garlic all day long. Hi everybody, I'm Rebecca Coles in Sonoma County, California where garlic
is on the menu. Now's the time to plant it and one of the world's leading experts will
show us how. Then, if you love spring bulbs but don't have a garden, why not plant a potted
paradise? Plus, it's time to get those hands clean. We're making herbal soap. That's all
coming up on Rebecca's Garden.
You know, you'll never know the true taste of garlic until you grow your own. Fall's
the time to plant it and there's probably no one that knows more about the subject than
Chester Aaron from Sonoma County, California. In fact, in these parts, he's known as the
garlic guru. Chester Aaron is a retired English professor who seeks to enlighten garlic lovers
everywhere about the many delights of the clove. You know, the one thing we have to
set straight is that not all garlic tastes the same, looks alike. People think you go
to the grocery store and that's what garlic is, but that's not the case. That's not the
case, although only in the last few years have people discovered that there are other
garlics. Farmers markets, growers like myself who have about 10, 15, 20, 30, 80, 100 varieties
of garlic, they're all different and people are learning about them. If you buy garlic
for the table or to grow, press the bottom at the base and you will find, sometimes you
will find it mushy at the bottom. You don't want that. You don't want it mushy at the
top, but if it's a good firm clove and it's not yet begun to sprout, some of them have,
that's when you want to take it to plant. Okay, well let's go ahead and plant these.
So what do you amend your soil with? Grape pumice, sand, gravel, and then my own compost.
Now you raise your beds for drainage. And also so that the gophers stay out. Okay, and
you've got this drip irrigation system, which is excellent. But what about people at home
who may not be able to do a raised bed or have the drip irrigation? Can they still successfully
grow garlic? Absolutely. You can grow garlic in any kind of soil, almost any kind of soil,
just with regular watering. Just has to be well drained? Well drained. If you've got
clay, you've got to have to keep it moist right up through the harvest. Okay, so we're
going to do this in your bed. What's the first thing we need to do? First, we have to put
down paper that helps keep the weeds under control. Okay, so now you're watering? Yes.
I water it so that I hold the paper down when the wind blows, and it's easier to put the
holes in for the cloves. Okay, now the hole you've got here is how deep? I have it so
that when I put the clove in, there will be about two inches of soil above it. Okay. And
I'm putting the clove in with a base down, flat base down, tip up. Okay. So these are
spaced about six inches apart, I see. I like to keep about six inches around each clove.
Okay, now tell me, for colder climates, is the planting technique the same? Same thing,
except that in colder climates, you'll want more mulch on top. Okay, now this is the final
step. Right. What are we putting on here? This is a mulch made of turkey manure and
cedar chips. Okay. And it helps keep the soil and the paper wet. And it also helps keep
down the weeds. And it provides them with a little extra. That's right. Nutrients. And
I would, I'd put about two inches here, two inches deep. But in colder places, you'd want
anywhere from four to six inches. If you don't have turkey manure nearby, use compost or
rotted cow manure. At harvest time, bring your bulbs indoors to a cool, dry place. Now
here's where you're curing your garlic. Why is this important? Well, when you take the
garlic out of the ground, it has a lot of water in it. I cure it, hang it here, cure
it, dry it for two to three weeks. It loses about 30 to 40% of its water. And that's when
the taste is most intense. So in the beginning, they all taste alike. That's right. And it's
not until they're cured that the flavors come out. And we're usually harvesting this, what,
July? I harvest in July, anywhere from July to early to mid August. Okay. And tell me
about the different kinds of garlic you have here. What's going to store best? I have two
kinds of garlic, what is called hard neck and soft neck. The hard necks do not store
as well as the soft necks, but they have a greater span of tastes. The soft necks will
last longer on the shelf, but they don't have much span. Boy, we're growing garlic for the
taste. That's right. So why do you want to get the hard neck? That's right. Speaking
of taste, you have many different varieties, and you're going to prove to me that there
is a difference. That's right. Let's go try them. Now Chester, it looks like you've been
busy in the kitchen. What do we have here? I have made four hummuses in four different
bowls, and in each bowl I have pressed a different garlic. The flavors range from mild to smoky
to really, really hot. Not bad, not bad. Huge difference. Huge difference. And that's what
people need to know. By growing their own, they can really get a great selection. A tremendous
spread of taste. Right. You have been a breath of fresh air. Thank you. Coming up next, how
to enrich your soil for a garden of planting, and later, planting the blooms of spring in
pots. Don't retire that rake just yet. We're not done working in the garden. You know,
I'm always telling you how important it is to enrich your soil. Well, there's no better
