Garlic and Shallot Drying

French Grey and Garlic Ready for storage

Well we having a HOT dry week. Dry in no rain, hot in that its been 33 degrees every day, with humidex in 40-43. Worse is its that temperature by 8:00am to 9:00pm with no wind, and nigh-time low drops gradually to only about 24. Sitting, doing nothing even in the shade involves sweating and physical labour outdoors is very rough.

Garlic

First garlic harvest

Well, I planted garlic last year in 3 plantings, 2 weeks apart. The result was over 100 garlic plants.  I bought the garlic from the local farmers market and although some was music (or advertised as), I did not know the name of some of the others. I was keen to have a local strain and see what grew well for me as well as see when was the best time to really plant. I had heard everything from end of October to end of November and now I know.

First Zucchini

Mini Cauliflower

I planted 4 foot of Envy and another 4 feet of Bounty Edamame soy beans where my shallots came out. Last year, the label’s washed off. One I loved and the other was... OK. This year I put a large label cut from an old aluminium blind.

5 foot Krim Tomato Plant

I seem to be having no luck with cauliflower, another one in the garden (not beds) flowered with all of a 1 inch head. Is this due to too much nitrogen or bad seed? If you look back at my shallot harvest, the broccoli and spigarello are HUGE monsters. The Broccoli is 4 feet high and showing no head.