3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (cysteine source)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium sources)
1 cup fresh cilantro (corriander)
1 cup parsley
2/3 cup cold pressed olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice (Vitamin C source)
Big pinch of sea salt and or dulse flakes to flavor.
Soak the seeds and nuts overnight to release the enzyme exhibitors. Process the parsley, cilantro (corriander) and olive oil in a blender until chopped. Add the garlic, nuts, and seeds, salt/dulse and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Store in dark glass jar. It freezes well also if need be. Enjoy!
More Go Green! projects:
What makes this compact garden so productive is that you will be placing plants close together in squares instead of traditional rows. You can continue to plant as you harvest.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Hammer
- Saw
- Shovel
- Wire cutters
- Tape measure…
Turn to your pantry and medicine cabinet for simple solutions to common garden problems
by Sharon Lovejoy
I’ve found that awareness and a quick response are two of the best allies against garden foes. By knowing my plants, as well as their pests and diseases, I can be proactive in combating garden ailments.
When problems do arise, I turn to the most benign and natural forms of control, like hand-picking invaders, setting up barriers, or trimming problem areas off plants. If these interventions fail, I apply my easy homemade potions to treat my gardens, keeping in mind the welfare of the soil and the dwellers who share the earth with me.
Anyone walking into my potting area is liable to find four or five mixtures of fertilizer brews and oddball pest blends fermenting in tubs, along with a strange collection of tools and utensils. It is not the aftermath of some cataclysmic disaster; it is my laboratory, my living library, and the makings for a healthy garden.
Before you begin…
My friend and garden assistant, Peggy, tells me that of all the yards she helps tend, mine is the healthiest (although it is not necessarily the tidiest). I credit that health to myriad factors. Every speck of my growing areas (even potted plants) is covered with rich organic matter like aged compost, worm castings, or shredded leaves. I grow a diverse array of plants—bulbs, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees—to create a well-integrated yet multifaceted garden that attracts scores of beneficial inhabitants such as insects, lizards, toads, frogs, snakes, and birds. Before adding any plant to my garden, I make sure that it is healthy and thriving and is planted in an area that suits its needs.
On the occasion that I need to treat a plant for a pest or disease problem, I follow these simple guidelines:
• Test homemade sprays on a small portion of the plant before applying it to the entire surface. Monitor the plant’s response for a couple of days to check for burning.
•Add a few drops of liquid soap to homemade foliar sprays. It helps to emulsify, or blend together, the other ingredients. It also acts as a surfactant, or wetting agent, which will ensure uniform coverage on leaf surfaces or insect bodies (causing desiccation and death). Always use soap (never detergent) so as not to burn plants; good choices are Dr. Bronner’s, Fels Naptha, or any pure castile soap, all of which can be found in health-food stores.
•Apply sprays early in the morning and never when the temperature is above 85°F to prevent sunburned leaves.
•Wear rubber gloves when using any sprays containing peppers, alcohol, citrus concentrates, mint oils, or anything else that could irritate your skin. And when spraying outdoors in breezy conditions, wear eye and nose protection.
•Examine your plants thoroughly before apply- ing sprays to make sure that you aren’t spraying any spiders or beetles that might be your allies in the fight against pests.
Animal pests
Make your own deer repellent with eggs, beef bouillon, water, and liquid soap.Deterrents for deer
Most gardeners agree that a strong, tall fence (preferably electric), tilted outward at a 45-degree angle, or two fences about 5 feet apart are the longest-lasting solutions to a deer problem. But if a fence isn’t in your budget or doesn’t fit in with your garden design, here are some alternatives:
• Dangle strips of Mylar or compact discs from tree branches to alarm deer.
• Poke a hole with a needle and fishing line through tiny, scented bars of soap (wrappers on), and hang several on each shrub or tree in your garden. A Smithsonian Institution research team found Lifebuoy soap to be the best.
