Just like it says on the tin we spent four hours on Sunday down on the east side of one of the near fields pulling up around 6,500 garlic bulbs. When the singular purpose built plough worked, it was the best thing ever, but when the heavily impacted earth took the plough to wandering and we had to dig the missed bulbs with spades and forks, it was a hot, sweaty mess of an operation. Luckily the plough worked roughly 85-90% of the time.
Unseat the garlic from the cement choke hold the ground has on it, then you gather the bulbs, break off the clinging dirt, lay them in piles facing the bulbs all one way, gather those piles in the bed of a side by side, then load them out onto wagons to dry off, but also not roll away or get picked over by racoons and such. Rinse and repeat row after row until completed.
My inlaws don’t primarily do garlic, this is a hobby crop, because they mainly do cattle corn and soya beans. We also have a pumpkin patch and orchards and various berries too. But the “farming” is for corn and beans mainly. Everything else works because they have the gear all ready for the two main income crops.
It isn’t glamourous by any means, but at least 8 know we have garlic available to season what we eat this year! Ha. Small comfort. All of our clothes, gloves, and shoes smell heavily of garlic at the moment. The van smells like a garlic bread factory. It’s rather pungent and invasive! Phew!
So back to Monday and I have my edits in hand to get to early today. My back and legs are sore from all the bending and leaning in the full sun yesterday. Luckily it topped out at 21°C, and the air quality was sitting at a 2. We had the best possible conditions for getting the whole patch done in one concerted effort. It took just about all of us, minus most of the children, but we got it done. Thank God! You absolutely could not count on the weather staying this reasonable for much longer.
On the plus side, I was outdoors and active for four full hours yesterday. Had a lovely swim afterwards, and then visited with friends in the evening to enjoy their new hot tub that worked wonders on my sore back, and the aching in my legs. Turned out better than I could have hoped for.
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