Garlic, Garlic, Garlic....

Today Pooka and I replanted the garlic bed with 88 cloves of garlic. We tried planting some garlic in the fall, but after a very... unusual winter (warm and cold spells alternating almost daily).  The garlic had sprouted early and had been looking pretty sad. The lady at the nursery thought our garlic might pull through, but I have my doubts. Especially since we were having problems with weeds in that bed.

The Garlic looking fairly sad in Early Feb

The general decision made by Pooka, Daddy and I to hedge our bet. On Friday while I was at worked, Daddy and Pooka tilled up most of the garlic bed.  Some garlic was left to see what would happen with it the stuff that we had planted earlier. Pooka and Daddy even went through and placed some weed block fabric on it while cutting holes for the established garlic. The plan was as soon as we got the garlic planted we would mulch and see if it helped with weeds and watering this summer.

Garlic bed tilled and weed fabric in place

Pooka and I tried Saturday to plant more garlic, but we found the weed block fabric was causing more troubles then helping, so we decided to skip the fabric.

Sunday Pooka and I went out in a chilly 38 degree weather and planted most of the garlic. The ground was dry enough, but we wanted to make sure the garlic was in before the cold snap coming early this week. Pooka was out there in a hat, and mittens and her winter coat running and playing and collecting rocks and sticks for her "collection." She did help with a good chunk of the garlic, but being 5 digging a hole while Mommy measures the spots is not so entertaining for a kid.

We got it all in, I was going to use our spoon trick, but ran out of spoons. Pooka grabbed her trusty craft sticks and now we have a little graveyard in the front yard. By the time we finished, we were all a bit frozen.  We did have to remember to leave a spot for my Grandmother's lilac that will be going in once it warms up. It is the bigger looking knife with some white rocks in it. I know the garlic maybe close now, but as the lilac gets bigger each year, we will be planting less and less around it.

88 bulbs of garlic ready to go.

The mulch is going to wait till after the "wintry mix" on Monday to see if it helps kill the weeds in the established area. If not, hopefully the mulch will. Let's hope we finally get some luck with the garlic.