Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Garlic in the Ground


We got the garlic planted on Sunday afternoon. A late fall ritual for us now, and the first time we have ever planted seed garlic that we grew ourselves. We're starting to work out a crop rotation for our garden, and so this time the garlic went into the bed where the peppers grew this summer (above, with a visitor), and a strip up front by the lawn.


It either means we're giant garden nerds, or actually sort-of-farmers, but we're so proud of our soil. We've only lived here a year and a half, but already the dry, thin soil that was originally in the garden beds is now deliciously dark and beautifully textured, having been tilled several times, and amended regularly with our homegrown compost. We are leaving all root matter in the soil now, to help aerate and add more organic matter. In the front yard, the thick, dense clay soil was broken up nicely by the potatoes and tomatoes that grew there this summer, and by the thick mulch of rabbit-straw that covered it last winter, breaking down and blending in to give it natural fertilizer and a softer texture.


Lilac leaves raked up and used to mulch one raised bed. This bed has been constantly in use since we moved in, so it was time to give it a break.

Planting cloves from the most robust bulbs of our Chesnok Red.




We planted 85 cloves. We grew about 80 bulbs this year, and that seems to be about right, since we use about 2-3 bulbs per week.

Mulching with chicken/rabbit straw.

Safely tucked in. See you next summer, garlic!

Our November yard: yellow leaves and green grass, as opposed to the summer arrangement of yellow grass and green leaves. 

It's election day here in the U.S. (You may have noticed. It's been on the news occasionally....).
I have no qualms in sharing that have my fingers crossed (plus a few weeks of hoping and praying stocked up) that we end up with a president who doesn't feel that his life's calling was to make money in private equity, who believes that all Americans should have healthcare whether or not they "earn" it, who doesn't believe that it is the government's job to decide what I get do with my uterus, and who thinks that ALL people should be able to marry the person they love.


1 comment:

Sam said...

Congrats on the Obama win!

Liz you're always so inspiring. I wish I could visit and take a walk in your garden. Being on the other side of the globe we just don't have the plants/house styles/climate that you do. It sometimes surreal to look at your photos. Hope you stay warm as the cooler months approach you and Matt. Sam xox