From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   fos@sdf.org wrote:   
   ...   
      
     where abouts are you located?   
      
      
   > i harvested my garlic a couple days ago. last year i was disappointed,   
   > this year i'm satisfied but there's room for improvement. the average   
   > size bulbs this year are the size of the largest i had last year. the   
   > largest this year are huge, 2.5 to 3 inches diameter. about 15% of the   
   > harvest is that size.   
      
     a step up in size is a good sign.  i'm not sure what your   
   starting point was though.  did you use fresh seed garlic from   
   a new source or is this from replanting what you've always   
   been growing?   
      
      
   > i did lose a lot of cloves. i planted 135 cloves and got 87 bulbs. i   
   > used shredded straw as a mulch and failed to keep it fluffed up. i did   
   > pull quite a bit off in the spring but it was too late, i found a lot a   
   > lot of plants that sprouted and didn't make it to the surface. the ones   
   > that survived were stunted and grew real small bulbs. i'm going to use a   
   > different mulch, probably compost mixed with shredded leaves. what's not   
   > clear to me is the depth of planting. should 2-3 inches of mulch be   
   > included in the depth of planting? i planted 6" deep and added 2-3 inches   
   > of shredded straw. if i use 2-3 inches of compost with shredded leaves,   
   > should i plant only 3-4 inches deep in the actual soil?   
      
     since i don't know your growing conditions i can't really   
   say too much other than if it is being indicated by results   
   that mulch isn't helping then reduce it.  also not knowing   
   your soil conditions for organic matter or the soil structure   
   itself i'm not sure if you have too much organic matter or   
   what is going on.   
      
      
   > watering. i didn't pay close enough attention to keeping the soil moist.   
   > in the fall i planted the cloves, covered with mulch, and left them   
   > alone. this fall, over winter, and next spring, i'll be diligent about   
   > maintaining moist soil.   
      
     it's really up to rainfall or snow cover (depending upon where   
   you are at) as to how much moisture you've got so you do have to   
   at least keep an eye on things.  it is rare here that we don't   
   get enough soil moisture but we've had some dry spells the past   
   few years that mean i've had to do a lot more watering than what   
   i would consider normal.  gladly the past few days have finally   
   given us a bit of rain.   
      
      
   > last is fertilization. judging by the color of the plants which were   
   > lighter green this year than last and despite much better results this   
   > year, i'm confident i was too light with nitrogen. a soil test will   
   > determine that next week. will be using less purchased amendments and   
   > more compost, too.   
      
     if you've been regularly adding organic matter or if this   
   was a one time thing and the soil community has caught up with   
   the N and C digesting makes a difference in how things can   
   work out.   
      
     generally i aim for replacing what i'm removing and then   
   amend as best i can.  i'm seeing an improvement in gardens as   
   i can get the worm populations restored but without being able   
   to grow cover crops and use mulches it is much slower than it   
   would be doing otherwise.  still with the mostly clay soils we   
   have when i can get things added the clay does help hold the   
   nutrients.   
      
     rains and wind can also bring some extra nutrients along.   
      
      
   > thanks for the insight. excelsior.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)