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10 Things Gardeners Should Do During Winter

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The Winter season can be a tough time for everyone. Its cold, dark, depressing, and there’s not a ton to do besides wish for warmer weather. I feel like for us gardeners, it can be even more dreadful because we are not outside doing what we love, which is tending to our gardens. I’ve got a list of 10 things to keep gardeners busy over winter.

red wooden house near trees

Read Read Read!

I know you’ve got a ton of gardening books or other books lying around that you haven’t touched all season or at all. Winter is a great time to pick up a book and study or be lead on a great adventure. Be sure that you are taking notes for the next garden season.

Organize your Seed Collection

If you’re like me, you probably have seeds all over the place. Now is a great time to get new seed containers and organize your collection. Having an organized collection will help you find the seeds you need when you need them.

Deep Clean and Sterilize your Containers and Tools

This is very important for my seed starters. You need to have clean pots to start your seeds in to help prevent spreading disease and dampening off of your seedlings.

Plan your Next Garden Season

Winter is the time for planning and drawing out garden design. Once the season starts, you can still plan but it gets so busy once it’s warm enough to plant.

Save Money for Projects

Now that the season has ended, it’s a good time to plan next year’s garden budget and save money for the garden. Gardening can get expensive real quick, so create a plan and stick to it.

Visit your Local Greenhouses and Conservatories

These places are a refuge during the winter months and provide so much inspiration for the garden. Many Conservatories offer a reduced price day and/ or special events days.

Make Lists and Source Products

Make a lists of needs for your garden then source out best prices. Compare prices and buy what you need for cheaper. During the winter you can get some great clearance deals.

Take Gardening Classes

Sign up for gardening courses online or in person; there’s always something to learn about plants and soil.

The winter months can be dark – both literally and figuratively – but any one of these tips can help you past the time until spring. I hope you enjoyed this list of what gardeners should do over winter.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

The Full Guide to Growing Garlic! It’s Easy!

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Growing garlic is so rewarding and easy. Home-grown garlic tastes so much better than store bought garlic hands down. Not only does garlic taste better home-grown, but you can try so many different varieties which offer many different flavors. Once you grow garlic for the first time, you will always grow your own garlic.

This blog post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my houseplant habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me in the garden. It’s a win for everyone, really.

two white garlics. growing garlic
Photo by Isabella Mendes on Pexels.com

Growing Garlic

You can buy garlic from just about anywhere. There are many websites, big box stores, and plant nurseries that sell garlic bulbs for fall planting. You can even grow the garlic you buy from the grocery store! Before you pick out your garlic, you will want to know your growing zone. There are many varieties of garlic and they all grow differently in different zones. If you want garlic that you know will grow well for you, it’s best to shop with a garlic grower within your state or similar growing zone. I grow garlic in Ohio, so I order my garlic from a garlic seller right here in the Buckeye state. I know that the garlic I order from them should do well for me.

Soil

A good garlic harvest starts with planting in good soil. Garlic grows best in loose soil with a PH between 6.2 – 7. Anything lower means your soil is a bit too acidic, and you will need to add in lime to get your levels up. You can use at-home soil tests that are widely available in store or online. Here’s a test you can snag from Amazon. Growing garlic will require a loose soil. Tilling your native soil will help loosen it up and if needed, you can add in compost to help keep the soil fluffy.

Fertilizing

Prior to planting, I add in my fertilizer. I also like bone meal, which is great for planting your garlic in because it helps give your cloves a little root boost prior to winter. Once spring approaches, I start fertilizing regularly with an organic fertilizer. My favorite to use is fish emulsion. When your garlic begins to produce scapes, lay off on the fertilizer so that your garlic can focus its energy into bulb production.

bunch of aglio di paceco on a surface
Photo by Fredox Carvalho on Pexels.com

Planting

Separate each bulb into cloves, making sure to leave the skin on the individual cloves. Any cloves that are small, rotted, or dried can be left out. Plant your garlic in rows and space out your bulbs 6 – 8 inches apart to leave enough room for your clove to develop into large bulbs. I plant my garlic pointy side up no matter if its hard or soft neck garlic. Planting garlic two to three weeks before your first frost is a great time because it allows the garlic time to set roots before the first frost. After planting, we place a small layer of mulch over the top.

The Garlic Flower

Beginning in May or earlier or a little later depending on your growing zone, you will begin seeing your garlic send up flower stalks also known as scapes. Scapes are delicious but take energy away from the growing garlic bulb. Most gardeners cut these off once they start to curl.

Want to know what to do with your garlic scapes? Check out this post!

Harvest Time

Harvesting time may vary depending on where you live but the rule of thumb is when the lower leaves dry and fall off. If you want to take a peek at your bulbs to see if they are big enough; feel free to pull the soil back from the bulb. If you think they need a little more time in the ground, then leave them for a week or two more. The latest I’ve harvested is mid-July. If you leave the bulbs in the ground too long, you risk the chance of them splitting and you don’t want that, as those bulb won’t store very well.

Drying and Storage

Curing your garlic can seem daunting. All you need is a space that is dry or not too humid and has good airflow. You can put your garlic in your garage or on a covered porch. Be sure if it’s not windy you keep a fan on them to aid in the drying process. I cure my garlic on wire racks in my screened in porch. The goal is for the wrappers around the individual cloves and the bulb to dry at the same pace. It takes around 3-4 weeks for the garlic bulbs to fully dry. Once they are dry you can cut the stalks back and store your garlic. Garlic shelf life depends on how you store them and the variety of garlic you grew.

