Growing edibles year round (or almost) is possible in our Zone 7 climate. Our beloved greens — turnips, mustards, collards and kale — are harvested from late fall well into winter.
Neither of those options may be in your future, and I know they aren't in mine. But there is an edible crop that we can all grow during the winter and harvest next year. It's garlic.
Single cloves planted now will grow into bulbs with many more by late spring.
"Garlic is great because you plant it in the offseason so are using your soil year-round," said Dave Fitzgerald, the garlic guru at the Collierville Victory Garden on the grounds of Collierville Christian Church.
CVG for short is a volunteer-maintained garden that donates produce — more than 5,000 pounds so far this year — to needy residents of Collierville.
Many, but not all of the volunteers, are master gardeners. Last fall, they planted their first crop of garlic. About 30 cultivars of both the softneck types most recommended for Southern gardens and hardneck varieties most often grown in colder climates were installed.
Fitzgerald and Carl Wayne Hardeman, the founder and leader of activities at CVG, say hardnecks did well during the mild winter. They pared this year's garlic planting list to the 19 best-performing varieties. Twelve of them are hardnecks.
So why the heck should we care about the necks of our garlic? A couple of characteristics distinguish the two types. Most softneck garlics are mildly flavored like the kind we find in supermarkets. The papery covering that clings to every clove and the entire bulb gives softneck garlic a long storage time. Their soft necks and pliable stems also make them good for braiding.
Hardneck garlics are prized for their complex flavors and the easy way their papery skins slip off. But that trait also means they do not store as long as softnecks.
Hardnecks also tend to produce bigger heads with larger individual cloves. I don't know about you, but I find it much easier to deal with large cloves than small ones. I like to peel off the papery shell and then use a fine microplane grater to mince it into a paste that is easy to distribute through whatever dish I'm preparing.
This year, the volunteers are also planting 100 cloves of elephant garlic, which is not a true garlic but a mildly flavored wild leek that grows into a large head. Each clove of garlic is planted pointed tip up and about 2 inches deep. Spacing should be about 6 inches between cloves. Elephant garlic needs to be 4 inches deep and 12 inches apart.
Garlic needs fertile, loose soil with no competition from weeds and a sunny site to reach its potential size. And that's exactly what it gets at CVG.
"This is great dirt that's alive," Hardeman said, as he easily shoveled up a nice sample of it. "It's made with leaves and grass clippings from Collierville yards."
Hardnecks are ready to harvest when about half of its leaves turn brown. Typically it happens in May but last year's crop was early, so early that Fitzgerald and Hardeman didn't harvest them when they saw the brown leaves.
This year they will watch and not wait.
Softneck garlic is harvested when the leaves wither and fall over. It's usually before the hardnecks are ready. Left in the ground too long, the garlic heads will split open.
Until 1989 and after, American gardeners had few choices when it came to garlic. Most of the available seed cloves were the common softneck types grown in California and a few heirlooms varieties brought to this country by Italian, Polish and German immigrants.
Botanists in the U.S. Department of Agriculture had long sought permission to collect the many garlic varieties they knew grew in the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union. Their request was always denied because the area was also the site of missile bases and other secret military installations.
But as the USSR began to dissolve in 1989, the scientists were allowed to collect garlic under constant surveillance and at night so they couldn't see anything of military importance.
They went from village to village along the old Silk Road buying garlic from local markets and often naming their purchases for the area where they were found. Some from that region in the Collierville garden include Belarus, Romanian Red, Transylvania, Georgian Crystal and Red Toch.
If you want to grow exotic garlic varieties, you must order the seed cloves from online sources such as gourmetgarlicgardens.com, filareefarm.com and wegrowgarlic.com
You can buy common softneck garlic for planting at Russell's Farm Supply in Collierville.
But if you just want to try your hand at it without a lot of effort, buy some garlic at the supermarket, separate it into cloves and plant them. I did it last year and can't say I got huge heads. But I'm going to try again with some of the seed cloves shared at CVG.
Whether you grow your own garlic or buy it at the supermarket, it's bound to leave its lasting odor on your breath. You can combat that unpleasantness by munching on some other plants that may be in your garden.
A few sprigs of fresh parsley — which also grows during the winter — or some leaves of fresh basil, which sadly succumbs after the first frost, freshen your breath. High chlorophyll levels in those two herbs are thought to neutralize the powerful odor of garlic.
A busy November
The week before Thanksgiving is a busy time for programs on horticulture and floral design:
Four events take place Nov. 13 at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., florist Greg Campbell will conduct a hands-on workshop on making a fall flower arrangement and a door swag to take home after the session.
From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Jackson, florist Kent Freeman will also do a hands-on program in making a door wreath and holiday centerpiece. The cost for each session, $75 or $50 for botanic garden members, includes all supplies. Call 901-636-4128 for reservations.
At noon, Dale Skaggs, director of horticulture at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, will discuss "Plants for Winter Interest, Indoors and Out." He will emphasize plants that can be cut and used in floral designs. It is free with garden admission.
At 7 p.m., Carl Suk, past president of American Holly Association, will present a program on hollies at a meeting of the Memphis Horticultural Society. It is free to members; $5 for visitors.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Joe Fava, an interior and floral designer from Ft Lauderdale, will present ideas for using treasured china and other accessories in innovative ways to create flamboyant holiday tablescapes. The program, one of the annual Phoebe Cook Lectures, is free with regular admission.