We’ve harvested the last of the beans, peppers and tomatoes. We’ve hauled away a tangle of plants to the compost heap. We’ve officially cleaned up the garden. It is ready for winter. Yes, all is quiet in the garden now … well, not entirely.

In a moment of Fall inspiration, I decided to plant garlic for the first time. I choose to plant it in a strip of what was going to be a flower bed along the right side of the garden fence. I thought to myself, I like flowers but I love garlic! 

The middle to end of October is prime time for planting garlic in the Northeast. It’s really simple to do – just 6 easy steps.

1. Buy a couple of heads of garlic. I’d suggest buying them at the farmer’s market from a local farmer – this way you know they grow in your local climate. Of course, you also could order from a catalog.

2. Break the heads up into the individual cloves.

3. Find a spot that will get plenty of sun and where the soil isn’t too wet.

4. Dig a trench in weed-free, loose, fertile soil. I sprinkled in some homemade compost for good measure.

5. Plant each clove of garlic root end down about 2 inches below the surface. Space the cloves about 6 inches apart or more.

6. Cover them with dirt. Then top with mulch (or even fallen leaves) for added insulation. 

If all goes well I’ll see little sprouts come springtime. I’m more than a little excited to see how it works out.

In a nutshell it was a very hectic summer and I wasn’t able to tend to the garden as much as I would have liked. Even without my watchful eye it produced some amazing crops and even weathered a hurricane. It was an especially good year for zucchini, dark leafy greens and peppers. It was a so-so year for tomatoes. And, I did eventually get a few tomatillos. All in all it was a good year in the garden.

How did your garden grow?