I harvested the garlic last week. It took about 3 days to dig it all up, wash it and start it drying. Most of the heads of garlic are a normal size, but there are a fair number of absolutely huge ones, with a very few overly small. In all, it was a really good garlic harvest. It seems to be one crop that does well, regardless of the weather conditions. Being cooler and with regular rain seems to be a bonus for the garlic this year though.
After digging it up and rinsing it off with the hose (I did it at the base of the new apple tree, so it was watered in at the same time and I wasn't wasting water), I lay out the garlic on the deck table to start drying. There is a fair chance of rain in the forecast for the next few days, so I tied it up into bunches and either hung them up or laid them out on the laundry rack to finish drying in the garage.
Not only is there enough to last us the winter, but I'll have lots to give away to my kids as well. I should weigh the garlic because there is a lot and it's heavy. Maybe over 5 lbs of it! The string I used to tie the bunches and hang it up with is handspun rayon leftovers from my Master Spinner level 5 homework.
The potato chip socks I started to take on holidays are done. The stripes match perfectly; another serendipitous striping sock yarn. They're rather sedate socks but being made of Kroy, they should be hard wearing, even if that yarn is much lighter than it normally is. This was some of that yarn which was on sale for super cheap, but even if it's a mill mistake, I think it's nicer than regular Kroy. I'm trying to figure out what to put on the needles next. I have yarn for a stranded colourwork sock project set aside, plus some solids for undecided projects.
WOW! Both for the garlic and the socks! Wish my garlic would grow like that. Probably it's too hot here!
ReplyDeleteI grow hardneck garlic. It is much more expensive to start with than grocery store soft neck garlic though. I found mine at a local garlic festival for 1/3 the price of that in seed catalogues. I save my biggest heads to plant in the fall. It winters over really well and when the snow starts to melt, it's already a couple of inches high. It has amazing flavour as well. It's done well in all weather so far from this year's cool, wet spring and summer to the droughts of a couple of years ago, and everything in between.
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