spring planting

Planting Garlic in Spring

Did you know that you can plant garlic in spring?


At Aurelia’s Garden in Medway, we were unaware this could be done, until Hannah Traggis, our horticulturist and fearless leader, advised us of this fact.  We had discussed planting garlic in fall, as one of our food pantries had mentioned how much their clients had enjoyed a shipment of garlic, but when Hannah heard our plans, she gave us a bag of unplanted garlic cloves, and told us how to plant it.


Hardneck garlic needs a period of cold in order to divide and form into bulbs, so it’s best to plant it as early as possible in spring.  We spent a snowy day in March in the greenhouse dividing garlic bulbs, sorting out any damaged or moldy ones, and then planting them in shallow trays of soil to get the bulb growth started. 


We then left the planted up garlic in the greenhouse for a few days to kick start its growth.  According to Todd Sandstrum, the farmer at Medway Community Farm, it is primarily heat that stimulates their growth and causes them to ‘pop’, as opposed to light.


A week and a half after planting, almost all of the garlic had sprouted, and it was time to plant it in the field!


The few days in the greenhouse had given it a nice head start on root development.


Our team of volunteers planted it in a prepared bed, 6” apart.  Now all there is to do is keep our bed weeded and watered, and let most of the magic happen underground.


We might end up with smaller bulbs than if they had been planted last fall, but we are looking forward to a great harvest of our spring-planted garlic!

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Spring is the season for fresh baby greens!

Spring greens are in peak season at Aurelia’s Garden. Our volunteer grown seedlings are taking off in the field and should provide many weeks of fresh and nutritious donations to Open Table of Maynard.

Our volunteers have been hard at work growing seedlings for Aurelia’s Garden. With our goal to grow over 2000 pounds of produce this year, we need hundreds of plants to fill the fields, and numerous volunteers to nurture the plants from seed to field and beyond. Many thanks to the Aurelia’s Garden Clerk, Nancy, for her gorgeous tray of seedlings.

Whether raw in a salad, a stir-fry, gently braised, or steamed to perfection, baby greens are the perfect source of a multitude of vitamins and minerals. And with so many different varieties with flavors ranging from sweet to spicy, tangy to bitter, there is a perfect spring green for every meal.

Photos by Carrie Wager

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