time to do it than when the season begins to close down. I mean, think about it. We
get all this free material right at our fingertips. We've got leaves looking for a home, compost
that's been cooking all summer long, rotted cow manure. You mix this up with a little
peat moss, and we're setting ourselves up for a bed that's very rich in organic matter
for next spring. Let me show you what you need to do. Whatever amendments you use, just
be generous with them. Spread a thick layer over the top of the soil surface. Now it's
time to bring in the power tools. I'm going to till this down to about six inches, which
will get everything all mixed up, which is exactly what we want. Now that's what I call
some amended soil. You know, if you have time, fall is also an excellent time to have your
soil tested. You can pick up a kit at the garden center, or I prefer to stop by the
local county extension service, get a kit from them. Well, there you have it. Our garden
is now ready for bed, and so am I. Rest at last. So you want spring bulbs, but you don't
have space in your garden. Well, why not grow them in pots? Here's what you need. Bulbs,
various containers, and soil, you're set to go. All types of blooming bulbs can be planted
in pots, whether it's grape hyacinths, daffodils, or tulips. Now while we're used to seeing
these spring flowers in the ground, you'd be surprised just how stunning they can be
in a container. Now the size of pot you select should correspond with the size of flowers
you intend to grow. For instance, for the tallest flowers, like the daffodils, you'll
want to select a large pot, something that's at least 18 inches wide. Most of your tulips
will do just fine in 14 to 12 inch pots. The Dutch hyacinths, you'll need an 8 inch pot.
And for the smallest bulbs, the ones that grow about 3 inches tall, like the crocus,
the scilla, great muscari, 4 inch pots are perfect. As far as planting your bulbs, that's
the easy part. You do it just like you would have done it in the ground. The only difference
is we don't have to dig the hole, so that saves you a little bit of work. Now I've chosen
a large container because I'm going to plant the daffodils here. Now when you select your
soil, rather than taking the potting soil, which is a little too light and airy for the
bulbs, select a garden soil. Pick it up at the garden center, that way you know it's
sterilized. You don't want to go out in the backyard and dig up soil there. Now we're
going to fill the pot one third full of soil. Once you've added the first layer of soil,
sprinkle some bulb food over the top. Now the next thing we do is add the bulbs. And
remember we want a dramatic display, so we're going to pack them in. Now with the daffodils
and any of the tulips, remember the basil plate or the rooty part goes down the points
looking up at you. Okay, now the next step is to fill the pot with the rest of the soil
and then water it well. Now it's important to keep your bulbs watered through the winter
season. And speaking of winter, it's very important to protect the plants from any sudden
changes in temperatures. You can do that by adding a layer of straw over the top. Now
the most important part of this project is storing the bulbs through the winter. Temperatures
need to be between 35 and 45 degrees. Any colder or warmer and the bulbs aren't going
to grow. So an insulated garage might be the perfect spot. We'll keep these over winter.
Next spring when you start seeing growth, go ahead and take off the straw and then move
them outdoors when temperatures are finally warm enough. We've got ourselves a movable
pot that will go and grow anywhere you want them to. Next, the easy way to make your own
scented herbal soaps. And later, a new use for an old container. Rebecca's garden dot
com. You know, I'm always teaching you how to get your hands dirty. Well, how about I
teach you how to get your hands clean with herbs from your garden? We're making soap
today on Rebecca's garden. And don't worry, it's not the hard way. It's the easy way of
making soap. All you need is a couple materials from home and herbs from your garden. Loretta
Ellis is a master at making soap. She teaches classes here at the Shady Acres Herb Farm
in Minnesota. Thanks for joining us. I'm very excited because you're going to teach us to
make soap the easy way. Exactly. What do we need? Well, first we're going to need our
herbs. And these are fresh. These are fresh herbs. This is my favorite lavender. And then
of course, mint. We can also use dried herbs. These are lavender buds, a natural essential
oil to improve aroma, a mold of some sort. Or cookie cutters. Or cookie cutters. That'll
be fun. A knife for cutting up soap, a dipper, a spoon, paintbrush. Oh, that's interesting.
And a grater in case the soap is really hard and we need to grate it. And you use clear
soap. We're using a glycerin-based soap and we're warming it in the crock pot. I've got
about three of these, so I'm set to go. All right, what's the first thing we do? We need
to grate the soap. If you don't have a grater, you can also just cut up the glycerin soap.
Then just pop it into a crock pot. Don't stir it. Just let it melt slowly for about 15 to
20 minutes. While we're waiting for our soaps to melt, we're going to get some aroma to
add to the soap. When we put a sheet of soap on here that we can cut out with our cookie
cutters, it'll give it a great smell. And this is the rosemary. Oh yeah, that'll be nice.
