If you happened to read the blog post back in November, you know we planted garlic just before the snow began to fall. It was a cold day and our hands nearly froze as we dug in the ground and planted the individual cloves. All winter long, at the Coteau Valley Farm, we watched the snow get deeper and deeper as the field disappeared under a blanket of white. Then with spring the snow slowly started to retreat. We said, “This is going to take forever to melt.” After one warm windy night though, surprisingly a lot of it was gone in an instant. In its place, a temporary pond appeared. We enjoyed watching the many birds appear on the pond happy with their newly found source of water. That only lasted a few days though, as the water quickly dissipated. While the garlic was not underwater, the ground was very wet, and it was like walking on quicksand to go out and investigate our field. We began to wonder if it was ruined, sitting in the saturated ground after the long winter freeze. Oh no, we thought, all the money we spent planting this exotic Russian Red Garlic was wasted. We had failed, at least we thought. But then today, when we were once again out in the field, we noticed a small tiny stalk, or more properly a scape, sticking out of the ground. Well, at least one garlic is coming up. But then we saw another and another and another. The garlic has arrived. The cloves didn’t freeze or drown, or get eaten by one of the thousands of critters that might be lurking around. Even the barn cats came out to investigate (of course they like to investigate everything). Now that the garlic has finally decided to come above ground (because it was already growing below the ground), we just have to wait for it to mature. Stay tuned for updates as it grows, and we begin to harvest. Going forward, we are just waiting for the weather to cooperate so we can begin planting spring plants, and our ornamental grasses. Regardless of what comes, it is just a beautiful time to be out on the prairie. Basking in the warm sunshine, and the cool breeze is a pleasant reward after so many months of cold and snow.
Coteau des Prairies
South Dakota Hobby Farm
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