Today we need to pull garlic from the garden. I enlist the girls to help me with this chore after letting them pick (and consume) ripe blueberries from the bushes. Sated, they are happy to assist. Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow as you just plant the cloves in the fall, drop half a foot of straw on top, and pull the bulbs in July. (If you plant hardneck garlic, then you have the added step of removing garlic scapes in June.)
I lay out newspaper in the greenhouse for the garlic to cure upon and get the girls yanking. Charlotte is able to pull a stalk of garlic with one hand, while Olivia struggles with two. But both are successful as the sound of tearing roots and a small puff of soil accompanies each plant being liberated from the ground.
Charlotte keeps count and soon we have exactly 80 bulbs that will keep us in garlic for the year. I will pull 10 or so for next season’s crop as well as purchase some heirloom varieties as a supplement. Now I need to clean the bed, getting it ready for late-summer carrots and greens.
