Hope Is a Garden
I have been growing garlic since the garden’s first autumn in 2018. Planted as individual cloves before the ground freezes under a deep layer of mulch (ideally straw), they are some of the earliest plants to emerge in the spring. In mid-June we cut the garlic scapes to prevent flowering and cook them like garlicky green beans. Sometime in July the bottom couple leaves have browned and we pull the garlic and let it dry under the carport for a few weeks. By replanting the largest cloves, I have selected for this trait and for plants that generally thrive in the conditions of my garden. Trimmed of their stalks, the garlic keeps until June stored in the basement in a cardboard box one layer deep. Two smaller garden beds planted in garlic is enough for replanting and all the garlic my family can eat.