• Make your own deer repellent. Rotten eggs and beef bouillon are ingredients in many commercial deer repellents. Break 1 dozen eggs into a bucket, add 4 cubes of beef bouillon, and fill the bucket with water. Cover it with a lid, and let the mixture sit until it stinks. Add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap per gallon of liquid, and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Then hold your nose and spray the plants. Do not spray it directly on plants that you will consume; instead, spray it around them to create an invisible barrier. For edibles, use “garlic soup” (see “Diseases”), which I also apply to thwart plant diseases.
Sweet gum pods protect plants from rabbits.Simple ways to keep rabbits at bay
The heartbreak caused by a mowed-down sunflower, hosta, tulip, or whatever happened to be on the resident rabbit’s menu that day is something no gardener should have to bear. Here are a few tricks I use to divert those rascally rabbits:
• Shake baby powder or flour on young seedlings and garlic powder on mature plants to make them unpalatable.
• Surround prized bushes or herbaceous plants with a thick planting of garlic and wormwood to offend rabbits’ discriminating sense of smell.
• Encircle plants with small branches of spiny holly leaves or the large, dried, prickly seed vessels of the sweet gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua). The evergreen holly branches can be collected and used anytime. Gather the sweet gum pods in the fall, and store them in a dry area. In early spring, place them firmly in the soil surrounding the plants.
Moles be gone
To discourage moles, sink a line of glass bottles into the soil with about 1 inch of neck exposed. The whistling sound of wind blowing across the bottle tops disrupts moles’ sensitive hearing and hinders their ability to find prey. Poking several noisy toy windmills into the soil will also disturb moles, as the vibrations will drive them away.
Moles dislike garlic, so try dropping some crushed cloves into the run. You can also repel them with a castor-oil concoction. Mix 8 tablespoons of castor oil and 1 tablespoon of liquid soap in 1 gallon of water. Dig down into one of the critter’s runs, and pour the mixture inside.
Insect pests
Grapefruit rinds lure slugs.Barriers and baits for slugs and snails
Slugs and snails are responsible for wiping out many a gardener’sdreams. I create barriers around prized plants to protect them from annihilation. Copper strips produce a shock to snails and slugs trying to cross them. Wrap inexpensive, thin copper, found in craft stores, around pots, plants, and trees to create a protective barrier. Pine needles, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, or diatomaceous earth (fossilized, silica-shell remains of prehistoric diatoms that desiccate insect bodies) provide a scratchy barrier and should be reapplied after a rain. Always purchase natural diatomaceous earth because swimming-pool grade contains crystalline silica, a respiratory hazard.
• I also use several bait techniques to catch slugs and snails; then I scrape the creatures into soapy water in the morning. Here are some ways to lure them:
• Set out fresh grapefruit and melon rinds each evening in a moist, shady area plagued by slugs and snails.
• Lay empty flowerpots or milk cartons on their sides in a shady area.
• Water a small portion of your yard in the evening, and put down a small, wooden board that is elevated slightly on a rock. The slugs and snails will congregate on the board’s underside.
Blended larkspur or delphinium leaves make an effective spray against Japanese beetles.Japanese beetle busters
Like slugs and snails, Japanese beetles have plagued gardeners for years. One way to stop them in their tracks is to suck them up with a small, handheld vacuum. Another way is to throw a handful of larkspur or delphinium leaves into a blender, add the blend to 1 gallon of water, and spray the mixture onto plants being attacked by Japanese beetles. The deadly alkaloids (deliosine and delsoline) in the leaves will zap the beetles.
Some gardeners have had success deterring Japanese beetles by planting a ring of garlic and chives around the affected plants, while others bounce those bugs into a bucket of warm, soapy water with a long-handled spatula or spoon. It is a natural defense for a bug to drop to the ground, so the Japanese beetles will fall straight into their sudsy demise. Try to catch them in the early morning when they’re still a little sluggish.