For Tips on what to do with all of your garlic check out this post!

Growing garlic is one of the easier vegetables to grow. They are low maintenance and there aren’t many pest issues to deal with. Keep up with watering and fertilizing, and you will soon be harvesting your own delicious garlic straight from the garden.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

Vegetable gardening | Answer three Questions before you start

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Home gardening and Homesteading is very trendy right now and for good reason. We are looking for ways to become more self sufficient and to save money by growing your own or raising your own food. We all know how hard it can be to put nutritious cost friendly food on the table. Starting a garden can seem costly at first but really you can grow using very little money at all but before you do there are several question you should ask yourself before you start a garden.

ripe tomatoes on branches. Vegetable garden
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

Do you have the time to devote to a vegetable garden?

Vegetable gardening is not a set it a forget it type of hobby. Gardening requires time, attention and planning in order to be semi successful at it. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to learning, trial and error, planting, pruning, watering, fertilizing the list goes on then you might want to wait until you have the time.

Small Space Gardeners read this post!

Do you have the space for a vegetable garden?

While you don’t need acres upon acres to grow food and flowers you do need a dedicated space for it. whether it be a window sill for herbs or a patio for pots and raised garden beds. You need to have room.

Do you have enough light to grow vegetables?

Plants need light to photosynthesise and make food for themselves. You can grow a lot of plants in part shade but not many edible plants will grow well in shade. Make sure what your growing has enough light to produce.

Don’t get discouraged. If you are ready to start a garden you will find a space and a way and make it work! Remember you can start in a window sill and you can use seeds from the produce you get from the store.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

Garlic Scapes : what are they and how to use them

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Garlic Scapes are the flower stalks of the garlic plant. They typically start showing up in late May \ June and as they grow out they are curly, then if left on the plant they straighten and develop bulbils.

Garlic Scape Harvest
Harvesting Garlic Scapes

The bulbils are edible and you can use them in many different dishes along with the flower stalk. Once the flower stalk straightens it can become woody but you can still throw the garlic scapes into soups or stews to harness that yummy garlic flavor!

Garlic Scapes

If you choose not to allow the bulbils to develop cut the garlic scape when it is starting to coil. This will direct energy back to developing that garlic bulb under the soil.

flower blume lila garlic
Flowering Garlic Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

After you’ve cut the scapes you can use them immediately, freeze them, slice and dehydrate them or store them in the fridge for a week until used. They are delicious and you can use them like you would green onions or chives.

Garlic Scapes Cleaned and Cut ready for the freezer

For more tips on what to do with your garlic check out this post!

They can be tossed into soups, saute and eat them like asparagus, baked into any dishes you want to add a light garlicky flavor to.

Garlic Scapes are so underrated and I don’t understand why. They are so yummy and versatile.

How do you use your garlic scapes?

How to Quickly Cure your Garlic Harvest

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Hi there! There’s no doubt that home grown garlic tastes so much better than store bought. It’s no wonder so many people are learning how to grow their own but what do you do once you harvest it? Well, it’s time to cure your garlic. Curing is the process of drying your garlic bulbs so that they can be stored for a longer amount of time than if you didn’t properly cure them. Let me help you get your garlic cured fast so you’ll have garlic to enjoy until your next harvest.

raw garlic in black bowl on marble table
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Once you pull your garlic do not wash or rinse off the dirt. Adding extra moisture will add to dry time and can cause mold. There are many places and ways to store your fresh garlic but what’s most important is that you have a space that is cool, dry and not to humid.

For tips on what to do with your garlic harvest check out this post!

The drying process can take anywhere from two to four weeks depending on air flow and humidity so check on your garlic daily to make sure it’s drying properly and not growing any mold.

Many people love the look of braided garlic but in my experience braided garlic dries slower due to low air flow between the garlic foliage and bulbs.

The quickest method for drying garlic is to hang it or lay it where it can get air flow from all sides. To increase airflow around your garlic you will want to add a fan and run it 24 hours a day.

Once all the foliage is dry and crispy and the bulbs feel dry your done! Depending on your garlic variety you will have tasty cured garlic for months!

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

What to do with your garlic harvest

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It’s garlic harvesting season and you’ve got more than you know what to do with! I completely understand. Here are my ways of using my garlic harvest.

This blog post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission to fund my houseplant habit if you use these links to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me in the garden. It’s a win for everyone, really.

garlic harvest

Cure and store it

Garlic has a long shelf life based on variety. Curing and storing until needed is the most common way to use your garlic. Just be sure your garlic is fully cured before storage and you’ll be able to utilize those bulbs until your next harvest.

To learn how to cure your garlic bulbs read this post

Make Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt

If you’ve got a dehydrator or oven you can dry garlic cloves and grind them into a powder. Store in a mason jar and use as needed. Here’s the grinder I use and I love it!

garlic harvest

Use it right away

You don’t have to wait for your freshly pulled garlic to cure in order to use it. You can cook with it right away!

Freeze it

You can freeze peeled cloves of garlic in airtight zip locks or food storage containers. They lose their crisp during the freezing process but are still good to use.

garlic in white ceramic plate

Share it

If you feel like you have way more than you’ll need then share with family, friends, neighbors or coworkers. Everyone loves fresh garlic!

No matter what you do there’s nothing like having home grown garlic at your fingertips.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

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