We have allowed the guineas to clean the garden beds...put in lime, and now are allowing the leaves to build up. a few turnips peas and garlic shoots are peeking out here and there- i wasn't as good about replanting the beds because the guineas were on them. but it should all be excellent next spring!
Besides the garlic bed- broadforked, limed and fertilized compost added, and deeply covered with straw- and don't forget the guineas' contributions- i planted Music, Turkish Giant and my lovely Dugansky. all produce large bulbs.the extreme heat did make the garlic finish growing early this year....could happen next summer too. as we have had 2 such summers so far.So for me....eat what we grew and plant new. organically grown, no black stuff on the skins, i don;t bother with baking soda baths or sulfur anymore....the stuff grown here or ordered from organic growers is just a whole different beast from what you can normally buy.and if you have extras- just use it!
Home grown garlic is moist, garlicky, never a disappointment. worth putting some in just for the pretty , tall plants and scapes. the scapes are sharp flavored and great in recipes.If you miss some of the bulbs when you harvest, you, like me, will have green garlic shoots now. Pull them and use them too!
Truly, my theory of more biomass seems to be correct. my compost pile is huge- and with little work on my part. chicken manure won;t get dug out until spring- deep bedding for the winter means chickens are clean and dry, and warmer...but that and some more goat manure will be ready for us in the spring too.It means more organics to put in the garden, which is on I think year seven, and except for needing lime and an organic fertlizer for mineral balance, free of outside additions.it's black now, not clay red. it maintained well even in the drought and 100 plus temps. I'm happy!
my fig tree has taken over my flower garden. i can pull out about half of what is growing in there- daylilies, lilies, phlox, jerusalem artichoke, obedient plant, yarrow and mints..but I'm not sure where to put it!
i got enough sweet potato tubers to grow houseplants for the winter and have lots of slips for the gardens. I love it as a ground cover, not just as a food item.
so now is the time to cover, clean and get ready...and start to dream of the plants and seeds you can order....plant a pot with lettuce and other salad foods, stick iti n a window... a promise of spring to come...
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