Garlic planting

Well it's garlic planting time again - it does not seem 5 minutes since I was doing this last year. This year I have chosen a selection of varieties from Thompson & Morgan which includes Elephant,

Albigensian, Chesnok Red, early Purple Wight, Iberian and White Christo. I have always managed to get good results growing garlic in my raised beds as the drainage is good. Hopefully some good frosts will help to improve the flavour! I was starting to panic a little bit as they only arrived today and I know that ideally they should be in the ground by the end of November.

I still have several bulbs left in the greenhouse from this years harvest and it is delicious especially in curries, stews, soups and I even put a little bit into mashed potato!

I still have a glut of tomatoes that continue to ripen but I have invested in a tomato pulper and am eagerly awaiting arrival to test it out so I can make some passata to freeze for pasta sauce bases.

Another addition to the garden is expected today, I have just found out that I have been lucky to have been chosen as the recipient of a black Silkie hen on Freecycle. The lady gifting her is no longer able to look after her due to health problems and was asking for a good home and someone with experience of keeping hens. I will be going over later today to collect her and hopefully she will fit in with the girls already here. Unfortunately I lost one of my hens in the week, she had not been herself for a few days and I'm not exactly sure how old she was as she was rescued. It's always upsetting when they are the friendly ones and she was one of my favourites.