The November Garden - November 11, 2016

Planting Garlic... in November

I decided to plant garlic.  I had been told that I should have planted the garlic earlier in the season.... at least by October.  So, I am a month delayed.  

I bought my garlic at Zamzow's in Meridian.  I always like to go to that particular store because a 4-H member I used to work with is employed there.  Is is so great to see her all grown up now!!!  Anyway, Zamzow's carried several different varieties of hard neck and soft neck garlic.  I always wondered what the two different designations of garlic meant.  Hardneck garlic cloves develop in a single circle around a woody stem.  Softneck garlic cloves develop in several layers around a soft central stem.  Softneck garlic is reputed to have a longer storage life than hardneck garlic.  I selected "Inchelium Red" garlic.  

According to the Territorial Seed Catalog:   Inchelium Red is a national taste-test winner in the softneck division.  This mild flavored garlic is great baked and blended with mashed potatoes.  This large, top-quality softneck was discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in northern Washington.  Stores well for 6-9 months

First, I prepared the raised bed by digging up the soil

Then I spread organic compost over that area, and dug it in.

Then I raked and smoothed the soil.

I separated the cloves of Inchelium Red garlic from each other.  There were ten individual cloves.  

I dug individual holes, 2" deep and 6" apart, for each cloves.  I put a clove in each hole and then covered them with soil.  

I marked each planted clove with a small stone placed on the soil surface.  That way, I won't forget where I planted them!

The garlic are now all tucked away for the winter.  Hopefully, I will see them sprouting up in the Spring!