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Braidwood has a terrific garlic growers group where we are sharing experience and expertise to improve our region's garlic capacity. Yesterday saw the blessing of the garlic crop (and all our other growing endeavours) at St Andrews Anglican Church Braidwood. Archdeacon Des was assisted by Brad to give the crop on the church's spare block a true blessing work over after a rousing sing of "We plough the fields and scatter"! Certainly all is being done to ensure a productive harvest.
Recent rain and warm days have led to great growth in the garlic patch. This plot has purple rocambole and is going gang busters. We have also planted Australian white and a trial of Oriental purple. The thick mulch is keeping the weeds down (so far!) but will take vigilance to stay on top of them. So far have planted 4000 cloves and forward ordered another 4000 from our lovely neighbours Gills and Victoria. Great stock is being caramelised as we write so season continues to be bountiful.
Planting season is upon us. Our families have been down and dirty helping out at this busy time - all very helpful. Ziggy by contrast, our accounts clerk and miniature Australian horse pushed this chair up and down the path trying to be part of the business action.
Great garlic is easy to grow providing you have good quality seed cloves, well fed soil with suitable trace elements and a crisp winter. Most cold climate garlic is planted in March and harvested in December. If you can source real garlic cloves (not the imported fumigated-to-prevent-sprouting types) you can split bulbs into single cloves. Prepare your soil by removing weeds, raking it over and adding home made compost, stirring that through. On a large scale you would also soil test and adjust micronutrients like boron. At home, achieving sweet smelling crumbly soil will be fine. Plant your cloves hairy end down, pointy end up at about 35-40 to the square metre. The cloves don't have to be really deep, just keep the tip level with the soil. The rows photo above is before covering the rows back over. We plant in rows, cloves about 10cm apart and rows a boot width apart. Nothing better than being able to put a boot between the rows when you're weeding. Mulch well with fluffed up mulch (we use rice straw that hangs on very well and has few weed seeds) and give it all a drink. Sit back and enjoy your handywork with a cup of tea yourself. Weeks later you will see little green shoots appearing between the mulch. Stay on top of the weeds as the competition reduces garlic bulb size. Water when it is really dry but lots of the time rainfall will suffice. A spray with diluted worm wee will boost growth. Later in the season we will blog about how to harvest and dry your garlic bulbs. A gorgeous day for starting our Rocambole purple necked garlic harvest at Manar! By this afternoon there was a wonderful aroma of fresh garlic in the hanging room. The bulbs are looking luscious and plump after a perfect spring. A great job done that never feels like hard work when you are chatting with a friend.
Scapes of the purple garlic have done a wonderful 360' turn now so time to cut them out today - to benefit the garlic. Have given them to the Old Cheese Factory at Reidsdale for them to pickle. No waste in Braidwood!Warm day finishing weeding the garlic. The crop is looking good with fat green stems standing tall. We are aiming for a mid November harvest and should have product available from late December. The ground is getting dry and the garlic benefited from being watered today. A little rain would be great this week.
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