i'm on my way to the beach to get seaweed for the garlic bed that we planted last saturday in the pouring rain .. i hadn't know if anyone else would be there but i'd gone down to the garden thinking that i could be in the greenhouse .. out of the rain .. planting more seeds for winter greens .. when i got there, i saw jim .. all decked out in rain gear .. cutting back the raspberries .. after a bit of a chat, i started my walkabout in the garden before heading to the greenhouse .. i was still out in the garden when andria and mike arrived, garlic bulbs in hand .. the thought crossed my mind that we might not plant since it was pouring down with rain .. but that thought quickly changed .. this was garlic planting day as far as mike and andria were concerned and that's what they were here to do, and i was happy to help .. (i was reminded of the diligence of gardeners . what's a little rain when there's planting to be done!) .. as i stood in the doorway of the shed watching mike separate the cloves from the bulbs, i told him and andria about the conversation that a few of us had had with doug rough a couple of weeks previously ..
we'd been standing around looking at bed #3 .. the destined garlic bed .. talking about last year's crop .. wondering if there was anything we could do differently this year to help the garlic along since the last couple of years haven't been all that successfull .. we wanted to somehow assist the plants this year, but weren't sure how .. so we were tossing around ideas without really knowing what we were talking about .. i was thinking about fetching articles on garlic growing from the shed, when i noticed doug and fergus were outside the gate talking with someone .. it seemed so serendipitous that he was there .. doug's such a great gardener .. so we all wandered over to ask him what he did with his garlic .. he was happy to pass along his formula which it turned out is, essentially, a seaweed sandwich .. dig down 6-10 inches and remove the dirt .. put down a layer of seaweed .. put the dirt back .. plant the garlic .. cover the bed with seaweed .. easy-peasy .. it's so wonderfull to have a voice of experience around when you need one ..
we took doug's advice, and that's how we planted the garlic this year .. mike, andria and i in the pouring down rain .. covered in dirt and wet .. chatting away .. digging .. putting down seaweed .. putting back the dirt .. and planting the garlic .. it's so great to have it in the ground .. i'm looking forward to seeing how it does this year .. something tells me it could be our best crop yet ..
we still need a covering of seaweed so that's why i'm heading down to the beach .. i'm hoping the rain will hold off a little, although it doesn't really matter .. my neighbour across the street .. fresh from gardening in kamloops for 30 years .. is out having a ball puttering around in her snowless yard ..
what's a little rain ..
