Winter Solstice Garlic Planting

Yesterday was the winter solstice, and what does that mean for gardeners? It means it was the day to plant garlic. The garlic mantra is: plant on the shortest, harvest on the longest. That means, should everything go as planned, that I will be harvesting garlic on June 21.

You have to love gardening to go out in the bitter cold with an ice pick to make holes in the soil in order to plant. That’s devoted. I waited until the warmest part of the day (34° F), and I planted about 20 cloves in a 24-inch diameter pot approximately 2 inches deep. The root end is planted down with the pointed end sticking up. Garlic likes loose soil, so I made sure the soil I was hacking into had a nice mixture of perlite. We’re expecting rain and wintry weather tomorrow, so it should get a decent watering.

There are a lot of reasons for growing garlic, not just because it is so delicious, but also because there are so many health benefits:

1. It boost the immune system
2. Regulates blood sugar
3. Fresh garlic can kill E. coli and salmonella
4. Contains mood boosting vitamin B6

 If you’ve never had fresh garlic, let me tell you that it is heavenly! When you cut into it, juices run. That should give you an idea of how old that garlic you're buying at the supermarket is.

As prices at the grocery stores continue to climb, it’s more important now than ever to learn how to grow your own food. You don’t need a lot of space, just a couple of plant pots, some sacks of soil, and you can get started.

Who plants a seed beneath the sod, and waits to see, believes in God.