New & Improved (?) Green Garlic Scheme
Last year I planned a separate “green garlic” bed using a couple hundred of the leftover runt cloves after my main garlic planting. (Check out the half dozen “Green Garlic” Posts from last year if you aren’t familiar.)
This year I intended on doing the same, but then ended up short on time and decided not to go through the tedium of dividing the runt garlic head into individual runt cloves… Instead I just planted the smaller heads whole.
I figure when the bulbing starts (right about the time it should be harvested) separating them will be easy enough.
Or not.
🙂 Like many other things that are tried back here, we will just have to see….
Anyway, the three plantings are all coming along fine- One was done in November, another in December and then a couple just last month.
Last month’s are just now coming up in the foreground, with the others behind:
It sort of resembles fresh mondo grass plantings:
A closer view shows that most cloves sprouted for each head planted, so maybe this is going to work.
Stay tuned.
Artichoke Check In
For a change, I was home this evening in time to do a walk through while it was still fairly light.
Time to check in on the artichoke in the hoophouse and see how it handled the hard freezes last week.
I pulled back the row cover that has been an extra layer of insulation for most of the winter and was pleased to find that the plant appears to be healthy and damage free. So maybe we will get some ‘chokes this spring after all…..
Still Winter
Yes, it is still winter here in north Georgia.
It was in the lower 20s the night before last, then sleet and cold rain arrived and sputtered on us for the entire grey cold day. We decided a big batch of grits and greens would be right for the evening meal, so late in the morning I wandered out to the hoop house to cut a batch.
The sun hadn’t shined at all and the outside temp was in the mid 30s, but the inside of the hoop house was a quite humid 45+. I’m still amazed by how well this works: a simple pvc pipe & plastic “tent” with with a couple of 55 gallon barrels of water for a heat sink.
Before I cut any greens I noticed that the 3 or 4 remaining bok choy plants were doing well. These were the runts in a crowded corner of a bed; I divided and replanted them with a little more space between them a month or so ago and forgot about them. Given a little room to breath (and absorb more sun over the short days), these were thriving again.
So a spicy stir-fry replaced greens on the evening menu.
No, this isn’t a ground breaking or particularly clever post, but I figured I’d remind you gardeners out there that even a winter garden can be quite productive with a little planning.
Agreed?
Eleven
I took inventory of the remaining cabbage “on the stump” in the garden.
Ten heads remain, so this isn’t what the clever title is about.
“Eleven” is for pounds, the weight of this particular head. (It is representative of the majority of what is left in the garden; the balance are a slightly smaller variety.) It is rather hefty so I’m now motivated to look for more recipe ideas on the interweb.
The top leaf has some browned areas from the dozens of frosts that have hit it over the last couple of months, but everything underneath is in great shape.
This might make up for last fall’s lettuce disappointment (damn seeding eating varmints) although I imagine that we might be cabbaged-out by march.
Nom.
Frost, Coffee and a Camera
(From property @ Cohutta Wilderness, north Georgia, USA)
Night Garden Scavenging
In the freezing rain…..
Worth it.
Artichoke? Winter?
We’ve had a few nights in the low to mid 20s here lately and my hoop-house artichoke seems to be doing quite well.
I have kept it covered with light spun row cover and planted two 55 gallon water barrels next to it for hear retention.
It looks better than I expected it to look in the middle of summer although this is the plant that has yet to yield a single choke……
The kale is holdover from last winter that regenerated from a stem which had been pretty much stripped of all its leaves more than once. It perked up when the weather chilled a bit and is now big enough for me to worry about competition again.
One of the cabbage in the foreground is ready to be harvested, we just haven’t caught up from wedding and holidays enough to assess what we have and schedule out our “winter harvest diet” yet.
Almost
I’m almost back in business now that this short walk is behind me…..
I say “almost” since I spent 3 days of the last week sick in bed and still have to attend to family coming in for Christmas, but I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
Stay tuned, my hoop-house is up and the “new” design for this winter seems to be more functional as far as ventilation than last year’s model.
And Now
The spectacular sunset captured this evening from my front steps was fitting….
The wedding is behind us and was a resounding success. A few loose ends remain but we have exited the wormhole that we entered a year ago.
But the seasons continue and after some much needed rest it will almost be seed starting time again.
I’ll think about it tomorrow, when I can stand it.
Behind cohutt's fence 