March 24, 2020

How to Grow Garlic . . . and Why

First, amend the soil with compost.  The kind
cast off from growing mushrooms is nice, if
you can get it.  A home brew is lovely too.
Loveliest of all is the kind that has
passed through the bodies of earthworms, those
narrow corridors to health and wealth, and perhaps
to wisdom too.  Here's to earthworms.

Next, break a few whole bulbs into their
component parts, and tuck each clove in for the
winter.  Leave their papery pajamas on – you're
doing this in mid-fall, after all, so don't leave the
poor dolls naked.  They are cold-hearty, yes,
but let's not press our luck.  Rather, press them,
butt ends down, about four inches deep.

Six-by-six inches of cozy bed, plus a blanket of straw
mulch, will give each what it needs to perform its
work, its own special version of the miracle of loaves
and fishes: turning its sleepy self, over winter and
through the gathering warmth of spring, into many new
selves.  Each clove will give you half a dozen more,
and probably more than that, come June. Save some.

After curing, set aside enough of these new selves to keep
the miracle going the next fall, so you can go on bearing
witness to the creation of abundance, to multiplication,
to loaves and fishes, the allium edition. And in the
meantime, use the rest to deepen the flavor
of your stew and lend richness to your stroganoff.
Eat to your health – this, too, is a miracle.