Growing Garlic…. July garden update

So, the winter vegetable garden isn’t quite happening this year. The seasons changed really late and snuck up on me, and I just never got around to planning anything, except for the Garlic!! Last year we grew this in pots, and this year, I have planted out in one of the raised beds.

Every clove that we planted was from the biggest and best heads from our harvest last year…. 2 different varieties, Early Purple and Australian White. I know that we planted them really late this year, but they were only just starting to shoot hanging up in the shed, and they have taken off like rockets since they were planted. The difference here in the bed is the 2 weeks it took between planting the left half and the right half. There are about 30-35 plants growing in this bed.

So, with all the cloves thinking about shooting, what was I going to do to preserve the remainder of the garlic until the next harvest – 6 months away? I spent an entire afternoon peeling every clove left, and now we have a lovely jar full of cloves, ready to go, in the freezer door. Such a simple solution, and it certainly saves time in the food preparation stage! Admittedly, they don’t defrost well, but when all I am doing is dicing them up to add to dinner, aesthetics don’t really matter! I’m just really happy to have garlic that I know has been grown naturally, with no chemicals sprayed on them that could harm us. Garlic is a staple for us, and I’m hoping I grew enough to last the whole year!

Meanwhile, my parsley has become a monster, with no end in sight. Another candidate for the freezer I think. Chopped up and drizzled with a little olive oil, it freezes beautifully!

And, because the seasons haven’t been crazy enough already, all my early spring bulbs, as well as my early Irises are flowering, and there is our very first flower on our Passionfruit!! Very excited about that one, but I hope it survives the winter, as there is frost forecast for the next few days.

Meanwhile, the rest of the garden is in a holding pattern until the real spring arrives. I’m hoping to have a lot more success with our summer vegetables this year, having learnt a few tips and tricks from last summer’s various animal attacks….

So, what’s growing in your winter garden, or summer garden in the other half of the world?

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