Bed Marker for Garlic

[Diavolicchio]

Hey ScottSD--This is only my 3rd year growing, so I'm no expert, but I have read a bit about it.

1. Pests: We have none. No disease. No varmints. Nothing. Awesome!

This is inaccurate and misleading.

You may not yet have dealt with pests, diseases or varmints attacking your garlic where you are, and specifically for the period of time you've been growing garlic, but this is not a universal truth in the world of garlic growing. Go buy a copy of Chester Aaron's book "Garlic is Life." It's FULL of anecdotes about the varmints who are consistently after his garlic, the most chronic being gophers. You'll also find that onion thrips, onion maggots, armyworms and wireworms are potentially a problem in many parts of the country. White rot and Fusarium can be problems if you don't rotate the location of your crop regularly. Mold is often a problem immediately after harvest, if the garlic is harvested from the ground during or after a rain.

And then you've got a whole other classification of varmints, specifically the purported health-conscious types who show up at your farmers market stand insisting that all produce they buy must be grown completely organically and free of any synthetic fertilizers, only to hop into their vehicle afterward and light up a cigarette. An organic cancer stick, one must presume.

If you're serious about growing garlic, pick up a copy of the best book on the subject. I also noticed another recent book on the subject that looks quite good, but I've not yet purchased a copy of it firsthand. I soon will though.



John

 

[me&thegals]

Yep, that's why I prefaced it with "This is only my 3rd year growing, so I'm no expert" and stated "Pests: We have none."

Maybe I hit the jackpot, maybe crop rotation is working or maybe my garlic is a genetically good match for my region since I get all my stock from growers who have been growing in my area for years and years.

Hmmm. Interesting about the organic stuff. I have yet to meet a smoker who requested strictly organic produce, but maybe they just weren't showing the outward signs of smoking yet.

Well, I sure am glad for my good fortune so far and will possibly be back on this thread next year asking for help with the above diseases...

 

[Diavolicchio]

Yep, that's why I prefaced it with "This is only my 3rd year growing, so I'm no expert" and stated "Pests: We have none."

No worries. When you said WE, I wasn't sure if you were referring to your immediate family or to garlic growers in general. I assumed the latter because you hadn't said "This is OUR 3rd year growing," but MY instead.

Cheers,


John

 

[me&thegals]

I guess I need to stop mixing my pronouns Plus, I'm furiously knocking on wood. I just got done gloating about my family being so healthy, and the kids and I now have colds. So knocking on wood about being disease free so far...

Wouldn't that be cool, though? A high-dollar, disease-free, relatively low-maintenance crop (well, compared to green beans, anyway)?