D&V Organics CSA
Week 27
This week we finally completed the long process of planting our 2023 garlic crop. After harvesting our 2022 crop at the end of June, we cured the garlic in the greenhouse for better shelf life, and stored it at optimal temperature and humidity since then. Each head of garlic contains 7-10 cloves, which we separate from the head and plant into the ground. Every clove of garlic will produce a new head of garlic by late June 2023. The growing process starts now and runs for a total of 8 months. For its entire time in the ground, we have to maintain the crop and make sure it is growing at its best, to ensure a good crop in 2023. Garlic is a labor intensive crop, requires a long growing season and a lot of attention. For the coming crop, we have planted it into a reflective plastic mulch, which helps to confuse insects (they see the reflectivity and it disorients them), the mulch also serves as a weed barrier, allowing the garlic to thrive with minimal weed competition, and it helps to retain moisture for the plants in our very sandy soil. Between the beds of mulch, we've planted oats, which will get tall and grow into the Winter months, helping to exclude weeds. At some point during the coldest temperatures of our Winter, the oats will die, leaving a dense residue of plant material, which will prevent wind and water erosion of the soil and continue to exclude weeds into the 2023 growing season.
Enjoy,
Derek and Crew
