Dear Helen: In the past I’ve grown the biggest and best garlic from planting in the third week of September. Last year, that usually reliable planting time did not work out well at all because October was so warm and dry. This past July, I harvested bulbs far smaller than the large, heavy ones I’d produced in previous years. Now I’m not sure when I should plant garlic cloves this fall.
G.D.
Like you, despite the warm weather in early fall last year, I went ahead and planted garlic in late September, thinking that rains were bound to come soon and soil temperatures would fall to the cool ranges that garlic cloves need to root well.
That did not happen. It was a surprise to everyone that October last year was so warm and dry. The garlic cloves did not get off to a magnificent start, and the resulting bulbs I dug in July were small.
Not wanting a repeat of the same mistake, I’m watching the weather and waiting until a cool trend is well established and there has been enough rain to deeply dampen the soil. Forecasts I’ve seen are for a mix of sunny and cloudy days with frequent, modest rainfall and gradually cooling temperatures.
This fall I’ll be properly monitoring soil temperatures, and holding off planting until they no longer rise above 10 C.
Dear Helen: I don’t think you have mentioned Seeds of Diversity as a resource for finding Canadian companies that list specific varieties of vegetables. They currently list a Canadian source for the elusive Lunga di Napoli winter squash you have written about.
D.W.
I have mentioned this valuable resource several times, just not lately. And I have checked their listings for Lunga, but the lists change from year to year, especially for varieties such as this one that produce few seeds. I see now that Ontario Seed Company (OSC) lists it as Naples Long.
It takes a bit of checking through the list of squash varieties to find this one. It can be listed as Lunga di Napoli, Long Naples, or Naples Long.
To find a particular variety of vegetable, go to the Seeds of Diversity website () and click on Canadian Seed Catalogue Index. On the right side of the screen will be an alphabetical list of vegetables. Click on the one you are researching and look for the variety you want. When you find it listed, there will be a seed company or companies below the variety name. Click on a company name to find the listing.
Dear Helen: Have you had any experience with olla pots?
R.S.
The term “olla” simply means a cooking pot, usually an unglazed ceramic pot that can be used for storing water or dry foods as well as for cooking. Because the pots are unglazed, they have also been buried next to trees and filled with water, which will seep slowly out the porous sides to moisten the soil.
Ordinary clay pots can be used as such watering devices, with the drainage hole sealed shut, the pot buried and kept filled with water. A plant tray perched on top will prevent evaporation from the water surface. Traditional olla pots used for irrigation are a round-bellied shape.
I’m sure these devices work well in certain, limited growing spaces such as small raised beds. They would not suit my garden.
The only experience I’ve had with an olla-type pot was the tall, slightly rounded clay water jar in a corner of the courtyard of a house where I lived in a small Greek village. The unglazed clay kept the water cool.
GARDEN EVENTS
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet this evening (Wednesday, Oct. 4) from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Gordon Head Lawn Bowling Club, 4105 Lambrick Way. Dr. Barbara Hawkins from UVic will speak about “It all starts with Soil.” Visitors are welcome at no charge to the meeting, which will include a parlour show and raffle.
Dahlia meeting. The Victoria Dahlia Society will meet on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. in St. Michael’s Church Hall, 4733 West Saanich Rd. Bryan Bedford, a long-time member and local dahlia grower, will present “To dig or not to dig” He will describe the digging, processing and storage of dahlia tubers. Everyone is welcome to join the meeting.
