tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post4936003759092403368..comments2024-03-24T11:10:13.186-04:00Comments on The Gardening Me: Garlic & Shallots 2014 - The ResultsMargarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-72662763161204505752014-09-06T19:46:47.973-04:002014-09-06T19:46:47.973-04:00That's one thing I am quickly learning - you c...That's one thing I am quickly learning - you can never have too much garlic! And I'm glad you didn't let one bad year deter you from trying again.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-3439319846666210752014-09-06T19:32:39.670-04:002014-09-06T19:32:39.670-04:00Thanks Susie! As gardeners we are constantly lear...Thanks Susie! As gardeners we are constantly learning - especially from each other. I was actually at the Stratford Garlic Festival today (LOVED it!!) and one of the guys there says that he spaces the cloves 8"-10" apart. That's a bit too much for my limited garden space right now but I will probably experiment with wider spacing as I add more beds.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-56866329229468135862014-09-06T18:23:53.868-04:002014-09-06T18:23:53.868-04:00I grew a few garlics this year for the first time ...I grew a few garlics this year for the first time in a few years. The last time I <br />Left them in the ground too long (thinking you left them like onion for the stem to fall over) and they rotted. I did get a reasonable harvest this year based on what I planted but have already run out. That's good advice to look for the first four leaves to turn brown, if only I'd known those years ago! Think I'll start afresh next year and start saving cloves too. I like the onion rack too, a project for the future if I ever get organised and have a bigger space for drying :)Lou@RainbowChardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01435858511588433002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-31883164475041587402014-09-06T10:57:06.077-04:002014-09-06T10:57:06.077-04:00Excellent information on the garlic lessons learne...Excellent information on the garlic lessons learned and good timing - I should be planting next year's crop in the next 4-6 weeks. I always use the biggest cloves I can find but I think I might be planting them too close together as well. I keep promising myself I will keep notes but do a poor job of it. Lucky I can rely on great gardening bloggers like yourself to teach me how to do things properly!Susiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10354350096358468967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-82259709001598652102014-09-05T23:27:55.236-04:002014-09-05T23:27:55.236-04:00"Warming your soul on the coldest winter even..."Warming your soul on the coldest winter evening" is perhaps a bit much, but I do find that homegrown garlic is MUCH better than store bought garlic. Even after several months in storage, it is "crisp", moist, aromatic & extremely flavourful. I haven't found a huge difference in taste between the varieties that I have grown, but then again I haven't really done a side by side comparison with them. I would definitely throw a few cloves in the ground this fall, just to give it a try. And I can tell you, even if your bulbs turned out as tiny as mine, you would still be impressed with the flavour & texture.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-11172727330629957692014-09-05T23:12:13.646-04:002014-09-05T23:12:13.646-04:00Thanks Daphne...and thanks so much for the inspira...Thanks Daphne...and thanks so much for the inspiration for it. Before you did that post I was trying to come up with some type of contraption that hung from the ceiling. This turned out to be much easier to build and will likely do a much better job. As for the damage - it very well may have been there when I pulled the shallots but, as I had never experienced garlic or shallot damage before, I didn't even think to look for it.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-30480216888164278072014-09-05T23:07:17.746-04:002014-09-05T23:07:17.746-04:00Oh, thanks Sue! I try to learn anyhow but sometim...Oh, thanks Sue! I try to learn anyhow but sometimes I forget to write things down or I don't go over my old notes as well as I should & then when things go wrong I think - oh yeah - that happened last year....and then I make a BIGGER note ;)Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-54394553690296505182014-09-05T15:41:12.152-04:002014-09-05T15:41:12.152-04:00I’m sorry that your garlic didn’t do as well as yo...I’m sorry that your garlic didn’t do as well as you had hoped. I always enjoy reading the garlic descriptions in the seed catalogs – it’s like describing fine wine. Territorial Seed Company says that their Siberian garlic “will warm your soul on the coldest winter evening.” I’ve only had the standard grocery store variety, but eventually I would like to try different kinds of garlic. Do you think the seed catalog descriptions are over-stated, or are some varieties truly sumptuous?Autumnhttp://stfiacregarden.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-39095969813854346222014-09-05T14:27:58.670-04:002014-09-05T14:27:58.670-04:00I love the photo of your rack. It is much nicer th...I love the photo of your rack. It is much nicer than mine was. I made mine because I had no space for anything else. But I found it is really nice if you like to braid your onions as the leaves are straight up. Before I'd have to let the onions only partially dry before braiding so the leaves wouldn't break off. But I did it this year with totally dry onion leaves I think they will store better that way. <br /><br />I've never heard of onions getting insect damage during storage. But we may have different insects here. Daphne Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305049560953735881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-71889742697651627162014-09-05T13:35:49.214-04:002014-09-05T13:35:49.214-04:00Very thorough notes--I enjoyed this tremendously. ...Very thorough notes--I enjoyed this tremendously. <br />And I'm impressed---you LEARN from your mistakes. Seems I often make the same ones over and over---despite notes and reprimands to myself.<br />Have a wonderful weekend. You have a lovely harvest!Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10122524042294993949noreply@blogger.com