Keep the vampires AWAY from here, please! This the season to do so… What do I mean? Thats right – GARLIC. Tis the season to plant garlic! Some might think it’s too late. Some might think its to early. I think there’s no time like the present. Our little homestead is located in zone 5b. Our average first frost is September 20th. When it comes to planting garlic, it seems like everyone has a different opinion on when to plant. Some say to plant between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Some say 30 days before your first frost (ha!). Some say you can plant it late as long as you amend the soil to make it acidic.
I’m often of the mindset that there will ~always~ be a better day, a better way, and a better time to plant/harvest/do whatever it is your wanting to do. And while it is true you want the conditions to be favorable to get the best harvest, PLEASE don’t let that stop you from planting. Just PLANT. If you have time now and you wont latter, plant now. If you don’t have time now, plant later. I figure – as long as the ground isn’t frozen – you still have time to plant your garlic. (Or shallots, which I learned you can plant in the fall like garlic?! Thanks Fruition Seeds!)
I planted my garlic on October 25th. I bought it on October 12th. It sat in a paper bag in my cold kitchen for two weeks. Then I finally got my butt in gear and planted that stuff. We purchased 2 pounds at the Fedco fall blub sale. Which I didn’t even know was a thing, but it was GREAT. Wait – 20% off garlic! Yes PLEASE! Especially since we had been meaning to order it, but always forgot.
The 2 pounds turned into 135 cloves. Thats a lot of garlic, folks. That’s two heads of garlic a week. Dang! I mean, that’s probably about how much we eat, but still. That’s a lot of garlic. I can’t wait for it to peep up in the spring. It will grow beautiful garlic scapes that we can harvest and eat (but never do). I can already smell the aroma of garlic and onions on my stove. Yum. Oh wait… that’s actually just Zach making some pasta sauce for dinner. But still, yum!
Next year, it will be OUR garlic and OUR onions going in the pan with OUR tomatoes to make that delicious sauce. MMMMMmmmmMMMmm.
Have you planted your garlic yet? What time of year do you plant it? Let me know!