Growing garlic (5): harvesting

Garlic glory! All our hard work has finally paid off. Just kidding. Garlic didn't actually require any work.

I finally pulled up all our garlic. It turned out great. It's the first time we've grown garlic and I'm pleased with the result. Tastes great, and the aroma is strong and permeating. Much more intense than store-bought garlic. In the end we had about 17 big bulbs. Considering how easy it was, we'll definitely be doing it again this winter.

 

 

We roasted a whole bulb to give it a taste. Very nice. Roasted garlic is so soft and subtle. It makes a good little snack. 

Growing garlic (4): update

Our garlic is not looking too bad. Also you can now see a difference between the two types I planted. I planted the largest cloves from some big garlic bulbs I bought at the organic market and 1 clove from regular store-bought garlic. The red arrow is the store bought clove. Go little dude, go. Hopefully in a couple weeks I can show you the difference in yield.

I'm still a bit nervous about the outcome. The clay soil we have here holds a lot of moisture, and even though I tried to thoroughly dig the soil and get it properly loose before planting, I'm not sure there is enough drainage. I don't want the cloves to rot. But we'll see what happens. The stalks seem to be doing alright, so I guess it can't be all bad, right? On the upside, on hot and dry days when we don't have time to go over and water everything, the added moisture retention helps.

Growing garlic (3): Rabbit-free garlic

The netting I put up to keep the rabbits out seems to be working. The garlic stalks are coming up with no more bite marks.

We added some fertilizer last weekend for the last growth spurt. In a month or two looking forward to the first homegrown garlic. Big juicy cloves.

Growing garlic (2): Update

Well, the sun was out for a few moments this weekend, so stopped by to see how things are going. The garlic seems to have survived. A few chew marks from the rabbits, but all the cloves I planted in October are still going. Can't wait to see how they turn out.

The leeks however seem to have been the main course for the rabbits. A few bits are still sticking out, but most have completely disappeared. From the 25 I planted, only 7 remain.

Oh well. I replanted the survivors next to the garlic plot and put up some netting to try and discourage further foraging. Don't know if it will work, but better than nothing. Last time they tried tunneled under it. Not quite a rabbit proof fence.

Garlic and leeks

Hmm. Safe? We'll have to wait and see.

Growing garlic (1): Winter update

Well, not really much to update about. There isn’t really anything happening at the moment. Snowy days. Cold ground. But I went past anyway just to check things out.

The garlic is just barely peaking out through the snow. Leaves patiently waiting for warmer days to make a move. These are from some large cloves I bought at the organic grocery store. I’m hoping that these cloves turn into huge bulbs in the spring. Very curious to see the results. This is the first time that we’re growing garlic, so I’m hoping for a good finish! Plus, I love garlic. Nothing like being able to breathe your colleagues half to death because of last night's meal.

In October I had already turned most of the soil over. I emptied our compost bin into the garden and worked it in as best I could. For the garlic section, I added a bit more and worked the ground as loose as possible. The cloves went in about 2-3 cm. In late November I covered it up with a layer of dead leaves for insulation.

Seems like its working out alright. Still going strong even through the cold. And when warm weather comes, I’m hoping for some good growth action as the plant bolts to form bulbs.