For the Joy of Garlic

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I love growing garlic.  If the soil is rich enough, garlic can be a very rewarding (and easy) thing to grow.  Planted in late autumn, it sits in the garden throughout the winter, popping green shoots through the cold earth before anything else in the garden even begins thinking about waking up.  At our house, it begins showing before the daffodils and tulips.  During the spring it grows tall and strong, and when summer hits, it sends out twisting, curling scapes that will eventually carry a large, round, seedy blossom at the end (if not cut down).  By late July or early August, garlic is ready to be harvested and cured.  Right now, we have a bushel basket of garlic in our dining room, complete with scapes and stems and some flowers.  I held out some of the best bulbs for planting in October, but the rest will be used in soups, stir fries, sauces, and more.  Glorious, delicious, pungent garlic.

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April Vacation Week: Garden

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This year, during April vacation week, I finally pounded fence posts in around the garden and put up an almost respectable looking fence -- a necessity since getting chickens and newish neighbours (it never hurts to make your garden and property look a little nicer, even if it is being productive and efficient).  The fence has done a wonderful job of keeping the chickens out and has allowed me to to *finally* get my spring planting started.

The garlic has been coming up nicely; it gets planted in October after the Garlic Fest, and we always have great luck with it.  It's very exciting to see those green shoots coming up in the spring before anything else is growing.  Though this year, I will admit, the lettuce also made a big showing -- I let it go to seed last summer and some of those seeds starting growing and leafing out pretty early this year.

Also recently planted is the spinach, which is starting to come up.  This week saw the additions of more lettuce, kale, beets, peas, and potatoes (purple and golden).  Hopefully, I have amended the garden soil sufficiently and the plants will have enough nutrients to grow.  I am so excited to get those seeds into the ground and to see them start sprouting.  I have never planted potatoes before, and can't wait to see how they turn out.  They have been planted in the newest part of the garden, though -- the part that has been improved the least -- so we'll see how it goes.  Carrots will go in soon.

I started the tomatoes and eggplant inside.  This is something I usually do much earlier in the year, but I had an ailing cat that occupied my time and energy, so I didn't get to them.

A new addition to my garden is an in-garden compost.  I dug a shallow hole, took extra chicken-wire and formed a wide tube around the hole, and dumped compostables into it.  I plan to move this one to a new location in the garden each year to further improve the quality of the soil. 
(Some of our compost goes to the chickens, some to our black bin composter, and some into the garden.  More on that in a later post.)

Tune in next time for the final post on what happened during April vacation week!

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April Vacation Week: Dandelions

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What a week for April vacation -- warm, sunny, and perfect for high productivity.  I took advantage.

With all the dandelions making their appearances, I decided to take Saturday afternoon to pull -- and pull and pull.  Our front yard looks like a dandelion garden, which isn't so bad when they are yellow, but I'm not fond of them when they go to seed, which they do all too quickly.  And since dandelions are such great sources for tea and tincture herbs, I didn't feel like I was wasting my time plucking so many of them from the ground (roots, blossoms, and leaves can all be used).

I pulled nearly a basket-full, using one of those special dandelion-picking tools that help get the roots out.  Our lawn is in dire need of help (which it will continue to be until I can get it turned into a garden of sorts), and I was very pleased to realize that I was aerating it with every dandelion I pulled out.  Then, to make the task even more beneficial, I filled each hole lightly with compost, to add a little extra nutrition to our under-cared-for lawn.

So I now have a load of dandelions to trim and wash and dry.  I look forward to trying different herbal remedies with them.  Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to behead them, so I could use the blossoms to make dandelion jelly, but I can still dehydrate the leaves and roast the roots for beneficial drinks and medicinals.
And in case you were worried, there are still plenty of them in the lawn, should I need more -- plenty so that the bees have something to eat while they wait for all the other flowers and blossoms to bloom.

Tune in next time for more April vacation week updates!

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An Early Spring Day

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I love early spring days, when the sun is warm and the air still slightly cool, when I can sit in my yard with my chickens and dog and take a few minutes away from screens and electronics to enjoy the pages of a book, when I can listen to the birds sing and watch them flit through the bushes.  Some of my favourite kinds of days: sun, animals, book, and ten minutes away from everything else.


*A shout-out to my sister-in-law who gave me for Christmas this beautiful (signed) book I'm enjoying.

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