Garlic planting time!

It was perfect timing. We got out to the garden before the first big snowfall to plant garlic. T'is the season, after all. Though, when isn't it garlic season? Garlic is a curious vegetable, in that it never really stops growing. It lives in the ground all winter, is harvested in the summer, and then returns to the earth in the fall.



On November 17th I was accompanied by a grade 2 class from Salem Elementary School to plant garlic at the garden. Garlic likes to be planted in fertile, well drained soil, so we planted it along the berm, facing the road. I separated the bulbs and the kids planted the cloves wherever they chose to. They were very enthusiastic to plant the garlic, and eat it too! Sure, maybe they left with stinky breath, but I don't think they'll be getting sick anytime soon! We put a covering of straw mulch on the berm after planting, to provide insulation for the long, cold winter. The straw is like a warm winter coat, the kids told me. It will also help to prevent a continuous freezing and thawing of the ground in early winter and spring, keep the root system stable, and prevent weeds and preserve moist, fertile soil.





Before the kids left, they also got to harvest some carrots for a mid-morning snack.

They will be able to come back to the garden in the spring to see the garlic poke through the mulch and hopefully help harvest it in the summer.

A big thanks to Shannon and Bryan of Broadfork Farm for their generous donation of the red Italian garlic! A thank you as well to the teacher and parent volunteers who helped out.