How To Grow Garlic

Being half Italian, I put garlic or garlic powder in just about everything I cook. 

Pasta and pizza sauce, chicken and beef stew, steak, grilled chicken, turkey burgers, and guacamole....yum!

 Because I use it every day, I though I'd try growing some. It looks easy enough.

Back in September I ordered some garlic from Burpee along with a dibbler. I love gadgets that makes your job easier, don't you? You could buy some organic garlic from the grocery store, but don't buy non organic garlic is sprayed with something to keep it from sprouting. If you are thinking of growing garlic, you might want to google what grows best in your neck of the woods and when the best time to plant it is. 

For all of you farther North, I think you have to plant garlic in September, but around here it's mid October. I'm about a week late, but we've been having some warm weather and garlic doesn't like heat, so I think I'm ok...we shall see.

Garlic loves well drained soil with lots of compost, so make sure you have good soil.  Here's how the dibbler works...you plunge it into the soil up to the stainless steel part and twist it back and forth a couple of times. This makes a perfect hole for the clove to be planted between 2 and 4 inches. Also , plant them 6 inches apart.

You can use a dibbler to make a perfect hole like this or you can just dig a hole or trench with a trowel.

Separate the cloves and use only the large, good cloves. See how the clove on the far right (all by itself) has a dark soft spot? Don't plant any like that.

 Plant the pointy part of the clove up toward the sky. Most of the points aren't this long.

I planted two rows of 28(2 different kinds of garlic) in the potato bed. My potatoes to the right of the garlic are doing well, as are my snap peas. I've harvested quite a few snap peas ~ they are growing on the trellis in the far bed. There are even 3 or 4 zucchini growing on my last plant. They don't grow quite as fast or large as they do in the summer. 

Buddy always loves to come and help me in the garden. He's such a sweetie.

The carrots are doing well and are starting to form below the ground.

Picked these goodies from our garden just last week. Sugar Snap Peas are my favorite veggie that I grow.

 My purple flowers are in full bloom. Can't remember the name of them. Anyone know what the name of this flower is?

Hope you are enjoying Fall. It was 80 degrees here yesterday. The nights are crisp and cool, but the sun warms up everything so nicely during the day. Would love it if it was like this all the time...But, alas, this is not Southern California...Just for the record, I'm not complaining ; )

How are things in your neck of the woods? Would love to know if you've ever grown garlic and how it turned out.

Pam

Fall Veggie Garden

I am so enjoying these cooler days, aren't you?

 We've had a couple of warm days, but the nights and mornings have cooled off to the point where you could wear long sleeves or a light jacket. My Fall veggie garden is all planted, except for another row of potatoes and I'm not sure if I'll get to planting those. 

The tomato plants are producing another round of good sized fruit and I've just harvested the first of the radishes I planted a few weeks ago.

The peppers are doing beautifully now. The sweet peppers didn't set at all while the weather was super hot. These hot peppers always had peppers growing on them, though. Not sure what I'm going to do with these since none of us like to eat them. I thought the seeds were yellow sweet peppers. Surprise!

They actually turn a pretty shade of red if they stay on the plant long enough.

The green peppers are about half way done.

I planted snap peas last month, as well and they are already starting to flower.

The marigolds did really well in the hot weather we had this summer. They have taken over the raised bed with the tomatoes and peppers. Look at all the buds that will be blooming soon. Now you know what to plant if you have hot summers!

The hot weather was really brutal on the lettuce I planted in the shade a couple of months ago. It didn't even grow large enough to harvest.

The romaine lettuce I planted about 3 weeks ago is finally doing well. Looks like this batch is going to make it. We had a little hot spell last week and some torrential rain last night, but fortunately I covered them with a wood frame with black screen. The little seedlings behind were just planted last week and are already coming up. Had I not covered them with a screen last night, they would have all been washed away in the downpour last night. See, I've learned a thing or two!

This particular kind of Romaine did really well in early Spring and it tasted great!

It's called "Cos" Romaine. It's crunchy and tasty, too.

I planted some broccoli plants, but am having a little trouble with those getting nibbled on in the middle of the night. Hope I get a few heads from the garden. I also planted carrots which are about 6 inches tall. 

A whole bunch of cucumber seeds came up in the compost pile, so I planted them. We'll see if they can produce any cucumbers before the first frost in November. It's a race against time.

Well, now you're up to date on the Fall veggie garden. Anyone else planting any veggies this Fall? If you're new to gardening, you can always plant some lettuce in a container. Lettuce is an easy cool season veggie and looks pretty as it grows.

I almost forgot that I will be planting some garlic in October! Better get some asap.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Pam