Garlic

I have a friend in Athens that works diligently on a nearby organic farm. Even though she is taking five graduate level classes and working regularly in the evenings with local watershed groups, she manages to make time for organic gardening, a passion of hers. She makes trips to the Farmacy (a local natural/organic grocery store- located on W. Stimson Avenue) to deliver the tomatoes her farm grows. It was through conversations with her that I came across fall garlic planting- and the delicious food the Farmacy has to offer! 

For those who hate to see the decay of winter take over their garden, I can offer you one last opportunity to keep you garden at work this winter: plant garlic! 

Garlic can be planted now (early autumn) and be ready for harvesting in June! I have never planted garlic before. All of my information has come from this very helpful source: Growing Garlic. I would also recommend that you search the web for information and how-to videos- there are plenty available! 

1. Crack the bulbs up into individual cloves- this will be a fairly easy process. After you should have individual bulbs (somewhat tear drop shaped); 

2. Dig holes in the soil about 8 inches apart and 4-6 inches deep; 

3. Place garlic bulbs into the holes, cover with soil; 

4. Cover the beds (as if you were going to winterize) but be sure to not till the soil after you plant the garlic; keep beds covered with natural debris (decaying matter: leaves, bark, grasses, compost); 

From my own reading about garlic planting, it seems as thought retaining moisture is key to a good harvest. Heavy mulching (but not too compact) will allow autumn rains and snow-melt to keep the garlic moist. A nice layer of decaying matter will protect the bed from sun exposure and erosion. 

If you have experience with autumn garlic planting, please share your procedure! If you attempt this project, let us know about your failures and successes! Good luck gardeners! 

I plan on growing some garlic at the Ecohouse- I will post updates on how it works out!