The Garlic is in the Ground

We finally got the garlic in the ground yesterday and I can’t tell you how relieved I am because planting garlic is one of those little things that brings me so much comfort and so much joy.

Maybe it’s the act of putting something in the not-yet-frozen earth knowing full well it will sleep while the snow flies and come to life as soon as Nature tells it to, come spring.

Or maybe it’s the comfort of knowing that there’s one less thing to plant next spring that will provide for us in the late summer/early fall.

Or maybe it’s just because I simply love garlic and eat it on pretty much every thing savory under the sun, both fresh and powdered.

No matter what it is, it just feels so good to get it in the ground.

Now, this year required a substantial bit more prep than in years past because it went straight in the ground and not into a raised bed like at our old house and though the weeds are dead now, the soil in our garden will require lots of tending for seasons to come.

Plus, there were actual rows to hoe (imagine that?!) and my blistered hands now speak of my apparent inability to hoe a straight line without the aid of markers.

There’s always something to improve upon, isn’t there?

So, what varieties did we plant?  Well, in my quest to be more intentional about our purchases when and where I can, I decided this year would be the perfect time to hit the Farmer’s Market and purchase some seed garlic from the locals. Here’s what I found:

• Spanish Red from Revolution Farm – A hard neck variety with pretty, purple streaked papers that is good for eating either raw or cooked. We planted 36 cloves of this variety.
• Italian Red Artichoke from Zulu’s Petals Farm – A soft neck variety in white papers that is great for roasting. We planted 74 cloves of this variety.

The 110 cloves were planted in two ~40 foot rows and, honestly, there were many more cloves to plant, but we decided to stop at that seeing as, if they all survive and thrive, that will be more than enough for us to use for a year and we’re not quite ready yet to invest in much more than what we can use (ie: plant a Market Garden).

There’s always next year for such things 🙂

xoxo,
M