Garlic + Onions Usually = Dinner

I am starting to really pay attention to what our family buys from the produce section and I figured that if I can grow it, I will.

As I cook up dinner each night, I am realizing that dinner usually starts with a diced onion.  Whether it’s in a soup or for flavor in a sautéed vegetable dish, it all starts with an onion.  The house begins to smell like dinner.  So, in October, I planted an onion patch. In November, I planted some more onions.  I think I will plant some more next week too!

For years I would buy jars of pre-minced garlic soaked in a lemon preservative.  I would go through quite a lot of garlic this way.  After using real garlic a few times and learning how to mince it quickly, I am realizing that it makes a huge difference in taste to use real, fresh ingredients.  Last year I decided to plant a few garlic cloves and to my surprise, I got a nice crop of garlic!  ...but I ran out too quickly!

New goal:  plant as much as I think I will use.  So, at the end of November I bought some garlic bulbs from OSH.  I had a section in my garden that was ready to be planted (soil prepped, check, weed free, check, irrigation, check).  One day while the babies napped, I snuck out to the garden and tucked 45 little garlic cloves in the soil.  The package said to plant them 1” deep and 4” apart from each other.  That night it rained a gentle rain...perfect.  Today, I went out to see if any garlic cloves have sprouted...and YES, a few have popped up!