Tag Archives: nutrients

Merry meet all,

Today I want to talk about planting garlic. I planted organic garlic today in my garden. Garlic and other root veggies are very beneficial for your health. It is a good idea to stock up on root veggies to protect our health during fall and winter. 

I planted garlic in the big wooden box because the soil is deep in the box. I hope this ensures the garlic will grow bigger and better. Garlic is not a perennial because I live in Atlantic Canada. We get cold here but garlic does benefit from a cold dormant season. 

I had no soil so I used soil from the other pots in my garden. The garden and grassy yard is so strewn with colourful leaves. I emptied two pots of soil into the wooden box. I used the shovel to break up and loosen up the big chunks of soil and mix it in with the rest of the soil in the box. Unfortunately, I had to put the soil in over the straw but I guess the straw will compost in the soil anyway. The soil that was in the smaller planters had plants growing in it such as nasturtiums, the tomatoes, beans and chamomile. The plants are dead and withered but the soil that they grew in was full of nutrients. Earthworms have tunneled through it. I think using that soil was better than buying sterile soil from a store. Using soil already full of nutrients and had the benefit of beneficial insects working the soil is going to pass on those nutrients to the garlic and the soil the garlic grows in. I don’t have to work too hard to make any nutrients as it has already been done for me by the little unseen heroes: beneficial insects, the weather, birds, and the plants themselves. True, there is the other plant box now woefully short of soil but next spring, I will add fresh soil then. 

It is so important to have soil full of natural organic ingredients. Our ancestors knew that. Back in the day, and all the way back to ancient times, famers practiced organic gardening methods. The garlic will sit there in the box all fall, winter to spring. The soil needs food to sustain the garlic during the cold season. The soil is now full of the nutrients it needs such as the straw, the Gaia Green organic fertilizer, compost, the leaves, and the garlic skins. Wow that is such a potent mix not to mention the insects that are likely nesting in the box all winter, fed by the straw, leaves and compost. What a potent combination. I will add fresh fertilizer and compost next spring and summer. For now, that will do the trick. This is making me so eager to see how the garlic turns out. Pesticides and other chemicals never offer a good enough benefit. I have a thriving garden because I never use any of those chemicals. 

It felt magical to use the soil I already had and break up the chunks. It felt good to plant the garlic. We turn inward during the winter. Also today the moon is in a waning phase. It is the ideal time to plant garlic during the waning moon phase because the garlic is planted deep in the soil. During a waxing moon, we can plant things that grow above the soil. 

I added fertilizer to the soil like Gaia Green organics and other fertilizers. I added the compost soil from my compost box to the box. I planted the garlic, cloves separated and pointing up. I watered the soil and tamped the soil down. I planted each clove of garlic a few inches apart from each other. I also added large rocks to the box. Squirrels and bluejays are fierce thieves. I don’t want them to uproot my garlic and dig their own holes in the soil, thereby ruining my efforts. I will harvest the garlic next summer. I am so excited about growing garlic. I just hope that this time I get the satisfaction of large bulbs. I was offered a mix of soft neck and hard neck garlic. I guess I won’t know which is which in the box till next summer. 

I am very happy too that I have been patient enough to grow compost soil in my garden. I added it to the soil where I was growing the garlic. I believe that the key to growing a great garden is having your own compost available. I believe that will greatly benefit the garlic and hopefully grow better and bigger.

Garlic is extremely good for your health. I will now list a few health benefits that garlic has. 

Garlic is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, and is a hardy perennial belonging to the Liliaceae family. Other members of this family include onions, leeks, chives and shallots. They are distinguished by their pungent aroma and distinctive flavour.

1. Contains a compound called allicin, which has medicinal properties

2. Acts like an anticoagulant, so reduces the risk of heart attacks

3. May inhibit the growth of cancerous cells

4. Has been known for its antibacterial properties

5. May relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-garlic

Does this make you want to plant garlic in your own garden? What are your plans for fall? Let me know in the comments below. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(