My garlic gardening may have turned the corner into garlic farming! I have three 3 ft wide rows, planted with 6 plants across at 6 inch intervals, and two rows planted with 4 across. Each is 116 ft long. It took most of 3 days to hand plant it all, one clove at a time. The rows are marked with a homemade tool that punches holes, then I get down on my knees and do the planting. In late June/early July it will be ready to dig up, bundle and hang to dry in dark sheds. Lately I have been wondering about my sanity, and have said at least once "Oh, Lord, what have I done?"
The weather is perfect, frosty nights, sunny days in the low 60's. I'm working on messy flower beds, and putting geraniums in the used-to-be garage where they won't freeze to death over the winter. About the end of April I will take them into the greenhouse to start waking up. Leaves have turned yellowish and are starting to fall. So far our lowest early morning temperature has been 26. The vegie garden is a mess and I still have a table full of now ripened tomatoes to can. When the table is empty I will bring winter squash inside from a shed where they have been for the past week or so. The potatoes are still in the ground, bean pole teepees are still up, tomato support fences still in place. I need a lot of good weather to finish it all.
