Garlic

About 4 years ago a friend of mine who owns an organic farm on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, gave me a head of garlic with 4 cloves in it.  It was April and I planted them in a large pot when I got home.

I saved most of the garlic that grew from those first 4 cloves so that I would have lots the following year.  Last year I think I grew something around 50 or 60 heads of garlic.

This past summer, we had our house up for sale and were moving, I planted a lot fewer garlic cloves  (maybe 18) late at the house we were moving into - friends owned it, so they let me plant before we moved in, but it was much later than I normally would plant garlic.

So, last week, with about 5 heads of garlic still left from last summer, and with the heads I grew this year not quite mature, I decided to Fall plant the old ones and see what happens.  The ground here is much wetter than at the old house, so I hope they don't rot over the winter, but we'll see what happens.  I planted them about 10cm deep and have covered them with leaves and straw.

I do have a few heads that will be usable next spring, so we'll see which works better - the Fall or Spring planted.

No photo today, sorry, no time.

Next year will be experimental with a new garden space, less light, north back yard, not south.  Probably more planters that can be moved to sunnier patches.  But hopefully more blog posts!

Missing ....

The blog has been quiet this year - very quiet.  I apologize for that.

Early in the year I decided that I didn't need to start any tomatoes.  I have more canned tomatoes in the basement than I will use this year and next, so I didn't see the point in having 40+ plants this year.

I had a few potatoes in the basement with really long runners and a few onions had sprouted, so I planted them, but that was very early in the year - March.  I figured if they didn't grow, it would be no worse than composting them.

And then something came up.  Friends of ours were selling their house and we decided to buy it from them.  Putting a garden in that I would have to abandon half way through the summer seemed really silly.  I have also been working more than usual, so not having the garden seemed like taking a well-deserved break.

Someone asked me the other day if I missed having the garden.  And I didn't, really.  No weeding, no planting, no watering or worrying about drought.

And then tonight ... I pulled out one of those onions and seven beautiful new potatoes with delicate skins and cut them up along with some of last year's garlic and they are frying in the pan.  And now I know why I garden.  I miss the peas and the carrots fresh out of the garden, and the lettuce (which I could have planted and should have ....).

So I am now going to have to get really creative with our new south-facing house with tons of huge trees around it.  There is no obvious garden spot for vegetables (although there is a beautiful flower garden and some fruit trees).  So maybe the blog will take on a new theme - gardening in strange spaces in the north.