Happy Columbus Day 
The world is shaped like a what? I don’t think so, Your Majesty
Many Americans of Italian descent (or who are just Italian at heart) enjoy celebrating Columbus Day, to honor the explorer and fellow countryman of their ancestors who is credited with discovering the lands of America during his search for a trade route to India. A tradition that aptly pays homage to both their Old World heritage as well as their New World home is the planting of garlic on Columbus Day to be harvested on the 4th of July. Choose the largest unblemished cloves from an organically grown head of garlic from the grocery store. Plant them with the pointed end up in holes that have been dug at least 2-inches deep (or up to 4 inches deep in the colder northern climates) and 2 inches apart in well-drained organic soil in full sun. The experts describe the best soil as being “sandy silty loam,” meaning that clay soil needs to be lightened with well-decomposed compost or that sandy soil needs to be enriched with the same. “Full sun” means 6 hours or more per day of direct sun (which occurs on the south side of the house if the shade from trees doesn’t obliterate it). You’ll dig up a head of garlic for each clove that successfully grows. Brush them off and keep in a cool dry place and they will last for quite a long time.
This is a fun project for the kids because it’s easy and a good activity for teaching the use of a compass to identify where the garden lies in relation to the cardinal directions. The other thing it teaches is delayed gratification, certainly a valuable lesson in life. A lot of things can happen in a 9-month period of time. It’s the length of a traditional school year and the length of time it takes for a baby to be born. (Wow, is that too much information for kids?) When one thinks about all that is taking place under the ground as the plants fortify their root systems during the fall and winter months, we realize the fall and winter can hardly be considered the time of dormancy at all. My team and I have been fortifying our root systems over the last few months; I hope you will all enjoy seeing what blossoms in the high season. Stay tuned.
More 
Linear Mode