Knock the beetles into a bucket of soapy water.Red-pepper powder repels pesky critters
I have been using red-pepper powder for years on everything from cucumber beetles and spittlebugs to leafhoppers and cabbage loopers. Now there is scientific backing for this treatment: Entomologist Geoff Zehnder of Auburn University in Alabama credits McCormick red-pepper powder for protecting cabbages better than any standard chemical insecticide.
Mix 2 tablespoons of red-pepper powder and 6 drops of liquid soap in 1 gallon of water. Let the mixture sit overnight, and stir thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, shake well, and spray weekly on the tops and bottoms of the leaves. This will protect plants, especially members of the cabbage family (including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts), from destructive insects.
Adhesive tape lifts small insects from plant leaves.Tricks for removing aphids, mites, and other small insects
Scientists at Texas A&M University estimate that up to 90 percent of problems with aphids, mites, and spittlebug nymphs can be cured by dislodging them with a strong blast of water. You can also use adhesive tape to remove aphids and other small insects from plant leaves. Simply wrap a long piece of tape around your fingers (sticky side out), and blot off the bugs.
For aphids in particular, set a yellow dish filled with soapy water near the plant. Aphids are drawn to the color yellow. For spider mites that persist despite a daily spray of plain water, use a buttermilk spray developed by scientists at Purdue University. Combine 1/4 cup of buttermilk and 2 cups of wheat flour in 2-1/2 gallons of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, shake the ingredients thoroughly, and spray it on your plants.
Crushed strong-scented herbs make a tea that repels many insects.An herbal brew to combat troublesome creepy crawlers
Basil and especially potently scented herbs- such as lavender, rosemary, tansy, southernwood, rue, mint, wormwood, or sage-help fight harmful leafhoppers, aphids, cabbage loopers, mites, cucumber beetles, and many other creepy crawlers. Simply gather a handful of fresh basil leaves and stems and any other herb trimmings you have on hand, crush them slightly, and stuff them into a mesh produce sack, if you have one. Put the sack (or the loose herbs) into a bucket or a large glass jar that is at least 1/2 gallon in size, and fill with water. Cover the container, and set it in the sun to brew for a few days. Remove the sack, or strain the solids from the mixture. Store the liquid in a covered container in a cool, dark area until it’s needed as an insecticide. When you’re ready to do battle, pour the herbal brew into a spray bottle, add 1/8 teaspoon of liquid soap, and shake well before spraying.
Diseases
Chamomile tea works against plant fungus and mildew.Chamomile tea is a cure-all for fungal diseases
It’s a little-known fact that chamomile tea has antibacterial and fungicidal properties that will aid plants suffering from fungus and mildew. I often make a simple brew for my sickly plants. Place 16 chamomile tea bags (or 2 cups of dried chamomile flowers) in 2 quarts of water, and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, and allow the tea bags to steep for several hours. Strain, if using dried flowers. Use the tea to irrigate tender seedlings (from the bottom) to prevent damping off, or use as a foliar spray to battle diseases on plants. Because I never let anything go to waste, I also add leftover tea and used tea bags to my watering can.
A tonic for black spot and powdery mildew on roses
Roses, while beautiful, are often plagued with black spot or powdery mildew. I mix these ingredients into a tonic, which I spray on my roses: 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or Murphy’s oil soap in 2 quarts of water. The tonic protects the roses for months.
Garlic helps thwart noxious diseases
For plants with a fungal, viral, or bacterial disease, cook up a batch of what I call “garlic soup.” Purée two cloves of garlic in a blender for a minute. Slowly add 1 quart of water, and continue blending for about six minutes. Strain the mixture, and add 1/8 teaspoon of liquid soap. Pour the liquid into a storage container and cover tightly. When you’re ready to take action, mix 1 part garlic soup with 10 parts water into a spray bottle and apply the mixture to the top and undersides of your sick plant’s leaves, taking caution not to spray beneficial insects and larvae. Scientists have discovered that garlic leaves are potent in their own right, so you can also purée two handfuls of leaves instead of using cloves.
