Allium sativum

My first experience harvesting garlic was on a farm in Oakwood, OH, in a summer's late morning, overcast with drizzle. I don't know if this added moisture enhanced the scent of the garlic as I was digging it. Although it was hard work to unearth two entire rows of garlic, carefully, so that I wouldn't stab any of the bulbs, and took a couple a hours, it was totally worth it for the constant incense. I fell in love with garlic then, and have since been developing my relationship with it. Learning how to eat the cloves raw, how to cook without burning it. This past November I planted some cloves and I'm pleased to watch them continue to grow, now in February.

I recently read allium's are good to plant around the borders of garden beds to detract pests. So I will do that. And the November sow and February sow can have a race. In the meantime I will continue to research this plant for it's health-bearing qualities. In the past I've eaten a raw clove to ward off early stages of cold. It seems to trap illness in my belly, sit there really heavy for about a half hour, then disappate. Not fool proof, but works too well to ignore.

I finally have a workable camera, which is how I've brought these photos at you today. I also couldn't resist capturing a photo of one of the many mole hills on the property. I've been watching them migrate since last July and they don't do much harm. I just have to avoid stepping on them. I'm curious to see how these moles interact with the garden this spring.