There was a major difference traveling down south this past weekend – a lot of activity in the fields … the corn was being harvested! But not all fields were ready. Corn was planted later down south because of all the rain they received; some farmers had to plant a second crop of seeds since the first rotted in the ground – which is a substantial monetary loss for most. So the majority of harvesting was closer up north and following behind those huge machines as they travel on the road used to irritate us being city folks and all, but it doesn’t seem to anymore. We can appreciate what the farmers are doing and respect them and understand the hard work that it takes to harvest acres and acres of corn.
This week also ushers in bow hunting season for deer. Our neighbors are all revved up and will have many exciting stories to tell us as we listen wide-eyed and open mouthed! It is amazing to realize that this is a very important part of our new neighbors lives and Stan did witness the significance last year when he stopped by one of their homes. He stood chatting along with the neighbor as he cleaned the deer (he said it was something that would take quite some time for me to adjust to). Agreed. Remarkable fact about this deer he was cleaning was his 9 year old daughter had shot it with her bow!! Wow…
Although I won’t be hunting any deer this week, I am proud to say I did plant my garlic! I received 2 bulbs of 4 different types, two softneck and two hardneck. Fall is the time to plant garlic and I am looking forward to success this coming July when I harvest the crop. The two varieties of softneck I planted are – Chet’s Italian Red and Inchelium Red.
The hardneck varieties are Chrysalis Purple and Shevelisi.
The hardneck garlic types have a stalk in the center which is hard and these bulbs were much more difficult to break apart for planting.
The hardneck varieties have fewer cloves than the softneck, but the cloves are bigger and the flavor is more robust. The softneck which has more cloves (smaller) has a longer shelf life than the hardneck.
I planted the garlic 6″ apart, 2″ deep and the rows are about 12″ apart. The pointed end of the garlic should be facing up.
I dug out some compost from the bin … what a great additive to the garden any time! I put a layer on top of the soil covered garlics and will mulch with 4-6″ of shredded leaves when they fall. (picture of compost bin and rewards)
Stay posted for the Garlic Harvest next July!!!