Aspirin is the remedy for fungal headaches
Black spot, powdery mildew, and rust are a terrible trio of fungi, which can attack and destroy your plants. Scientists have found that two uncoated aspirin tablets (325 milligrams each) dissolved in 1 quart of water and used as a foliar spray can thwart these diseases.
Puréed garlic cloves or leaves help restore plant health. Photo/Illustration: Amy Albert
Use an aspirin foliar spray to combat black spot, powdery mildew, and rust.
Weeds
A vinegar spray thwarts weeds.Vinegar wreaks havoc on weeds
Attack weeds with a directed stream of vinegar (5 percent acidity) mixed with a few drops of liquid soap. You may substitute equal parts water and isopropyl alcohol (70 percent solution) for the vinegar. This works well for areas in stone or brick patios where you don’t want grass or weeds. Drench the weed leaves in the heat of the day. When applying, be careful not to spray any treasured plants; cover them with newspaper for protection.
For large areas, spray the vegetation, lay down pieces of cardboard, top them with shredded bark (a layer at least 3 inches deep), and let the bed “rest” for a season. The next spring, the cardboard will be like mulch, and the bed will be weed-free and easy to work.
Corn gluten prevents weeds.Corn gluten stops weeds before they start
Professor Nick Christians and other researchers at Iowa State University found an amazing use for corn gluten meal, the tough, sticky, elastic by-product of milled cornmeal. The protein-rich corn gluten meal contains an herbicide that inhibits root formation during germination, and this effect lasts for months.
Timing is everything when it comes to using corn gluten. If the weed seeds have already germinated and sprouted, this technique won’t work. To protect a newly planted (but unseeded) bed from a weedy invasion, work corn gluten meal into the top 2 to 3 inches of your soil, and water thoroughly. Lawns and existing flower beds can be top-dressed with corn gluten meal. Do not fertilize the treated area for a month after application because corn gluten meal is high in nitrogen.
Over the past four seasons, we've had a blast working alongside more than 50 Food Warrior Interns, who have personally visited and documented 334 farms, 176 food artisans and 390 farmers markets and have uploaded more than 20,000 photos to the nation's largest crowd-sourced food guide!
Check out some of the most stunning photos from the program and see what participants have had to say about their experiences...
Not only is this smoothie absolutely decadent, it is super healthy! Perfect for a light breakfast or creamy dessert. Can be easily made Vegan, and is 100% naturally gluten free.
Ingredients~
1 cup organic strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup organic peach slices (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Coconut milk (unsweetened)
6 ounces Nonfat Greek yogurt (to make vegan use one banana)
It’s that time of year again. Fall with all of it’s luscious bounty, warm days & cool nights and lots of wonderful color. I’m going to give you just a bit of info I picked up from the Old Farmer’s Almanac. I love that old standby. I has never failed to give me good and USABLE advice.
Apples
Never leave apples in a bowl on the counter if you want them to keep. Apples keep well for about 6 months at temperatures between freezing and 45°F. If you don’t have a root cellar, a double cardboard box in a cool mudroom or cellar can approximate the conditions.
You can also store apples in the fruit drawer of your fridge. It helps to have a damp paper towel nearby to increase humidity.
Remember to give apples an occasional change of air. Apple cider may be frozen after first pouring off a small amount for expansion.
Beans, Dry
Store in a moisture–proof, air–tight container. Beans will stale and toughen over time even when stored properly.
Berries
Never rinse before storage. It washes off the thin, protective epidermal layer. Berries are highly perishable so they don’t store for long. If you must store them, place on a paper towel in a tightly-covered container and store in a cool, dry place (or the refrigerator) for 2 to 3 days.
