I came home late last week and discovered a lovely little box had arrived.
“The garlic is here!” I exclaimed, as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.
“What?” Steve looked up from his laptop and over at where I hovered over the little box, scissors in hand.
“The garlic!” I tore into the box and held up the little bag. “Look! Heirloom garlic!”
I ordered the garlic in September from an Iowa miracle location: Seed Savers Exchange. This organization warrants a longer post another time, but suffice it to say that I know where I’ll be getting my seeds from for next year – it’s a terrific resource.
I decided to try to plant some garlic after reading the fairly simple instructions Kenny posted over at Veggie Gardening Tips. Understand: this is a pretty big leap for me. Plant something now and have no idea for months whether it worked or not? I’m not particularly good with the antithesis of instant gratification.
I suppose planting garlic will be a good test of gardening patience for me. If it comes up, it comes up. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’ll find out one way or the other sometime in April or May.
I should mention that I’ve thought about planting garlic for years. Way back in 1999, when I lived in a house in Arlington, I thought it would be fun to stick some garlic in the ground out back and just see what would happen. I had read somewhere that I could even just go buy some garlic at the store—no special seedbulbs required—and, as long as I planted it at the right time, I’d end up with my own fabulous cloves in the Spring.
But that Fall, I missed the window of planting opportunity, and the following Fall, it had already become clear that I should probably not do any planting in that yard, because I wasn’t going to be there to see anything come up.
Sure enough, that January, I moved to an apartment in the same neighborhood, and gave up on the thought of planting any garlic or, really, anything else.
So. I have garlic seed. It’s not actually in the ground yet, but the fact that I have it in the house at all is a great deal of progress for me.
Oooooh, I’ll be eager to read about your success next spring. I’ve always wanted to grow garlic in my herb garden, but never have gotten organized to do it. I need a role model! I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for your garlic!
Lydia, your confidence in me is inspiring! I’m hoping to be able to plant these this weekend, and that it won’t be too late. The weather here has been such a crapshoot!
I’ve planted garlic twice; the first time in the main garden where it did okay but was hard to work around when it was time to roto-til the following spring. I got lots of very small but tasty bulbs. The second time I planted next to the garden but the soil was such hard clay it was not a success. This year I’m trying in the herb garden which is better soil. We’ll see…. I wish you better luck - and look forward to hearing the results….
Hey Inadvertent, while you’re planning for spring, watcha gonna be for Halloween? A Tomato? Or Broccoli? Or is that role already filled by your hairstylist’s spawn?
Katie, the issue of space is something I’ve kind of worried about. I guess if I put other plants in later, I can pull it off. We’ll see…
Hey Steve, I think I’m about as far along on costume planning as you are. The hairstylist’s kid is going to be a lamp this year, unfortunately. Broccoli was his idea for LAST year. As for me, if I had the materials and time, yes, I would probably go as a Good Tomato.