Did you know that this is the perfect time to plant garlic in Iowa? It loves the cold weather and will be ready for harvest about next August. One little planting section of garlic will produce enough to last most families through the winter months.
I am going to go to Earl May tonight and buy some garlic bulbs to plant in the corner of my strawberry patch. I have a little room there and that soil has been amended by compost for many months. Garlic loves well drained and enriched soil.
Do not plant the garlic you buy in the store. Most of it "has been sprayed with a chemical to prevent sprouting"... Are you kidding me? Again, another chemical? I wonder what that does to us?
Anyway, that is why I am going to get my bulbs from the plant store and not the grocery store. When you get the bulb home, take off the outermost and larger little bulbettes and plant them about 4 inches into the ground. Keep them about 4 inches apart and space the rows at least a foot apart. Water well and cover with hay or some other substance to keep them insulated and healthy for the winter. In the spring you can remove the covering substance and let them grow!! If you want to fertilize, a balanced fertilizer is recommended. I think I will rely on my composted soil to give it the nutrients it needs and try for some organic garlic by next winter! Remember to keep your little garden patch weeded next summer, as garlic does not compete well with weeds!
Next summer when the greenery above the ground dies away, it is time to dig up your new garlic bulbs. I suppose you could save one of them and replant it next fall too!
By the way, when planting your garlic, use only the biggest bulbettes and save the little puny ones to cook with.
Gardening.. fun to do.. great way to ensure you know what is put on your food.. saves money at the grocery store. Be adventurous! Dig up a little section of your yard or plan a raised garden or a container garden for next spring. If you would like gardening questions answered, send me an email or comment on this blog and I will use those questions to plan and write subsequent blogs!
Enjoy this last warm week of Iowa weather!!
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