From the Gardens Registrar: New Hoses at U Houses; Garlic Planting Time; Are You Renewing Next Year?; Take Down Your Structures; Fermentation

Hello Gardeners, 

NEW HOSES – We have five new hoses at University Houses Gardens, to replace the worst of the old hoses. We will probably replace the rest of the old ones next year. It won’t be long now before the water is turned off for the season, but in the meantime, enjoy.

GARLIC PLANTING – October is the best time to plant garlic in Wisconsin. You can plant it in the spring, but because we have such a short growing season here, a fall planting is better – your garlic plants will start growing in the spring as soon as the ground thaws, so you’ll get as many growing days as possible. (If you plant in the spring, you will have to wait a little before your garden soil can be worked before you can get the bulbs in.) The trick with fall planting is to plant when the bulbs will have time to grow roots and settle into the soil, but not so early that they will start sending shoots up. The middle of October is best for us. And if you don’t have your own bulbs to plant, try a Farmers’ Market for the best prices, quality, and selection. Here’s a website with very detailed information; these are people who really know their Allium sativum:  https://wisconsingarlic.com/grow/

ARE YOU RENEWING NEXT YEAR? – It may be early for you to know what you’re doing next year. (Or even next month, especially with this pandemic), but I would appreciate hearing from any gardeners who know now that they won’t be renewing their plots in 2021. This will make it easier for me to assign plots when we start taking applications in December. Also, there are a handful of new applicants for this fall, and if I find out that you’re through for the season, I could get them settled in plots now. If you don’t know now, that’s fine, but let me know later on if you make that decision. And in a related topic:

TAKE DOWN YOUR STRUCTURES – The rules of our gardens state that gardeners are not allowed to build permanent structures in their garden plots. This year, there was quite a bit of building this spring, by gardeners who were happy to find a safe activity outside for themselves and their families. And these gardeners did a wonderful job with their creations. However, if you know that you will not be returning to your garden plot next year, it is your responsibility to take down your structures this fall and remove them from the plot. Along with the building, there was also a great deal of use of the bricks and blocks which we still plan to use for garden projects when the pandemic abates. It is particularly important that you remove these and haul them back to the piles by the leaf pile where they came from. Bricks, rocks, and blocks sink over time, and become real nuisances for subsequent gardeners. So don’t leave them in your plot if you’re not coming back next year.

FERMENTATION – Another method of preserving produce and extending your harvest is fermentation, It’s the process that makes beer, wine, and cheese, by adding yeast, bacteria, or molds. (We’ve had so many people growing hops this year, that I expect a lot of beer brewing is going on now amongst our gardeners.) It also makes tasty pickled vegetables. Fermented foods are thought to improve digestion because they add beneficial bacteria to our guts. This is an excellent time of year to make sauerkraut, kimchi, and other fermented foods. It’s fun, it’s healthy, it saves money, and it adds a lot of strange smells to your kitchen. Here’s a very simple recipe for sauerkraut - https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a100555/how-to-make-sauerkraut/  You can make a smaller or larger batch quite easily – just keep the same proportions of cabbage and salt as in the recipe. I like to add caraway seeds to mine. Kimchi, the Korean national dish, is similar, but made with napa cabbage and/or other vegetables, plus hot pepper, garlic, and other flavors. I tried to find a good, simple recipe on the Internet, but there were so many variations, I gave up. Does anyone have a favorite kimchi recipe they’d like to share?

Happy Gardening and Stay Well,

Kathryn