Carrots are Great tasting when planted now and harvested from TGing thru Feb. I find them much sweeter than summer carrots (Nanites variety). Just keep them well weeded and they can be used until the soil freezes up too hard. I also leave a few in the ground to regrow tops and bloom next spring for attracting beneficial insects. Spinach is also good to plant now, after a brief fall picking it's very winter hardy and will give you another early picking next March. Others goodies are collards, beets, kale, turnips, and broc & cabbage (both as transplants). For the first time I planted lettuce and peas this past week to see if they do well here in my Z-7 local.

When you applied the lime, and which lime, could have an affect on how things grew. If done shortly before planting the lime would not have had time to make any change in the soils pH and many nutrients would not be available to the plants. Lime, to have much affect on the soils pH, needs to be applied several months before that change is desired. Contact your local office of your state universities USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done and also dig in with these simple soil tests, Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what your soil looks like and what you need to do to make that soil into a good, healthy soil.

I always plant stuff after I harvest my garlic. There is plenty of time to plant cool season veggies for harvest in the fall. And I also rotate my garlic. All it takes is a little planning beforehand. Where I plant my cool season veggies in the spring, I plant garlic in the fall. And where the garlic is in spring/early summer, I plant cool season veggies for fall. Of course, I add compost between plantings. Rodney

>why shouldn't I just replant the cloves I choose as I harvest them? It might work. Garlic is, at base, a perennial. But I see two things that would concern me. First, the tops might grow too fast, then die back in late fall/winter. That's a lot of energy gone, that might effect the overwintering roots. On the other hand, they just might go through a summer dormancy the way some onions do. Second, it's likely to be hit or miss, with the replanted cloves rotting from summer rains. The fresh cloves are much more suseptible to this, as compared to cured ones, because the wrappers dissolve before roots can establish themselves. Give it a try. But be sure and reserve some of your seed stock for fall planting, just in case.