- Author: Bobbie Stryffeler
Unlike other varieties in the Allium genus, garlic doesn't bulge from the ground when it is ready for harvest. Instead we give garlic time and watch for changes in the leaves.
Last fall, late in the season, I planted approximately 30 garlic cloves of 'Music' a hardy soft-neck variety. I waited about 8 months until the lower leaves began to die back, and then I stopped irrigating the crop. For approximately a week, the crop was left to dry. As the week progressed the long leaves browned, bending away from the twisting scape. This drying in the soil is part of the process of curing garlic.
Next, the harvest. I used a garden fork, inserting it a few inches away from the stalk, pushing it down and then bringing it up, underneath the garlic head. The fork allows much of the dried soil to fall away.
It is important to remember not to attempt to wash or scrub as the intact skins are necessary for long term storage. For the next step I laid out each garlic head (roots and stalks attached) in a single layer in a place where they could continue to dry that was cool and shady. After 3-4 weeks I trim off the roots and cut the stalks. The remaining dirt is then gently brushed off.
Are you thinking you want to give garlic a try? If so, it is a great time to prepare the bed and amend the soil. Garlic can be planted between September and November, depending on the zone and the weather. You can also plant garlic in the spring but the yields are higher with a fall planting, and you can use that space in the garden for growing other things.
Learn more at: http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SFNews/archives/95071/
And Garden Betty has great close-up pictures and ideas: https://www.gardenbetty.com/a-guide-to-curing-and-storing-garlic/
- Author: Sarah Sheehan
Set in the middle of an elder community in Bishop, the Sunrise Garden has flourished for seven years providing information to Inyo-Mono Counties Master Gardeners and delectable bounty for its residents.
So far this season, the six varieties of tomatoes grown both in sun and shade are yielding impressive numbers. The tomatoes are counted and weighed as well as notated for their size, color, shape, flaws and flavors twice a week. The varieties this year are: Better Boy, Big Beef, Carmello, Champion II, Early Girl and Jetsetter. On August 29th we picked more than 44 lbs of tomatoes which we donated to the residents.
While tending the garden a careful watch is made for any evidence of pests or decline. To this end, the watering system is regularly checked, plants are water sprayed from below to dislodge pests and their cages shaken to rid them of excess water.
Green bell peppers are also grown in sun and shade and they too are thriving with 18 inch plants having as many as 24 peppers. So our task is to thin and cheer these green jewels on. The only issue we have had thus far is a little sunburn as it has been an unusually warm summer in the Eastern Sierra.
These tomatoes are grown in two other sites around Bishop and it has been noted that the same tomato variety has a slightly different taste dependent on which location it was grown. At the end of season we will be posting our results.
The tomato gang: Carolyn Lynch, Joan Nash, Marti Holton, Sarah Sheehan, and Denyse Racine.