Haliburton County Master Gardeners

Gardening in Haliburton County

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Vegetables

PLANTING GARLIC ‘Here in the Haliburton Highlands’*

Keep it simple…follow some basic steps…let them sleep…greet them in the spring!

Plant between Thanksgiving and mid-November here in the Highlands

Our growing season is not long and therefore by planting in the fall, roots are given a chance to develop before the cloves go to sleep in the freezing soil. As the soil warms in the spring, the clove, still cold, is stimulated to sprout and develop into a bulb. Since the roots have already started in the previous fall, the cloves get a head start on the new growing season.

Site

  • A sunny location (8 to 10 hrs)
  • Loose crumbly soil so the roots can penetrate deep for the nutrients and water.

Soil prep

  • Work year old manure or compost into the top 4 to 5 inches of the planting bed.
  • Raised beds are preferable, 3 to 4’ wide for easy access from either side of the bed.
  • Length of the bed will depend on your space and how much you wish to harvest.

Planting

  • Source fresh, local garlic for planting. It will be primed to Haliburton’s growing conditions.
  • Separate the cloves from the stem, protecting the root base, so each clove has a root base for new growth.

TIPS UP! Always!

  • Plant in holes or trench prepared 4” deep – 6” apart
  • Cover and tamp down gently to bring soil into contact with cloves.
  • After a good frost and before the ground freezes, it is recommended to apply a mulch of 6” to the planted garlic bed. Spoiled hay, straw or chopped up leaves can be used to cover and protect the cloves from heaving and cold weather damage.

Breaking apart Garlic Bulb for planting

Planting Garlic

Crop Rotation*

Garden Carrots

Crop Rotation is not just for Farmers

You are what you eat! In this day and age when increasing attention is paid to the quality of the food we eat, more and more people want to grow their own food. As a hallmark for sustainable farming, crop rotation minimizes problems down the road while preserving soil structure and health.

Crop rotation is not just for the farmers. It can be put to use in small plots of land as well. By rotating crops each season; we promote a natural method of pest control which helps to break disease cycles that can occur when the same crop is grown in the same spot for successive years. For example, Clubroot is a soil borne fungus that affects brassicas, and accumulates from successive growth in the same location. Mono cropping also depletes the soil of nutrients specific to that crop. In the same way our bodies can ache if we do the same thing over and over, the soil can get tired if we plant the same vegetable, year after year in the same spot.

Simply put, crop rotation requires you to avoid growing the same crop in the same spot year after year. Plant your like family vegetables in a different spot than the previous year and rotate your different crops like a cycle. It’s helpful that some vegetables will replenish lost nutrients back to the soil after a crop has been harvested. It helps to grow legumes after heavy feeders like corn or leafy vegetables. While you’re at it, add in some green manure like clover to enrich the soil. No matter what vegetables you are growing, there are many rotations to suit your needs. You decide!

Remember that any crop rotation is a work in progress, and much of the enjoyment and challenge comes from experimenting with it each year as you learn from previous years. By keeping in mind a few things, it will make it much easier to work out a suitable rotation for you.

  • Know botanical names of your vegetables and group vegetables from the same family together
  • Explore the internet as  there are a wealth of resources 
  • Keep a notebook to record observations and keep accurate records 
  • Grow green manure as it enriches the soil like essential nutrients for the body
  • Alternate deep rooted and shallow rooted crops to promote a balanced draw
  • Leafy vegetables generally use a lot of nitrogen so plant soil builders like beans prior to growing lettuce

Some basic types of groupings that may work for you include: heavy feeders (broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, squash); light feeders (carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, chives); nitrogen fixing (soil builders – green beans, lima beans, peas, soybeans); green manures (clover, vetch, alfalfa, rye, buckwheat).

Article written by Shane Rajapakse for the MGOI newsletter and reprinted here with permission.

Editor’s Note:  More gardeners are practicing a technique called chop and drop. Essentially you cut back your weeds and grasses before they go to seed and leave them on your garden as green manure mulch.  The nutrients are available immediately to the plants and the mulch helps the soil to retain moisture, repress weeds and improve soil structure.

 

 

Growing Garlic*

Garlic is one crop that grows well in the sandy growing conditions of the Highlands region. It’s unique in that it’s a bulb that is planted in autumn and harvested nine months later. Choose hard-necked varieties such as “Music” that do well in our temperate climate.  Read more…

Growing GarlicGarlic Life Cycle

Buy bulbs of garlic from a local and trusted grower.  Plant bulbs in your garden in late October or early November before snow fall. Amend your soil with compost or other organic fertilizer.  Plant your bulbs 4-6 inches apart and a good 4 inches deep.  Too shallow and the frost will heave them out of the ground and too deep and they will expend too much energy trying to reach the surface.  Separate a clove from the bulb and place it pointed end up in the hole. Cover it over with earth and then cover with 4-6 inches of light mulch.

Garlic can be planted in rows (run North to South) or in amongst a flower garden where it looks quite attractive. It is a companion to roses, carrots, lettuce, beets and cabbage but not onions, peas or beans.

Leave the mulch in place in the following spring and throughout the summer.  The mulch will retain moisture and repress weeds.   Water well every week, if there isn’t sufficient rain. After June 21st, the scape should appear. When it forms one curl, cut it off to retain vigour in the bulb.  You can use the scapes raw or cooked in salads and other recipes where mild garlic flavour would be desired.

Pull up the garlic in August when three or so outer leaves turn brown. Tie in loose bunches and hang in a shady, breezy, dry place to dry. When dry after a week or so rub off the dirt and outer layer of paper skin with your hands. Snip off the stem about 3 inches above the bulb. Store the bulbs in a dark dry place by hanging them in an old onion bag.

Garlic Bulb

How to Plan a Vegetable Garden*

Need a primer or a refresher on how to start a veggie garden? We couldn’t have laid it out any better than Sharon Hanna whose article appears in Garden Making Magazine.

With permission we’re providing you the link to some great information that we’ve vetted to ensure that it meets with the challenging growing conditions here in the Highlands.

View Sharon Hanna’s How to Plan a Vegetable Garden HERE.