The 14 varieties of garlic are looking good so far. The entire raised garden is planted with them as well as several dozen planted in 24" diameter pots.

Good to see the 'good work' being carried on Ken. I must admit to having given up on garlic. I know it can work here but don't seem to have the knack. I did manage to grow both bunching and bulb (the yellow and white big guys) last year but not sure if it was worth how much of a raised bed I used. I joined two beds in the front yard so I have room to plant vegies interspersed with flowers out there. Left a big open spot for dahlias but lots of space between for small amounts of vegies. This fall it would be a good place to plant garlic. We put a moose fence around it; even covered with Christmas net lights. Worked great. Totally rototilled the entire thing, amended with compost etc and then rechurned. Replanted with lots of new stuff from the back yard. Quite a project but glad we did it.

Hi all!

Looking good, Ken -- I hope you have a great harvest this year!

Out of curiosity, have you ever had squirrels eat the tops of the garlic off? Nothing has ever bothered mine, but my SIL in Florida tried planting a few bulbs a couple of months ago and said they came up well but squirrels ate the tops.

Maybe mine will start sprouting in a couple of months or so...

Other than onions, garlic is the one plant that nothing seems to touch. No squirrels, rabbits, or deer. I just cannot even imagine a squirrel having a taste for garlic. But I only know what my own experiences have taught. We are cold, cold, cold here. It got down to freezing last night. We have bright sunshine, but in the shade or in the north wind, it feels really cold. We are so wet, the dampness just increases that cold-feeling.

Oh yeah. I am much warmer at -50F when there is no wind moving and it is very dry than at 0 with high humidity and a breeze. Brrrrr.

Wow, Mary, I cannot even fathom that kind of cold. I would need more than venous antifreeze!

Indeed that is helpful.

I'd be warmer at -50, too -- because I'd be in bed with the furnace cranked up and the electric mattress pad on high! I do agree that the wet weather makes the cold feel even colder, though. And more miserable in general

Ken, my in-laws must have some rare mutant squirrels where they live

You forgot to also have on your socks, bathrobe, and muffler. There are times I have been so bone cold that (with the exception of the muffler) that is what I wore to bed. Generally doesn't last all night, but I get soooo tired of being cold. I would even move to Michigan if that would help. If winter can be called nice, it would be in Michigan.

I guess so, Sandy. Perhaps, if there is not ample forage-food for squirrels, they are forced to eat stuff they normally wouldn't. You know, an old remedy said to keep animals out of a garden was to puree garlic cloves, mix with water, and sprinkle or spray the mixture around the perimeter of the garden. Does it work? I have no idea.

Oberon46 said: You forgot to also have on your socks, bathrobe, and muffler. There are times I have been so bone cold that (with the exception of the muffler) that is what I wore to bed. Generally doesn't last all night, but I get soooo tired of being cold. I would even move to Michigan if that would help. If winter can be called nice, it would be in Michigan.

LOL, Mary -- your frame of reference would make winter almost anywhere else look good...

Ken, I had forgotten about the repellents that use garlic; I've never tried it myself, but I know you can buy some clip-on things, which I think contain garlic oil, that are supposed to keep deer away. I think the squirrels in our area are so fat from eating all the bird seed they can hold (from our feeders; a lot of people think we're crazy, but it seems like a lot more fun to me to just buy more seed than to try to get rid of the squirrels) that they could care less about anything in the garden! In fact, I don't remember ever seeing one in the veg garden, although they sure like to sit up in the trees behind it and chatter at me when I'm out there.

I really wouldn't mind the squirrels (and we seem to have an unending supply of them) if they would just leave my orchids alone. All my tropical plants, including 400 or so orchids, are outside, under large oaks and cedars for about 7 months. I don't know why, and it makes no sense to me, but often when one of my orchids gets heavy with bud(s) and just before blooming, squirrels will cut those fat buds right off. They simply drop them to the ground and then ignore them. They don't eat them. That's why I trap and "relocate" them. Our neighborhood has so many, I will never catch a significant number, but at least I can lessen the damage they do during the spring and summer months.

Geez -- wrecking the orchids would definitely be cause for a "relocation program" ! I wonder if that's what has become of all the lady slipper orchids we used to have growing in the woods on our property; I rarely see one anymore.

I can't answer that question, Sandy.