Herbs
Dill and parsley will keep for about two weeks with stems immersed in a glass of water tented with a plastic bag. Most other herbs (and greens) will keep for short periods unwashed and refrigerated in tightly–sealed plastic bags with just enough moisture to prevent wilting. For longer storage, use moisture– and gas–permeable paper and cellophane. Plastic cuts off oxygen to the plants and promotes spoilage.
Mushrooms
Keep them in the refrigerator in a paper bag. The bag absorbs some of the moisture and keeps the mushrooms from spoiling.
Onions and Garlic
Mature, dry–skinned bulbs like it cool and dry—so don’t store them with apples or potatoes. French–braided onions and garlic are handy and free to get some ventilation as well.
Pumpkins and Winter Squash
Squashes don’t like to be quite as cool as root crops do. They like a temperature of about 50°F to 65°F. If you have a cool–ish bedroom, stashing them under the bed works well!
Root Crops
Carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beets, and other root crops should be brushed clean of any clinging soil and stored in a cool, dark place. Never refrigerate potatoes—it will turn their starch to sugar. Don’t store apples and potatoes together; the apples give off ethylene gas that will spoil the potatoes. Clipping the tops of parsnips, carrots, beets, and turnips will keep them fresher longer.
If you have an overabundance of beets, make homemade borscht, the classic beet soup, and freeze. To grate the beets more easily, cook them first. A little vinegar intensifies the color.
Spices and Dried Herbs
Store in a cool, dry place, not above the stove or right next to the burners where heat and steam will cause them to lose flavor dramatically.
Tomatoes
Store at cool room temperature out of direct sunlight. Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. If you have an abundance of tomatoes: for variety, dry tomatoes and/or marinate them in oil; or can them as salsa, ketchup, or juice.
Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits do not keep well in the cold. Store bananas, avocados, and citrus fruit, as well as pineapples, melons, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, and beans at about 50°F if possible.
Other Tips
- Baby lima beans (not the big, starchy ones) freeze nicely and are much tastier than commercial brands.
- Rhubarb, petite peas, sweet corn, and diagonally sliced or French–cut green beans are easy to blanch and freeze—and still taste great when thawed.
- Tomatoes, rhubarb, cucumbers, beets, cranberries, and virtually all fruits (especially peaches) are well–suited to canning, and their subsequent taste tends to be worth the added trouble. As folksinger Greg Brown put it, “Taste a little of the summer . . . Grandma’s put it all in jars.”
What permaculture is and what it is not
Article – Dr Ross Mars
Permaculture deals with our existence on this planet and it encompasses many different aspects of this. Firstly, permaculture is about producing edible landscapes, mirroring the natural ecosystems in their diversity and production. Permaculture is primarily a design system. This is the main difference between it and all other agricultural and horticultural practices. Permaculture designs endeavor to integrate all components of the ecosystem in a holistic approach to sustainable living and practice.
Permaculture started out as permanent agriculture and thus focused on the growth and development of perennial food crops. Annuals and biennials do have their place, but the use of long-living food crops, such as fruit and nut trees, is the priority. Some areas of the garden need to be devoted to annuals and in most cases they can be inter-planted between the perennial herbs and other trees as companion planted guilds. Too often, annuals are taken for granted in food production and they should be used in the system within the framework of perennial production.
Permaculture is not just about gardening, although its origin of permanent agriculture suggests this. Nowadays, permaculture is thought of along the lines of permanent culture, incorporating all aspects of human beings and human settlements.
Gardening, however, is one simple way in which people can take some responsibility for their own existence and begin to care for the Earth. Helping yourself and others to build gardens in your own backyard, in an effort to drastically reduce the need to buy produce from someone else, is one of the most environmentally-responsible things you can do to help reduce our consumption of resources and to heal the planet.
Since the late seventies the concepts of permaculture have also developed, such that it encompasses finances, water harvesting, communities, buildings, and alternative and appropriate technology. For many of us, permaculture is a framework that unites many disciplines, and so the subjects of aquaculture, ethical investment, horticulture, solar technology, soils, and many others can be integrated together, each contributing as part of the whole.
