From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   fos@sdf.org wrote:   
   ...   
   > i had small garlic last year, not as small as that. this year's garlic   
   > will be mature in a few more weeks, mid july-ish. the plants are bigger   
   > and the stalks a lot thicker than the year before.   
      
     that's progress!  :)   
      
      
   > the first planting i planted too late. within a week or two the soil   
   > froze. last year, the second, i planted the garlic within days of   
   > receiving the seed garlic in early october (growing zone 6) giving the   
   > roots a chance to develop.   
   >   
   > the first year i guessed at the soil nutrients and put some bone meal   
   > and a bit of potash in the holes when planting the garlic thinking that   
   > would help grow nice fat bulbs. last fall i picked up one of the cheap   
   > rapid test kits, checked ph & NPK and amended as recommended before   
   > planting.   
   >   
   > this year although the plants and stalk are larger, the leaves aren't as   
   > green as i think they should be and some are showing a bit of yellow. i   
   > haven't put on nitrogen which would promote leaf growth at the sacrifice   
   > of bulb growth, but i have used fish and seaweed emulsion a few times   
   > which is higher in phosphorus and potassium than it is nitrogen.   
   >   
   > right after i harvest the garlic this year, i'll get the LaMotte test   
   > kit out, test the soil, and amend per recommendations. then i'll mulch   
   > the bed with leaf mold until the end of september, test and amend again,   
   > and depending on how large the garlic is plant either purchased seed   
   > garlic or garlic saved from this years harvest for 2023.   
   >   
   > am i following the right path here?   
      
     don't put amendments in the hole, but mix them througout the   
   soil area that the garlic cloves will be planted into, you can   
   use poorer quality soil on top of the cloves because most of the   
   roots will not grow upwards that much.   
      
     mainly after that you don't want it to dry out completely until   
   the next summer.  when frozen outside you don't need to water at   
   all until the snow melts or if you somehow get an extended dry   
   and warm spell during the winter.   
      
     keep weeded.  fertilize only when actively growing.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)