On 2022-07-17, songbird  wrote:   
   > fos@sdf.org wrote:   
   > ...   
      
   >   where abouts are you located?   
      
   western new york. zone 6.   
      
   >> 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?   
      
   two years in a row purchased romanian red seed garlic from Burpee.   
   unless someone says holy crap don't do that, i'm doing it again this   
   year. i want to eat my large garlic, not stick it back in the ground.   
      
   >> 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.   
      
   thank you. thank you very much for asking these questions. you're making   
   me think.   
      
   i have no idea how much organic material is in the soil and i now see   
   it's extremely relevant. there are some soil guides provided with the   
   LaMotte testing kit i purchased sitting on my nightstand, obviously   
   unfortunatly unread.   
      
   today i pulled soil samples to dry for nutrient testing. this week some   
   of it is headed to cornell university for further analysis. again,   
   thanks.   
      
   >> 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.   
      
   here in WNY fall is usually wet and there's plenty of snow cover. but how   
   much moisture is there is when the weather is cool never crossed my   
   mind. i see is something i must pay attention to.   
      
   >> 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.   
      
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