Spring in these parts has been… well, to say “atypical” is to be nice about it. “Worst spring ever” is a more common description. Cooler than normal. Wetter than usual. Snow pack is something like 39,000% of normal.
Some of this I haven’t really objected to, much. Yes, I’ve been a bit cranky that we still can’t reliably picnic on Wednesdays, but, as a person whose brain shuts off when it gets hot, I can’t say that the temperatures that only sometimes make it to 70 degrees have really bothered me. It’s been nice not really thinking much about watering the garden (our water bill is up these days since Caitlyn, it seems, can either turn the water all the way on or all the way off, and either washes her hands with As Much Water As Possible or doesn’t at all). The spinach was it’s usual straggly self, but it took forever to really bolt, and I didn’t have to compost any of it due to absent-mindedly forgetting to include it in dinner. The peas are fantastically happy, having grown taller this year than ever before.
The garlic, on the other hand, is not happy.
The prolonged damp and cool temperatures have brought me garlic rust. Little rust blotches of fungus on all my garlic. I pulled the plants that looked the worst, about half of what’s in the plot, and fortunately, I don’t think I’ve got it quite as bad as some. While another month would have allowed the garlic to bulb-up nicely, at least I have garlic bulbs that were still really firmly rooted.
I’ll go get the rest of the plants on Saturday and hope that our local weather wizard is correct when he says we’llswitch over into normal, summer weather next week. With any luck, I’ll be able to salvage the bulk of the crop and save the onions planted nearby. I’ll have to skip growing garlic for a couple of years to be sure it’s not in the soil, possibly onions, too. Maybe the newly available space will lend itself to more squashes or melons. Yeah, you’re right; I’m probably dreaming with that last one.
In other, happier garden news:
My foxgloves are blooming!
Turns out it wasn't the rust that got me, it was the white rot. š Your garlic looks freaking gorgeous in comparison. Apparently the white rot stays in the soil something like 20 years….wouldn't wish it on my worst gardening enemy. Thanks for the link! š