This framework permits many different forms of knowledge to be interwoven – all relative to one another. It is not a set of techniques per se, but rather how a number of techniques are employed to build a system in which energy is harvested, directed and allowed to flow. Permaculture is also different from both organic gardening and forest gardening in that both of these are techniques of garden construction and composition. Permaculture is more than this. It is a design strategy.
Design for living
Permaculture is the harmonious integration of design with ecology. The ethics of earth care, people care, limits-aware and surplus-share are common to all permaculturists, even though the design strategies and the techniques they employ vary widely. We design for long term sustainability, and this is why a design is a harmonious integration of landscape, plants, animals and humans, as well as the placement of components or elements in recognizable patterns.
Truly successful designs create a self-managed system. A large amount of what we call permaculture is really just commonsense, using human intuition and insight to solve problems that confront us.
The outcomes of good design should include:
• sustainable land use strategies, without wastes and pollution.
• established systems for healthy food production, and maybe some surplus.
• restoration of degraded landscapes, resulting in conservation of endemic species – especially rare and endangered species.
• integration and harmony of all living things on the property – all things live in an atmosphere of co-operation or interact in natural cycles.
• minimal consumption of energy.
The ultimate design, if there is such a thing, is the marriage of what is best for the land and what is best for the people who live there. What we call a “design” is really only a pictorial representation of the implied inter-relationships between objects, structures, plants, animals and humans. The drawing only gives information about placement and types of species and nothing about their interaction, which is the most important thing about any ecosystem.
Again, permaculture is not just about designing gardens. It is about designing human settlements. It is a plan that endeavors to maximize and enhance human interaction with the environment that surrounds them. This plan considers all facets of human existence. Coming to the realization that changes are needed to the ways humans live, and then facing the bold step of acknowledging that we should do something about it, is crucial for our own survival on this planet.
Many people find it difficult to accept these ideas and change their outlook. But to embrace permaculture you have to change because it requires you to look at your life and lifestyle from a different perspective. It is a life-long journey of change and growth.
Furthermore, permaculture designs are based on broad, universal principles which allow for local knowledge so that local species can be incorporated. This makes sense. Wherever possible, local resources and species, found in that soil type, climate and area, should be used. This is both economically and ecologically responsible action.
In designing, we repackage or re-assemble components already existing on the property and incorporate new ones. Components are assembled and elements placed according to the function they perform. We use insight to develop unique and effective strategies. The design may examine many options and some decisions of particular options are taken so that they are definitely included.
Each permaculture design is tailor-made. It is the marrying and blending of what grows best in the particular area and soil with what the owner or gardener wants. Permaculture empowers people to solve their own design problems and apply solutions to their everyday situations. Designers have a responsibility to recognize which permaculture principles need to be applied to a specific problem or situation. Solutions may include the use of edge, patterns or guilds, and good designers see every difficulty as really an opportunity.
A permaculture design is more than just a landscape plan. Maps, plans and overlays do not indicate or suggest the interconnectedness between things, nor can they deal with other aspects of permaculture such as the social and financial aspects of human settlements. However, a landscape-style plan does give some indication about dam and house placement, and the future location of swales and orchards.
You might think about the design as being a visual representation of the concept. Implicit in any design should be a number of energy harvesting and modifying strategies, a number of soil, water and land conservation strategies, a number of food producing strategies and a number of human settlement strategies, such as housing, shelter, village development and so on.
Designs always change and hopefully for the better. The design is the beginning point of the journey, and as new ideas and experiences develop, the design evolves as well.
How relevant is permaculture?
Permaculture is certainly about growing enough food and having a lifestyle which will enable you to become self-reliant and less dependent on the marketplace and agencies outside of your control. But it is more than this: it is about how we live, the type of houses we build, ways in which we can live more sustainably and how we deal with water, energy, soil and living things. Permaculture is fundamentally a way of life. It is about taking responsibility of your life and doing the things you feel are important for your own well being, for the well being of others and to help the environment.
