Virginia Gardeners

[linzelu100]

Originally Posted by TomNJ

I've got 570 garlic plants in the ground, and some basil seed started indoors. I'll be starting peppers and oregano next week, but a bit early here for eggplant and tomatoes. I start eggplant and cauliflower indoors in mid March, onion plants outside on April 1st, and tomatoes indoors around April 10th. Frost sensitive seedlings go out around May 20th provided the 10 day forecast does not call for any frost risk.

Tom

Tom, did you just plant your garlic or did you plant in fall? I'm learning new planting dates for my new area, so I'm not sure, I may be early. I figure this year is like one big experiment.

[linzelu100]

Originally Posted by shelleybean

I've got parsley, peppers and basil seeds going. I'll start tomatoes in about a week. A couple of weeks after that, I'll start zinnias.

Last weekend I saw a few daffodils and now the trees and shrubs are blooming too--redbuds, tulip trees, forsythia, and I see small leaves on some trees. After the January we had, we deserve to get spring a little early!!

My fruit trees have buds now. Hoping another frost won't damage the crop.

[jtjmartin]

I'm about a week later than usual, but I have tomato, eggplant and pepper seeds hopefully germinating on the heating map now.

Any special instructions for starting basil and oregano? Need heat or light?

Jeff

[linzelu100]

Basil is always pretty easy for me. I just throw seed on the ground and it grows well. Transplants are easy too. Now oregano... someone else will have to chime in. Never once could grow from seed ��

[Soilsniffer]

I have about 300 garlic already going, mostly planted Oct and Nov last year. Many are up 4-5 inches now, surely due to the friendly weather lately.

Will probably start some tomatoes inside today & tomorrow -- Red Penna, Omar's, Wes, Cherokee Chocolate, Glacier, etc.

I should put some radishes out there right now, just for the halibut.

[TomNJ]

Originally Posted by linzelu100

Tom, did you just plant your garlic or did you plant in fall? I'm learning new planting dates for my new area, so I'm not sure, I may be early. I figure this year is like one big experiment.

I planted it on Oct 25th, about a week earlier than I usually do. I am at 2,600 feet, so I am a few degrees cooler than the Roanoke valley. Here is how the garlic looks this morning, six rows of 95 each. Varieties from left to right are Music (285), Russian Red (95), Estonian Red (95), and Appalachian Red (95).

Tom

[linzelu100]

Those are beautiful! Do you eat a lot of garlic or do you sell at market?

[TomNJ]

It's mostly for eating, canned tomato sauce, soup, & salsa, garlic powder, roasted garlic, and frozen garlic. I do grow 100 bulbs for a disabled friend, and give some to other friends. I know I am growing too much, but it is so easy to plant, and addicting! I still have 75 bulbs of Music left - maybe I'll pickle some!

[jtjmartin]

Originally Posted by TomNJ

I planted it on Oct 25th, about a week earlier than I usually do. I am at 2,600 feet, so I am a few degrees cooler than the Roanoke valley. Here is how the garlic looks this morning, six rows of 95 each. Varieties from left to right are Music (285), Russian Red (95), Estonian Red (95), and Appalachian Red (95).

Tom

I think I need to fertilize mine more. Pretty heavy feeders?

Jeff

[TomNJ]

Just fed mine today. Bloodmeal and dehydrated chicken manure. They need nitrogen at this stage - grow the green and the green will grow the bulb.

[rdback]

Garlic looks great Tom. Looks like you did a pretty good Fall garden cleanup as well. Wanna swing up this way and do mine? And Yes, I know, it's not Fall anymore lol.

[TomNJ]

I rototill the entire garden at the end of the season, which keeps it looking pretty over winter. Then each bed gets rototilled again before planting to turn under the spring weeds and amendments, and then covered with a thick layer of grass clipping mulch after planting. It looks fabulous by early July, but then falls apart as the harvest progresses.

[hl2601]

Tom, I am jealous of all your garlic! It looks fantastic. How do you make your garlic powder? Using all that hardneck, does it come out more potent than what we buy in stores?

[TomNJ]

For garlic powder, I cut off the basal plate and peel the cloves, about 50 at a time, by shaking in a large metal bowl with another inverted over it. I then chop the garlic very fine in a food processor and spread it out on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115°F for 24-36 hours until dry. If you don't have a food dehydrator it can be spread on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and dried in an oven at the lowest possible setting, preferable using just the pilot flame to keep the temperature down.

Once dry I grind it in a spice grinder and then pass it through a fine strainer. What goes through is a fine powder, and what does not is granular dried garlic. I keep a jar of each, but if you just want the fine powder, just regrind the granules and strain again.

I have not compared it to store bought garlic powder since I haven't bought any for many years, but it certainly is strong and tasty!

Tom

[hl2601]

Thanks for those detailed instructions! I would love to try it sometime. I bet yours is wonderful!