. Oscar loves asparagus and he will get up in the asparagus bed and start digging . . like he thinks it grows underground. He’ll make a mess but earlier in the summer, he would come across a spear or two and he would gnaw them off at the ground. The top of the spear isn’t his favorite so he saves that til last, plays with it a bit but he always eats it.