There is so much going on in the garden right now that it is difficult to decide what to focus on. Now is the time to start planting garlic, so I think I will start there.. If you have never tried growing garlic before, I highly recommend that you give it a go. It is so easy to plant and harvesting is very fun and satisfying...especially when you pull up big fat heads next August.

    There are only a few things a gardener must know before planting garlic. There are two types of garlic: hard neck and soft neck. Hard neck produce beautiful scapes *(see below) that are dramatic on the plate and fun to add into salads and stir-fries. Soft neck do not produce scapes and are actually members of the leek family (elephant garlic as well). If you live in zone five or colder, it is really best to only plant the hard neck variety. As someone who always learns the hard way, I planted 40 cloves of soft neck in my garden last year and all of them eventually rotted...some faster than others. I was swayed into purchasing soft necks because I found it for sale at local, reputable nurseries. Do not do it. Only plant hard neck. And, do not plant the garlic you buy in the grocery store. Most of it is soft neck anyway, from California and China, but more importantly, it is sprayed with a "sprout inhibitor" that will stunt a garlic clove's  ability to grow. Farmers markets and county fairs, like the Common Ground Fair this weekend in Unity Maine, will offer many varieties of hard neck. This year my dear friend and gardener extraordinaire, Perry Sutherland, gave me five different varieties of hard neck to plant. I am psyched to see how each variety turns out next year.
    Back to the basics of growing garlic. Once you have your heads of garlic in hand, find a sunny and well-drained spot in your garden. Garlic is a heavy feeder so throw a handful of plant tone into each row.  (They especially like nitrogen.) Separate the heads into cloves. Each clove will transform into one head. Big cloves make big heads and small cloves make small heads. Toss out the really small ones. Dig a trench deep enough so that when you place a clove at the bottom there will be at least two inches of soil on top of the tips when they are covered. A lot of web sites say plant then 4 to 2 inches deep. Two inches has always worked for me. The cloves should be 4 to 6 inches apart in rows about 8 inches apart. 
    Do not be surprised if your garlic sends up green shoots this fall. According to experts, this is not suppose to happen and may weaken your clove and diminish its capacity to get big next year. My cloves always sprout each fall and I always harvest very big heads the following summer.

   Storage:  I have been successful at keeping my garlic fresh by just leaving it in the fridge. If our supply lasts until March, which it rarely does because we eat so much of it, the garlic will begin sprouting... even in the cooler temps. Roasted garlic can be frozen in ice cube trays and then the cubes can be tossed into baggies. Pull one or two out when you are making soups or caramelizing onions, or whatever. Yum