Garlic and Vampires

Growing up many of us learned that the best way to avoid Vampires was to wear garlic around our necks. And it’s interesting that Garlic planting season is close to Halloween! But what kind of garlic should you plant?

Garlic is a member of the Allium family which includes onion, shallot, leek, and chives.  There are two basic kinds of Garlic:  softneck and hardneck.  Softneck garlic often grows smaller bulbs and is better suited for warmer climates.  Hardneck garlic produces larger bulbs but also has fewer cloves. Additionally, hardneck garlic will form a scape in the late spring. This scape is actually a flower stalk but should be removed to allow energy to focus on the bulb.  Don’t feel you are losing anything by removing the scapes, they are edible! Hardneck garlic is best grown in cooler regions.

The Master Gardener Volunteers have decided to grow garlic this year in a strawbale in the Demo Garden. Thank you to Laura and Carol for providing the conditioning of the bale.  As with any of the strawbales, this was a 12-day process of watering and adding fertilizer.

Today the bale was ready to plant. Susan and Deb prepared the garlic by breaking loose individual cloves. These cloves were placed, point up, into the bale approximately 2 inches deep at 6-inch intervals. A checkerboard pattern was used to maximize planting. The bale was then topped with a few inches of potting soil which was watered to hold it in place. This bale will be watered during the winter as needed. It should be noted that sometimes the cloves will sprout early but this is normal and not a problem.

Garlic is harvested in the early summer when the bottom third of the leaf stalks begin to yellow.

If you come by our Demo Garden in the next couple of weeks, know that you are protected from Vampires if you stand by the Garlic Strawbale.

—Deb Garner, OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer, Clermont County

Happy pollinators

Strawbale of garlic

Sleepy pollinators

Strawbale mushrooms showing proper decomposition

GARDEN SEMINARS

Third Thursday of the month 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Brown County Education Service Center

9231-B Hamer Rd, Georgetown, OH 45121

Flyer

• November 18, 2021 Gathering Local Wild Edibles Christine Taylor
• January 20, 2022 Raising Monarchs Denise Bollinger
• February 17, 2022 Straw Bale Gardening Susan Givler
• March 17, 2022 Greasy Beans Louis Mays
• April 21, 2022 New Plant Varieties Sue Federico

All classes are free and open to the public.
To pre-register: Call 937-378-6716 or email morris.1677@osu.edu

Susan Grodecki, OSU Extension, Master Gardener Volunteer, reporting week of September 16

The Demo Garden was full of activity Tuesday. The flowers look beautiful in both the Demo and Sensory Gardens with many pollinators buzzing about. The tomatoes seemed to be ripening on the vine in front of my eyes and I harvested them (10#) along with green beans (.45oz), thyme (1.6oz), and parsley (4.3oz). There are still many more tomatoes, as well as blooms on the plants. They definitely love the straw bales and that location.

Between the wind, the hot sun, and the high temperature, the plants were quite dry. The water was on out by the bales, though it did not appear to be by the Sensory Garden. The Sensory Garden looks fantastic and the plants have really filled in the space nicely.  (photos 1-6)

Wednesday it rained so I didn’t visit the Demo Garden, and when I returned Thursday the rain gauge indicated almost 2” of rain had fallen and no watering was necessary..

As pictured, there are also peppers of all varieties that are on the plants, and I picked each type Thursday; though there are quite a few green peppers that were not yet ready to pick. Many of the seeds are ready to harvest … sunflower, chives, zinnia, and dill are ready, and basil will be very soon.

Thursday’s harvest and a copy of my journal entries are pictured in photos 8 & 9 below.

Barbara, you may want to bring a bag to collect the harvest. There are many cherry (grape?) tomatoes that are continuing to ripen and I found they can be quite elusive if you try to hold them in your hands along with the rest of the items. I also had pruners in my car and found them to be helpful for the herbs.

Barbara Mustoe-Monteith, OSU Extension, Master Gardener Volunteer, reporting week of September 18

There was 2″ of rain in the rain gauge, but some bales still seemed dry, so I watered. Harvested 3 pounds of tomatoes and 8 ounces of green beans. It was 82 degrees and sunny on Saturday, September 18. Watered the entire garden thoroughly. No harvest today, but should be ready for some more producing tomorrow.

Bill Dolle, OSU Extension, Master Gardener Volunteer, reporting week of September 23

Cardinal Flower is evidence that flowers are still blooming in the Sensory Garden.  The straw bale garden is also still producing, but the produce is not as pretty as earlier in the summer.  There are still green beans, green peppers (pictured), jalapeno peppers, one cucumber, several different herbs, and tomatoes.  Red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes (all pictured), and 3 lbs. of cherry tomatoes (not including the split ones I ate).  Also spotted a Monarch Butterfly passing through on its way toward Mexico.

Susan Givler, OSU Extension, Master Gardener Volunteer, reporting week of October 2

The cherry tomatoes just don’t stop producing along with the beans and peppers.  One surprise this week was the discovery of carrots among the tomatoes- a nice companion vegetable. This is all happening in the straw bales, but I would like to put some focus on the container garden.

There were two potatoes popping their heads out in one container, after more digging 15 nice-sized potatoes were harvested -total weight was over 4 pounds.  With further investigation, the rosemary and lemon thyme was overwhelming their pots. Hopefully, these can winter over.  The sage also looks healthy. All vegetables were donated to Owensville Commons senior apartment complex.

Daffodils, irises, and rose of Sharon bushes were planted in the sensory garden near the 4-H hall. A watchful eye will be kept on the weather and the threat of frost as we will need to harvest all vegetables and break down the bales and prepare all gardens for winter. We will continue to gather flower seeds.