It's Time to Plant the Garlic....

It’s Garlic time!! I know last year when I blogged about garlic you said – “Next year, I’m planting garlic!” (Maybe you didn’t say it out loud, but I’m sure your subconscious was screaming it!) 

So, this is the year to do it. Yes, I know garlic is pretty cheap at the grocery store, but….have you ever tasted fresh garlic? If you’re buying it at the store than the answer to that question is NO! If you’re a garlic lover, I promise that once you taste the difference you’ll be planting it by the gardenful.

But this year, if you’ve never grown garlic before, you can start small. Just buy one extra head of garlic. (This will produce 4-20 garlic plants depending on the size of the bulb.) You can either buy it at the store (yawn) or you can buy heirloom garlic from some of the companies that sell it like Landreth Seeds. If you’re a local-yokel, don’t miss Landreth’s Heirloom bulb sale THIS SATURDAY in New Freedom at their old location. They’ll have gorgeous rare heirloom bulbs and dozens of varieties of heirloom garlic!

Garlic is a bulb, so it’s as simple to grow as a tulip. You could even grow it in your flower beds. Those of you who live in neighborhoods with rules about gardens, can plant garlic and pretend it’s a daffodil that never bloomed! Here’s how easy it is to grow garlic.

Now, when ordering your garlic you’ll need to choose between –

Garlic Time!

Now is the time to plant if you’d like to grow your own fresh garlic! And you should because fresh garlic runs circles around the aged stuff you find in the store. Plus it's easy to grow an entire year's worth in a few feet of garden space that won't be doing anything else this winter. Why not tuck some in your flower beds when you clear them off for winter? If you plant it now, it will be ready by early June. Garlic is easy to grow – just as simple as planting bulbs. All you need is a head of garlic.

I like to experiment with heirloom varieties, but you can use any old head, even the one beginning to sprout in your cupboard right now. All you do is break off each clove and plant it pointy side up. You’ll want to plant it as deep as it is big, or a little deeper. I tend to err on the side of too deep when planting just in case the winter is worse than imagined.

Lasagna Time!

Do you ever say to yourself, “If I had all the money in the world, I’d hire a landscaper to come turn that part of my lawn in to a real garden?” OK, maybe you don’t. But if you didn’t have to dig up all that grass and till the heck out of it, wouldn’t you like more garden space? If for no any other reason than it’s less grass to mow? Organic fruits and vegetables are expensive – new gardens are not. A little work now can open up your options this spring.

Last weekend, my husband and I were on our way to visit vineyards in Virginia. I was boring him to death by reading about the vineyards aloud until he gently told me he’d rather I didn’t. So I kept the next gem to myself. He, being the chief grass cutter and weed whacker on our estate, would have appreciated the Italian vineyards philosophy on the grounds surrounding your home.

The literature stated the vineyard was designed in keeping with the Italian tradition of everyone having their own groves, vineyards, and gardens at home utilizing all available outdoor space (OK, maybe they left room for a Bocce Ball court). They thought a “lawn” was a waste of natural resources (I’d have to agree). My husband came home from our visit cautiously considering putting in our own vines, and I arrived motivated to begin reclaiming our lawn for more productive purposes.

So first thing Monday morning I made a lasagna garden. I know I’ve written about lasagna gardens before, but just in case it didn’t have the life-changing impact it should have had, I’m going to refresh your memory.
A lasagna garden begins with any patch of ground. This ground can be an old garden, an underachieving garden, or an absolutely unadulterated lawn. I’m generally in favor of staking your claim on the useless lawn, but that’s just me.

After envisioning the size and shape of your garden, cover the desired area with a thick layer of newspaper. Yep, newspaper. Be sure to leave out the shiny colored circulars. It’s best if the newspaper you choose uses vegetable inks (the York Daily Record does). Try to choose a day when the wind is not whipping around. After you lay out the newspaper, wet it thoroughly and then begin your lasagna.

Lasagna consists of layers of “green” (compost, manure, grass clippings, basically anything rotting) and “brown” (leaves, straw, peat moss, mulch, pine needles, wood ash). Continue adding layers at your whim for a month or two and then leave the whole thing to “cook” over the winter. If it’s a dry fall, you may want to wet it occasionally to move the process along.

It may not look too pretty (until the first snow hides it), but by spring you’ll have rich wonderful soil, ready to garden. And you didn't have to lift a spade because you turned your lovely lawn in to compost for your new garden! If you want more detailed, technical directions, I highly recommend the book Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza. (buy it through the link below and you’ll make me 2 or 3 cents)

In my new lasagna garden this spring, I’ll add more blueberry bushes adjacent to our current blueberries – less hillside to mow and more blueberries to share with the birds (this year we’re going to buy a net….). I’m not finished adding lasagna gardens though, I’d love for this place to look like an Italian homestead.