In recent years there has been much talk about global warming, climate change and peak oil. Each of these will have major impacts on our future survival. Permaculture is seen by many people as providing strategies to enable us to adapt to a challenging future. How important it will be to us, only time will tell, but there is a huge re-interest in permaculture throughout the world as people begin to understand how our environment is changing and how we are totally dependent on oil.
Permaculture designs do take time to establish, but once they are implemented they become more and more productive. A larger range of useful products become available, the level of maintenance decreases and the system becomes more complicated. Permaculture, and the framework it embraces, will give people hope and enable them to develop skills to allow us to rise to the challenges of a changing world.
© Copyright Organic Association of Western Australia 2010 Website: S. Warrington
Garlic is as beautiful in the garden as it is easy to grow.
Soil preparation: Garlic will tolerate some shade but prefers full sun. While I’ve seen cloves sprout in gravel pits, garlic responds best in well-drained, rich, loamy soil amended with lots of organic matter. Raised beds are ideal, except in very dry regions.
Planting: To grow garlic, you plant the cloves, the sections of the bulb; each clove will produce a new bulb. The largest cloves generally yield the biggest bulbs. To get the cloves off to a strong start and protect them from fungal diseases, soak them in a jar of water containing one heaping tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of liquid seaweed for a few hours before planting. Plant garlic in the fall.
Spacing: Place cloves in a hole or furrow with the flat or root end down and pointed end up, with each tip 2 inches beneath the soil. Set the cloves about 6 to 8 inches apart. Top the soil with 6 inches of mulch, such as straw or dried grass clippings mixed with leaves. You’ll see shoots start growing right through the mulch in four to eight weeks, depending on your weather and the variety you’ve planted. They stop growing during winter, then start again in spring. Leave the mulch in place into spring; it conserves moisture and suppresses weeds (garlic competes poorly with weeds).
Watering: Garlic needs about an inch of water each week during spring growth. If you have to augment rainfall with the garden hose, stop watering by June 1 or when the leaves begin to yellow in order to let the bulbs firm up.
Scape Sacrifice: By mid-June, your garlic will begin sprouting flowery tops that curl as they mature and ultimately straighten out into long spiky tendrils. These savory stalks, known as scapes, should be removed to encourage larger, more efficient bulb growth. However, before adding severed scapes to the compost pile, try incorporating their mild garlic flavor into a delicious scape pesto, scape dip, or scape soup.
Fertilizing: Start foliar-feeding your garlic every two weeks as soon as leaf growth begins in spring (typically in March) and continue until around May 15, at which point the bulbs begin to form, says Darrell Merrell, host of the “Garlic Is Life” Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Merrell uses 1 tablespoon liquid seaweed mix and 1 tablespoon fish emulsion mixed into a gallon of water.
Harvesting Hints
When half to three-quarters of the leaves turn yellow-brown, typically in late June or early July (depending on the variety and the weather), it’s harvest time. Carefully dig up each bulb; do not pull, or you may break the stalk from the bulb, which can cause it to rot. Once it’s harvested, get it out of the sun as soon as possible.
Tie the garlic together in bundles of 6 to 10 bulbs (label them if you’ve grown more than one variety) and hang them to cure for about four to six weeks in a shaded, dry, and preferably drafty area.
When your garlic is thoroughly dry, trim the roots, taking care not to knock off the outer skin. Cut off the stalks about 1½ inches above the bulb if you plan to keep the garlic in bags. Recycled mesh onion bags are perfect for storage.
"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. " ~Abram L. Urban
Oh, sweet Summer time. The sounds of bees buzzing around the yard and the laughter of children fill the air, the grass is warm on your toes and you are ready to plant some flowers, but aren't sure what to plant to be different from every other garden on your block.
