FOR THE LOVE OF GARLIC

Words by a local permaculturalist who wishes to remain anonymous Illustration by Rhiannon Poley

Garlic planting season is upon us. Garlic suitable for growing is available from many suppliers (the big green shed usually sells out quickly), but make sure it is organic which is available from many grocers, this will grow successfully. Garlic that is not organic has usually been sprayed so it will not grow.

It is best to get nice fat bulbs. It is a good idea to presoak the cloves in a seaweed solution or worm juice, for 24 hours before planting. That is not always feasible, an hour is good if that is all you can do. Plant the individual cloves at least 10cm apart, and twice the depth of the clove, pointy end upwards. Garlic likes organic rich soil, so add lots of rotted compost.

Garlic planted around your fruit trees and other growing spaces like roses act as a natural pest repellant. Well worth planting if you have never planted before. From one clove you will end up with a whole bulb of many cloves.

Avoid planting garlic with asparagus, beans, cabbage or any brassicas (kale, rocket etc.) Peas, strawberries.

Garlic is a great companion to fruit trees and roses and is a dynamic accumulator, which means in it’s lifecycle if feeds the plants growing around it nutrients, with the help of the soil food web.

It takes around 6 months from planting to harvest, but well worth a go if you have the space. If 6 months seems a long time to you, the stems can be cut and used in stir fries, flavouring salads etc. whilst waiting for prized bulbs to form.

Make sure you save a few cloves from your harvest, so that you always have garlic!

Feel free to share you progress by tagging @therezzadent on Instagram or sharing with us via email at rezzadentnews@gmail.com

You can make the most of Autumn planting, whilst the soil is still warm, but it is getting wetter. This is the time of the year to plant what you can to make the most of winter in your veggie patch. As winter approaches, and the days are colder there is much less that can be planted, but that which was established in autumn will stand you in good stead.

This list is by no means comprehensive, however will hopefully give you some inspiration.

Broad beans – sow direct

Broccoli – transplant seedlings

Cabbage - transplant seedlings

Cauliflower - transplant seedlings

Coriander – sow direct

Chives – sow direct or transplant seedlings

Fennel – sow direct

Garlic – plant cloves direct

Kale – plant out seedlings

Lettuce – sow direct or in seed trays

Onion - sow direct

Pak Choy – sow direct

Parsley - sow direct

Parsnip - sow direct

Peas - sow direct

Radish - sow direct

Rocket – sow direct

Shallots – sow direct or plant out seedlings

Silverbeet - sow direct Spring onions – sow direct or plant out seedlings

Spinach – sow direct or in seed trays

More information can be found at https:// seedfreaks.com.au/sow/

Just a word of caution, planting directly into an urban soil environment, we have to assume our soil is contaminated, best to plant in raised beds or if in doubt, VegeSafe which run out of Macquarie University offer soil testing for a $20 donation.

Happy gardening!