Growing Fresh Garlic
Hello Farmanons,
You may have seen this video the other day and wondered where I sourced my garlic for seed stock. I wanted to quickly let you know that my source is Hoss Tools and they are saying they are almost out of elephant garlic stock.
Buy fresh garlic seed stock now!
If you don't like the strong taste of normal garlic, you should definitely be growing Elephant Garlic, it's actually a leek and has a much milder garlic flavor! One of the easiest vegetables you'll grow in your garden.
Why am I planting a bunch of garlic in my backyard?
There are numerous benefits to eating fresh garlic, many that I am interested in.
The Top 8 Health Benefits of Garlic
Garlic Helps Boost Your Body's Immune System
Garlic Helps Reduce High Blood Pressure
Garlic Helps Reduce Cholesterol Levels
Garlic Can Help With Prevention of Cancer
Garlic Has Antibiotic Properties
Garlic May Prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia
Garlic Can Improve Athletic Performance
If you’re like me, you are concerned about your health. I recently had a blood panel done and have noticed my cholesterol is slowly getting close to the “unhealthy” range.
I plan to incorporate more garlic into my diet. Growing it myself makes sense because it would be a free, endless source of chemical free produce.
These plants don’t take up much room, but they do require loosely packed soil and full sun. Garlic will make a great addition to your small space winter garden.
You may want to order some now, so you can plant this month and hopefully have your own source of fresh garlic next year!
Note:
You can read some of my previous posts on how to build a raised bed and how to prep/source soil if you’re not already set up to plant yet.
(free post here for raised beds if you’re not a paid subscriber)
Cover crops for Winter
If you’re not planning to grow any winter crops, it’s a good idea to plant some cover crops to protect your soil for the off season. Planting cover crops over the winter helps to add nutrients to your soil as well as keeping the soil nice and soft.
The cover crops grow roots throughout your soil creating air pockets which keep the soil from compacting tightly. When you’re ready to plant the garden, simply till up the cover crops right into the soil which will add nitrogen and organic matter.
The BEST Cover Crop Combo
If you're wanting to improve your soil this winter, you need to be growing a cover crop! Mixing Hairy Vetch and Winter Rye in your plot not only adds nitrogen back into your soil but also helps with erosion. This mixture is easy to use, even for beginner gardeners. It will help with cleaning the soil of diseases, bring in pollinators, and it's easy to get rid of.
Winter Rye is a cool-season cover crop that works to scavenge nitrogen, reduce erosion, add organic matter to soils, and suppress weeds. 2.5 pounds of seeds cover about 1000 square feet of soil.
Hairy Vetch is a cool-season cover crop that fixes a significant amount of nitrogen, in addition to reducing erosion and providing weed suppression for garden soils. 1 lb of seed covers about 1000 square feet of soil.
Thanks for reading,
WAGMI
Farmer