Two Feet in the Dirt

Garlic is a unique crop in that the heads that you buy were actually planted in the ground the previous season. Every year, we put the next year’s garlic in right around Halloween and for me this always feels like both a beginning and an ending. The garlic needs to be planted late enough that it doesn’t begin growing above ground before winter sets in but early enough that it is in before the ground is too frozen when the soil is still workable. As a result, garlic is always the last crop we put in each year, marking the end of the huge task of planting that takes up hours of time every week for much of the season. We know that once the garlic is in, the turning of the weather towards winter cold is truly on the horizon and, with it, the drawing to an end of the current season.

 

At the same time, garlic is also always the first crop that is planted for the following year, so always has me looking forward to what is coming next. It’s always a little crazy to think that the cloves of garlic we put into the chilly soil on a cool October day are going to be harvested in the intense heat of the next July! 

 

Even as the weather turns colder, the fall harvest continues, with lots of leafy greens and root vegetables still growing away. Check out the full harvest list below and we’ll see you at Burke on Saturday!

 

Farmers Katie & Mike

 

 

This week at the market: