Usually I plant my garlic in October. House building and rain delayed my planting schedule. Thankfully, today brought balmy southern winds, sunshine, and 67 degrees. I previously prepared the garden space, turning under the straw mulch from

last year's crop and adding sand left over from construction.

Garlic likes being a couple of inches in the dirt. I've planted it pretty closely, to discourage weeds. I use the back of a rake to smooth over the cloves.

After the garlic is put to bed, I pull up a cover of straw.

I planted five different types of garlic: Rocambole, River Giant, French Germinador, German Red, and Siberian White. We have been planting these same strains for almost 15 years. I think I'm the garlic curator because I can keep track of what is planted where. For two years, when we were without garden space, my sister Mariluz and a friend kept our strains going for us.

We hope to expand our garlic harvest next year, now that we have a dry space to store the braids!