Just two or three drops will do it. So we swirl it around? Yeah. The next step is to
pour the melted glycerin onto the plate to cool. Just make sure it's at least an inch
or two thick. Now the soap needs to set up a bit before we use the cookie cutters. And
while that's going to take place, you've taken butter molds and we're going to just mold
soaps out of this. Exactly. Now here's where we get to have some fun. We get to use our
fresh herbs and our dried herbs to add color and appeal to our soaps. A little bit of texture.
Now I see it's shiny, so you've sprayed like a cooking oil or something on it? Exactly.
You put cooking oil on it and if you want to put some lavender into one. How about
a little lavender mint? That'll be a little shocking, won't it? Cool down, get up. Calm
but alert. I like that. Once the herbs are in place, don't forget you'll need to add
a few drops of scented oil. Then slowly fill up each mold with the melted glycerin. Now
for a more decorative touch, try adding a flower in the center of the soap. I can't
wait to see what these are going to look like. You know, and you could get the kids involved
and put little trinkets in the center, little toys. Oh, they'd have a ball. Alright, now
we put the molded soaps in the refrigerator so they'll set up quickly. Now we get to cut
out cookies of soap. Exactly. Probably want to wash these when you're done. Okay, just
push them down. Exactly. As you cut out the soaps, keep in mind you can always re-melt
the leftover glycerin to make more soap. And don't worry if your shapes aren't perfect
when you pop them out. A damp sponge will smooth out the edges. Now not only do these
look good but they smell so nice. But you've got some great ideas to add decorative touches
to otherwise plain soaps. Exactly. Here are all handmade natural soaps that have been
bought and then we added pressed lavender, pressed rosemary. And what we're going to
do is take a little bit of our glycerin soap and coat it over the top. So it's just like
glue. Exactly. Oh, how nice. Well, looks like the soap is done. It's already hardened up
so shall we take a look at it? Let's pop them out. Okay. Oh, look at that. That is fabulous.
Oh, Loretta, these are beautiful and how easy it was to make these. Thank you so much for
joining us today. Thank you for having me. You bet. Herbal soaps. What a great reason
for getting your hands dirty. For a step-by-step guide to making herbal soaps go to www.rebecca'sgarden.com.
Next, a super-sized scoop you can make yourself. Don't have the right tool. Most of us use
the trowel. But you know, the trowel's just not big enough and as a result we get more
soil on the table and on the ground rather than in the pot. Well, I've got a great idea
for a scoop that you can make at home. All you need is a bleach bottle, empty of course,
a marker and some scissors. Now the first thing you need to do is remove the cap and
thoroughly wash the jug and the cap and then replace the cap. The next thing we're going
to do is with the marker we're going to outline the scoop. Okay, now you can almost see the
scoop here and notice how the shallow side of the scoop is on the side of the handle
where the longest side is on the opposite side of the bleach bottle. Now we're ready
to cut out the center. And there you go. Look at that. The great soil scoop. Look how nicely
this is going to work for getting the job of soil and we're getting a hefty portion
here. This is going to work great for your potting soil, not to mention your fertilizer
and come to think about it, this might work for Tucker's dog food. So now you have the
scoop. Now before we go today, I'd like to leave you with a couple of reminders on planting
garlic. Use bulbs that are firm on top and bottom and show no signs of sprouting. Remember
that garlic grows best in amended soil with good drainage and lots of sunshine, about
eight to 10 hours a day. When you're ready to plant, cover the bed with newspaper, then
soak the papers with water. Now poke holes through the papers about six inches apart
and insert a clove of garlic in each hole, about two inches below the soil surface. Then
add mulch. It should be about two to four inches thick if you live in a warm climate
or four to six inches thick if you live in a colder climate. Now just sit back and be
patient because it's going to take about a year before you can harvest the garlic. Well
that's it for today. From Garlic Country, I'm Rebecca Coles. Until next time, keep those
hands dirty and it might help keep some breath prints around. Rebecca's Garden brought to
you by the Home Depot where low prices are just the beginning. On the next Rebecca's
Garden, learn how simple salads can be made into edible masterpieces. It's art good enough
to eat. Then growing winter-worthy grass that gives you and your lawnmower a break. It's
ornamental grass for all seasons. And how to enjoy spring bulbs during the winter. Plus
why carrying less for your houseplants during the winter months means more. Next time on
Rebecca's Garden. America Online introduces new version 4.0.
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