Fall and planting garlic

Fall is here and with the cooler days and nights we are feeling an urgency to get the garlic planted, the gardens beds cleared, and some of the outside projects that we have been putting off done.

I love the smells and colors of fall.  We are at peak this week in my little part of the world.  I have been driving and walking around trying to soak up the beauty around me.  I want to store it up for the long brown days of winter that lay ahead.  Don't get me wrong, winter is nice for the slower pace and time you have to reflect and plan for the next growing season.  I just have issues with less daylight hours, colder/wet weather, and the tapestry of browns that canvass the landscape in winter.  So, for now I will spend as much time as I can enjoying this season....maybe stopping the pace of life to sip a warm cup of tea and inhale the fresh, crisp air before it is too late.

We planted (Pat and the boys) 4 different kinds of garlic this year.  Pat has decided to take over the garlic raising, he has put a lot of thought and effort into it.  I am pretty proud of him and can't wait to see the finished product next summer.  We are thinking that is we have plenty, we might try to sell it from the farm or at the farmer's market next year.

The garlic came in net bags with labels.  When you plant garlic, you have to break up the heads and plant the individual cloves.  We sort the cloves and only plant the larger ones.  "Big cloves produce nice size heads of garlic", or so we are told.  In my experience it also depends on the year as far as weather, the bed they are planted in, and how they are cared for.  Garlic is one crop that is pretty easy to plant, grow, and care for.

Here is a picture of Connor planting a row of garlic.  Notice the white string that is attached to stakes that is helping him plant a straight line?  This is something I love about Pat, he is very thorough about any job he does.  Me, on the other hand would have raked up the bed and eye-balled a straight line while I was planting.  My rows aren't always too straight.  What can I say?








Here is another picture of Connor getting to clean up after me.  That was one big pile of mint and roots I pulled out of the flower bed.

I will have to see what other yard chores we need to complete before the cold weather really hits.