In my household, we eat a lot of garlic.
Garlic is great for your health. It contains cancer-fighting chemicals, relaxes blood vessels, and increases blood flow. But an increasing amount of garlic in supermarkets comes from China, which produces 75% of the world's supply of the pungent herb. Concern about levels and types of pesticides and soil contaminants found on food imports, both fresh and processed, is causing many people, including me, to look for safe and reliable sources of food. So I am starting to grow my own.
I was late in placing my order this year so I didn't get the specific variety I wanted, but I think the organic 'Red Toch' softneck garlic I got from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Mineral, Virginia, will be more than satisfactory.
I'm mixing up my plantings this year, starting some in containers and mixing some in with ornamentals in established beds.
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Amy, this must be the time for garlic planting. Every other post is about how to plant garlic. I use mostly garlic powder in my cooking but as easy as it seems to grow garlic, I will be looking into planting some next fall. It's really out of my row crop farmer thinking to plant any thing in the fall. I'm working on that. ***** Have a great garlic planting day.