The Earliest I've ever Planted Spring Garlic

Hey there Garlic Growers! I was out on the field yesterday! 

Amazing, I've never planted anything on March 8th before...not in the ground. The sooner my Creoles and Silver Skins get started after the harsh winter has ceased the better (not that this winter was very harsh) so I'm very excited to see how they yield, with the longest growing window I can give them. Other Years I've been able to pop them in at March 25th or April 13th. 

It's not a very glamorous project for pictures, I literally just put a box of Creole and Silver Skin bulbs in paper bags in my house for most of the winter, move them to our cold storage at zero degrees in early February, and this is what they look like when I pull them out and prepare to plant them.

I love doing these kinds of tasks completely by hand - it makes it possible, because I'm only about 150 lbs, with large farmer shoes to spread the weight - my soil compaction impact is pretty marginal on this tender spring soil. 

Last year I made a plan, measured out how much space I would need, hilled up the rows, and placed stakes marking each variety I would plant. I planned where each would go so that Silver Skin would be next to Creole types in the row, for no mix ups - it was so easy to go out there, on the impulse of good weather, and just push the cloves in with a garden digger. No fussing over maps, or running out of space!

By the way, if you are curious, Last fall on November 20th, the soil was about the same texture and dryness. I used a wheel hoe to scuffle the penny cress and other late weeds that were growing - again hand work, so low compaction on borderline wet soil...can you tell that I like farm work workouts! It really helps to get a head start on the weeds, before the spring season has even begun. I may plant early, but I weed late. If possible. Weather permitting, as always!

And to show how little the garlic was up last fall, here's a picture from November 11th. 

The garlic is just emerging now, on March 8th, and I'm pleased to see that almost every clove is there.