Finally we're getting some cooler, wetter weather in Ohio. Perfect garlic planting weather. I like to get my garlic in sometime during the second half of October, so it has time to get established before the real cold weather arrives. I separate the bulbs into cloves, then place them about 5 or 6 inches apart throughout the bed. I poke them down an inch or two with a finger, cover them up with soil, and finish with a layer of leaves or wood chips to suppress weeds. If you have good, workable soil, this is a quick and enjoyable fall chore.
There are a few carrots in this bed, left to overwinter and ideally produce seed next year. They won't interfere with the garlic much, so I'm just going to leave them. I also label each bed with the type of garlic I planted, allowing me to keep accurate records of successes and failures.
Garlic is easy to grow. It will be ready to harvest sometime mid-season next year, in plenty of time to plant something else in the bed.
If you don't have a bed that's ready for planting, or if your soil is less than perfect, it's not too late to prepare. Scrap lumber, stones, salvage bricks, or small logs can all be used to make a enclosure to hold soil in a raised bed. I like to make a quick wall with bricks thrown down in careless way. Why spend more time than you have to?
Stores, especially big box stores, often sell seasonal items like bagged composts and potting soils at huge discounts to make way for their Christmas inventory. While I don't recommend relying on this stuff in the long term, it does allow you to start planting cheaply.
If you don't want to purchase bagged soils (which aren't very high quality in most cases) try searching for local gardeners or farmers who have excess compost, and offer to buy it. Most gardeners feel that they never have enough, but you might get lucky and find one willing to part with his or her black gold for the right price.
This arrangement rewards established gardeners for a high quality local product that sequesters carbon and is full of microscopic life, unlike bagged goods.
Don't believe the dire warnings that topsoil lost is irreplaceable for years. Nature's soil building takes ages but humans can speed up the process immensely. It's makes sense to not only buy local meat and produce, but soil amendments as well.
Next time: soil, seed saving, and turtles. Or maybe just turtles.
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