Time to plant garlic

Info from Debbie Cook's gardening column in the Sept. 19th Idaho Press Tribune:
Now is the time to plant garlic. Here are the details.

Two types of garlic: Softneck and hardneck.
Softneck - the type at the supermarket, adapted to wider range of climates, keep longer in storage, mature faster, tend to be more productive. Stems are easier to braid but cloves are harder to peel.

Hardneck - More colorful, stronger flavor, wider variety available, edible flower stalk.


Requirements: Good drainage, full sun.

How to grow: Plant on the first day of fall (can be planted in the spring but the bulb will be smaller.) Plant each clove with root end down and the tip set 2 inches beneath the soil. Plant cloves 4-6 inches apart. Top w/ layer of mulch. You should see shoots in 4 to 8 weeks depending on weather. The goal is to get good root growth started before the ground freezes. They stop growing in winter and start again in the spring. Leave the mulch in the spring as it will conserve moisture and suppress weeds. When growth begins again feed w/ a foliar spray every 2-4 weeks using liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, or Miracle Grow. Requires about an inch of water per week in spring growth, but also requires good drainage. Too much water may cause root or bulb rot. Stop watering when the leaves begin to yellow in early summer.

To harvest: Harvest when the leaves have yellowed or fallen over. (Should be around early June.) Carefully dig the bulbs. Don't pull or the stalks will break which may cause the bulb to rot. Once harvested, get them out of the sun as soon as possible. Dry by braiding or tying the stems together in a bundle of 6-10 bulbs and hang in a cool, dry area with good air circulation. Once dry the tops may be removed if desired and bulbs stored in mesh bag.

Williamson Orchards

Here is the number for Williamson Orchards: 459-7333

I don't know why, but I always have to look for it, so i am putting it here. Call for pears and/or peaches in late August. Call for apples in October. They usually have a bin of mixed apples at a very good price in October for making applesauce.

goals this week

Here are my goals for today (Monday):
- start blog
- letter to sponsored child / get some vacation pictures to send
- thank you note to mom
- GET STAMPS
- make, send car pool schedule
- see if raincheck grapefruit has come in yet at Albies

Daily goals:
- bible study
- exercise

Goals for the this week:
- finish downloading and organizing crockpot recipes
- get books back to Joy & Jason
- make jalepeno jelly
- call orchards for apple picking / Williamsons to see if applesauce apples are ready
- organize water/drinks in garage
- start (and maybe finish?) scrapbook for Joy
- make some cards
- go thru boxes of old papers in garage

Maybe if i write it down i will get at least half of it done!

Meal Planning Friday

OK - I know it doesn't have the same ring as Meal Plannnig Monday, but it works better for me. I prefer to plan in two week chunks and to have more of a list of possible meals than meals locked in to specific days. The flexibility just works better for me. If I plan out specific daily meals for the two weeks then invaribly i end up changing them because i just don't feel like whatever i planned that night, or we have a bunch of ripe tomatoes or something that needs used up, or i am in the middle of a project and don't have enough time to do that involved meal. So I rather like a list of meals that I try to have the ingredients for and am able to choose from. Hopefully I will soon add links to the recipes.

These weeks i need to work around the stuff coming from our garden, which is: tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, pattypan squash, cucumbers, peppers

K - Homemade pizza (Fridays)
K - Hamburgers / homemade french fries, fried zucchini (weekend)
V - Tomato bruscetta
V - Roast Tomatoe Fettecini / garlic cheese bread
P - Scalloped potatoes w/ ham
K,C - Orange chicken / rice / egg rolls / salad
B,F - Lasagne (from freezer)
P - Ham & cheese braid / salad
S - Rosemary scallops / couscous / green beans w/ almonds
S - Curry salmon / cuban black beans / rice / sauted zucchini
S - Shrimp fajitas / leftover black beans & rice
C - Chinese chicken salad
C - Green bean chicken w/ pattypan squash / egg rolls / rice
- Stir fry (not sure what meat)
K- Baked potatoes


New recipes to try:
V - Corn omelet
C - Catalina chicken

V = vegetarian
K = kid favorite
C = chicken
P = pork
B = beef
F = from freezer

Here I go!

So today, on the verge of 40, i am entering the blogging world. While i know that everything i put on here is open for public view, i really am not expecting anyone else to read it. (But i will try to be careful, just the same.) It really is more for my own benefit. i am starting to see the benefit of having a place to put all the bits and scraps and links that i use. My goal is to put recipes, garden info, coupon links, etc. here so that i can easily find it later. We will see how successful I am!

BTW - If i am blogging it must mean that it is on the downhill side of the slope of popularity because you know that i cannot ever start doing something until it is past being fashionable!