Cosmo Spring Garden 2022

[Cosmo spring garden]

Looks like a nice harvest. The covered porch sounds like the perfect place to cure garlic; out of direct sunlight, with good air flow. You can cure garlic in the house, with a fan blowing on it... but the smell might get a little strong. Other possible curing locations are hanging in the garage, patio, or any other area that has air flow (or a fan) and does not get excessively hot. Hanging in small bundles (10 or less) is better than laying on a shelf, since all sides of the bulbs dry equally.

Thank you! So no greenhouse.
I think I'll squeeze them on the porch somehow.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

leave the greener stuff in the ground a bit longer and then you can perhaps cure in stages in the available space?

the biggest problem with letting garlic go too long in the ground is that the tunics might not be as good the later you lift it. as you get experience with each variety you can figure out where the peak quality is at for size of the garlic bulb and how well the tunics are coming out.

for the variety i grow it is about at half green/yellowing leaves and the rest are already brown when i lift it. once the bulb is lifted i dry the outside as much as i can and then put them in flats to finish drying and rotate the bulbs at least once a day until they are fully

Last year I harvested on May 13th. I've always harvested when the bottom two or three leaves dry up. This year the plants are flopping over. That maybe due to our dog walking on them. Also we are predicted to have several days of rain (we need it so I'm not complaining!) Starting Sunday so I had to pull it today. The bulbs looks great and it looks like I'll get a nice harvest again.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Look a bean!

 

[ducks4you]

Thank you! So no greenhouse.
I think I'll squeeze them on the porch somehow.

I have tried starting grocery store garlic inside. It just never does very well. Check for your local advice on it, but I am supposed to plant garlic in Late October/early November and harvest in July. Maybe, December?!?
THAT BEING SAID...you can always experiment and report back to us!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I have tried starting grocery store garlic inside. It just never does very well. Check for your local advice on it, but I am supposed to plant garlic in Late October/early November and harvest in July. Maybe, December?!?
THAT BEING SAID...you can always experiment and report back to us!

I've grown organic garlic from the grocery store before and it did pretty well. Now I just hold back my best looking bulbs for planting next year's crop.
In my zone 7a I plant first week of November and harvest mid may.
You should try it! It's one of my favorite things to grow because it requires so little hands on care. Unlike my carrots

 

[baymule]

I like those square planting blocks! So cool! You sure have a nice garden!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Finally braided my garlic. I decided to only braid the largest bulbs which I'll use for planting this year. The rest is stored in boxes.

 

[baymule]

Finally braided my garlic. I decided to only braid the largest bulbs which I'll use for planting this year. The rest is stored in boxes.

That is so cool! I've never had enough garlic to braid. Beautiful garlic!!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Wow what a busy week this has been. I am tired! I am so happy that Sabbath starts tonight and I get to rest . Fridays are extra busy because I actually clean the house today . Each day I walk by the mess, look away and whisper "you'll get cleaned friday!".
Some new and exciting things are happening in the garden. We have baby beans! Contender bush beans for the win! First time growing them and they are doing fantastic!
I'm harvesting lots of yellow squash now. That will be almost daily chore until the bugs get them.
My first blush on a tomato! I'm so ready to have garden fresh tomato.
Sweet corn was hilled, fertilized and watered. It is doing amazing.
This week I harvested all the onions (largest bulb was golf ball size, they didn't do well at all) and chopped them up and am dehydrating them for powder and granules.
Also harvested some leeks and kids helped me clean thos up. They to will be chopped up and dehydrated to use in soups and such later in the year.
Potatoes were harvested and sorted based on size. I'll let then dry a bit in the boxes and than they will be stored in wooden crates my FIL is building for me.
Today, I transplanted lettuce, soy beans, purple hull peas, Okra, kuri squash, basil, sunflowers, calendula, strawflower and watered everything in. We are supposed to have rain over the weekend. We sure can use it!
I bought electric poultry netting and put our chickens on the patch where potatoes were harvested from. I want them to work the area for few weeks and get it ready for fall brassicas.
I am so grateful for this garden. We eat at least one thing from the garden at each meal and sometimes it's over 60%of the meal.
It is a lot of work and sweat but I wouldn't trade it for any other job. OK may a coffee shop batista. Free coffee!!
Oh and the last picture is how I ate my pancakes this morning. I was determined to have a full cup of coffee! So blueberries were from the garden .

Just wanted to post some pics.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

What a busy week this has been! We haven't had much rain in 3 weeks now (besides the random sprinkles we get that never are more than maybe 1/8inch) so I have had to water the entire garden with the hose. I am so thankful I made trenches in many of the beds this year. I just leave the hose in the trench and check in about 15 minutes and move if needed. Helps water the plants deeply but it is time consuming.
Also lots of weeding, harvesting, preserving and pest control this week too. And it's been hotter than hades here so I pour sweat as I work.
I canned 32 quart jars if green beans and 8 pint jars of dilly beans.. dilly beans are new to me and if we don't like them I can gift them to people that enjoy pickled food.
Sweet potatoes are turning soft so I plan to can those up to have on hand.
But I can't imagine doing anything else

This is the time of year where garden overwhelm comes in to full force and I always feel behind. But when I look back I see so much delicious food that has been put up for winter.