I’m getting ready to harvest my fall peas and dig up the peanuts before setting the chickens loose to free range for the fall/winter (aerate the gardens and eat the pests – hopefully lots of stink bugs!). Maybe you’re getting ready to close up your gardens too, but before you do – don’t forget to start next year’s. October is time to plant your garlic, shallots, and spring onions. It’s also time to dream a little dream of all the wonders you can grow next year and get started on the lasagna.

Of Garlic and Other Winter Wonders

The garden is finished, or is it? Even in winter things can grow. In some ways it feels really good to put the garden to bed, covered with its blanket of leaves. Finally the work is done. Well, most of the work. The raspberries are covered in pine mulch. The big veggie garden is glowing with a new crop of winter rye – emerald green against the deadening brown surrounding it. The newest gardens are happily cooking their lasagna layers dreaming of spring.

But there is one garden that I am still busy with – the winter garden. This is where I plant my parsley, because some winters it makes it all the way through. My rosemary and thyme are there also because they have been known to stay green despite the cold. This little garden is tucked up near the house, hiding the lid to the septic tank. I always think of Erma Bombeck and involuntarily recite, “the grass is always greener over the septic tank” when I set to work in it. I do think the septic tank keeps the ground here warmer.

Originally I planted the garden as a flower garden to hide the septic tank lid, with a big whiskey barrel of zinnias placed on the lid itself. But flowers die and leave the septic lid and whiskey barrel exposed all winter looking ugly and obvious. So now it contains rosemary, thyme, and oregano spilling over the lid and a box of parsley that flourishes bright green for at least three seasons and on good years – four. The rest of the garden is devoted to the garlic, onions, and shallots – my winter crops.

Now is the time to plant if you’d like to grow your own fresh garlic! If you plant it now, it will be ready by early June. Garlic is easy to grow – just as simple as planting bulbs. All you need is a head of garlic. I like to experiment with heirloom varieties, but you can use any old head, even the one beginning to sprout in your cupboard right now. All you do is break off each clove and plant it pointy side up. You’ll want to plant it as deep as it is big, or a little deeper. I tend to err on the side of too deep when planting in the fall just in case the winter is worse than imagined. The garlic will be one of the first green things poking its leaves up through the ground as soon as spring hits. When the leaves begin to brown and fall over, it’s ready to harvest. Pull the garlic up, shake off the dirt (don’t wash it) and hang or braid it to dry. Fresh, home grown garlic is much stronger than the stuff you get at the store – you’ve been warned. I love garlic, can’t get enough of it, so the strength of homegrown garlic suits me just fine.

You can also plant shallots and spring onions now. Follow the same procedure as the garlic. The onions should be ready in time for Easter. As long at their leaves are green you can leave them be and let them get bigger. I pull them as I need them.

If you’re a smart and thrifty shopper, you’ll be checking the bargain bins right about now for the leftover bulbs. It’s not too late to plant flowering bulbs. I hate paying full price for bulbs – they’re only flowers after all. Plus, I don’t enjoy the tedium of planting bulbs. My kids quickly lose interest when they discover how difficult it is to plant anything in south central PA. We have incredibly hard and rocky soil around here and planting big bulbs was always a chore – until now! I splurged on the coolest gadget. Even my hubby, the tool guy, was impressed. It’s essentially a giant drill bit. Nick hooked it up to an 18 volt cordless DeWalt drill and I was powered to drill to China. It made quick work of the bulb planting task. My friend Lisa was here the first time I used it and the two of us were truly wowed. It doesn’t take much to impress women who love dirt. I planted 8 tulip bulbs in less than a minute. And I looked really cool doing it. Lisa took pictures. The noise and excitement attracted my youngest son and his buddy, eyes wide and adrenaline ready. They were eager to try it out, but after nearly breaking my own wrist, I think it’s a bit too powerful for a seven-year-old. The two of them are always looking for trouble, so I’m keeping my bulb planting drill hidden deep in the shop. Get one for yourself – you’ll be newly inspired to plant! I used it to break up the soil before transplanting some perennials this weekend and it worked great. I’m sure I’ll dream up plenty of reasons to justify the $21 price tag.

Plant a few more bulbs and a handful of garlic, and then put your garden to bed. Rest up. It’ll be time to start the seeds before you know it. The seed catalogs start arriving the day after Christmas. Nothing I love better than curling up on the couch near the woodstove pondering the possibilities of spring.