Last summer our teen crew harvested and braided the garlic we had planted in the fall of the previous year. This year, the cycle continues. Dena Weiss-Tisman’s third graders came out to plant garlic just before our Thanksgiving break. Parent, Amy Rice Sciacca donated horse manure again this year. It’s one of the best fertilizers for healthy garlic growth. We have about 25 gallons for a 25 foot row. Last year’s garlic bulbs seemed a bit small. This year I introduced a new variety from our local Putney grower, Marissa Miller at Lost Barn Farm.

I built a plateau from our newly tilled earth and mixed in the manure. (Fourth graders are a bit squeamish about manure.) Then the kids came out to break up garlic bulbs into cloves  and plant them (about 6 inches apart). They were covered with a nice blanket of straw (thank you Paul Harlow at Harlow Farm) and they’ll sleep and grow through the winter and spring. We hope to have a good harvest again next July.