Last fall I planted one of our garden plots with three rows of garlic. An earlier post with tips for growing garlic is here. This particular plot is a raised bed about twelve feet long by four feet wide.
This spring I removed the winter coat of straw, and found that the garlic had sprouted. Between the rows of garlic I then seeded two rows of spinach. Spinach is not heat tolerant, and as the garlic grew it shaded the young plants as the weather warmed. Garlic and spinach turned out to be excellent companion crops.
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| Garlic drying in the shed |
The spinach grew, and was ready for harvest long before the garlic. In late May I picked the spinach just as it was about to go to seed. We had some for dinner and froze the rest.
Now, in July the garlic is ready to harvest. I set up our garlic-drying apparatus; an old screen door laid on top of two sawhorses. We use the garden shed for drying. It provides a combination of shade and dry heat that works well. The garlic will dry in the shed for a couple of weeks and then I will braid them and hang the braids in the cellar. Some will be saved to use for seed in the fall when it’s time to plant next year's crop.
And that's not all for this garden bed. Even in July there's time to plant another crop. After weeding and loosening the soil, I planted three rows of beets. Even though they may not become full size beets by fall, we will have beet greens and baby beets.
All of this from one 4 by 12-foot garden row. G.H.
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