# 268: Well THAT Was Fast
200 garlic seeds planted in a little over an hour!
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A Record Set
If there is a speed record for planting garlic in the Pie Cottage garden I think it may have shattered today. Let me explain. For years, I’m out there weeding, fluffing soil, creating ditch rows, placing cloves and covering cloves. Since it’s now officially the rainy season, when I see a sun-break predicted today around 1pm, I slip on my barn-boots, rain-hat and gloves, and take out two big bowlfuls of garlic that I have already split apart into individual cloves (seeds).
De rigueur of course is hoe and rake but today there is an addition—well, two actually. An auger bit that fits on Duncan’s drill and Duncan who has joined me to plant our absolute favorite crop. I bought the auger bit a few seasons ago when I was putting in a new bed of the bright pink tulips that pop up in front of the cottage each spring.
Duncan helps me with some weeding and smoothing of beds and then, working as a team, he makes a hole with the auger fitted on to his drill and I follow by slipping a garlic clove into it. We rake soil over the now filled cavities and I say Grow and Prosper to the little darlings that we’ll harvest scapes from in early June and the mature heads in late July. Five beds are planted in less time than it usually takes me to do one! It goes so fast that I have no time to stop and take a photo to show you. But, here’s what it looks like when we finish.
We plant one bed along the inside of the fence on the left, another on either side of the blue thingies—which I will tell you about shortly—another in the raised bed where Hotei, the Laughing Buddah sits, and two additional beds beyond that. I know that sounds like a lot of garlic but, with two separate households making three home-cooked meals everyday, it’s not unusual for us to run out before spring comes. No vampires here!
If you’ve never planted garlic before there’s still a bit of time to get them into the ground and join in the fun. Here’s a newsletter piece I wrote on how to do it from back in October of 2021.
But What About the Blue Thingies?
Here’s the lowdown on the blue thingies. I get them on sale a few years ago at World Market. I mean really on sale. I go to the desk when I see them marked at just $5 each to make sure my eyes are not deceiving me as I know they sell for LOTS more than that. When the checker says, “Yep, it’s an end of season, get it out of the store sale,” I buy two for me and one for a friend. They are very colorful on the deck and…
some month’s ago, I place one over a grassy area in front of “The Little House”, which is what we call the guest house, set a little table and chairs on top and, when I lift it off the grassy area for the end of season mow last week, THIS is what I find. No weeds or grass!
So, I think, Heck, if it works so well here I think I’ll try it over an area of the garden where uninvited weeds have decided to squat. Do I have news for them—at least, I hope I have news for them. We’ll find out this coming spring with the great unveiling!
In the meantime Happy Samhain and Halloween and be sure to vote!
P.S. Check in this Saturday for our next ‘Toon Day ‘cuz I think you’ll love it, too!
November 26 Paid Subscriber Session: The Piechiatrist is In
Have a question about your Thanksgiving pie? My alter ego, The Piechiatrist, will be available via Zoom for pie making questions on Tuesday November 26 at 8AM for an hour. This session is for is for paid subscribers only and it will be recorded so you can watch it later if you can’t make the live session. I’ll send out the Zoom link to paid subscribers an hour before the session. So, bring those burning questions and I’ll do my best to answer them and, if you don’t have a question you’re welcome, too. Bring a mug of coffee or cup of tea.
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What I’m Listening To
It’s the Great Pumpkin Waltz by Vince Guaraldi
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Kate McDermott’s Newsletter is AI Free
I haven’t grown garlic for years but earlier this month I poked 100 seeds into the ground. It’s really just an experiment. Somehow most of my plantings feel like that.
I love garlic! Maybe I should put a few cloves in a pot on the front porch.