Garlic

Apparently, it's time to harvest the garlic. I know this because my neighbor was recently digging his up.

I'm not as on top of harvest dates as I should be. Good to have reminders nearby!

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If you remember, I planted several different varieties last fall in two places in my yard. First, the raised veggie beds:

I've been eagerly waiting for these to come out, since it means I get a lot of planting space back in these beds!

Some of the heads were a very nice size:

Others were disappointingly small:

I suspect that sunlight was the main issue here -- these beds get partially shaded by trees, and some of these plants just didn't get enough sunlight.

The second area that was planted (because I had so many extra cloves) was around one of my newly-planted bamboos:

I seem to have misplaced the map that shows which varieties I planted where, as I know there were at least 3 different ones here -- maybe more:

So I just guessed on some of these, and labeled them with numbers. Sure hope I find that map!

I should mention that the winds were whipping up and some really dark clouds had moved after I was halfway through this task, so I was hurrying. I probably could have knocked more of the soil off of some of these.

They're all hanging in my garage with a fan blowing on them for air circulation, and will be here for two weeks. Then it's garlic-eating time!

For now though I get to plant more veggies! I'll start with beans, cucumbers, and kale. Maybe a few more tomatoes. Exciting!


Note: I'll post an update on which varieties did best for me once they're done curing and I clean them. I should also mention that I did leave some of the smaller plants in the ground to see if I could get them to size up a bit more -- I'll harvest them soon.

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