garlic

Just as migratory birds respond to shortened daylight hours, so do garlic growers. When dusk decends earlier and earlier it sets off the garlic alarm.  For Pennsylvania growers that time is October through November. I have pending obligations during November so it is imperative that it gets finished in October.  A mad rush to pop all the bulbs into individual cloves. It takes a bit of time to do almost 100 pounds. So we settle, in the quiet evenings or rainy days, and pursue our task. Today it poured a cold rain, continuing as I type, a steady percussion, a sort of rooftop musician.

Aaron has a yardstick marked every 6".  This helps him know where to place each bulb. That way the exact number of garlic can be calculated for rows or beds.

Big growers use a transplanter.  This machine digs the trench, and then covers the garlic after it is placed. With one of these machines a farmer can plant 500 pounds between lunch and supper!! We can do maybe 25 pounds. Blah. We are tiny and that means hand work for every task.

The one mechanical help is the rototiller.  Monday it was struggling, sort of wheezing, sputtering sick.  I was trying to figure what could be ailing this workhorse and noticed a build up of black carbon from the exhaust. A check of the air filter was proof of the problem.  It was coated with no less than 1/4" of thick brown dirt dust. A new filter and spark plug should restore the familiar vroom vroom Harley like rumble.