I'm not sure there is a definitive answer. When I froze my garlic, I did so after the Fall planting was complete (in October). By that point, all cloves were well cured, and presumably lower in moisture. All cloves were peeled & frozen in a zippered freezer bag. As long as the peeled cloves are dry, they won't stick together, and could be removed as needed. That frozen garlic was just OK. The cloves lost quite a bit of their flavor, and did not hold their shape if cooked. I find that dehydration preserves more of the flavor, stores longer without refrigeration, and can be easily ground into fresh garlic powder as needed. I slice the cloves into 1/4" pieces, they dry into very hard chips which hold their shape if added to cooked dishes. I place crushed dried garlic in a pepper mill... fresh ground garlic has the same flavor advantages as fresh ground black pepper. Although I usually peel garlic before dehydration, I've been able to skip that when processing small hard-to-peel cloves, or large quantities. If the root end is cut off & the cloves sliced with skin on, that skin can be shaken off & winnowed away after dehydration.

Thanks Bon- when you talk about budding- are you referring to t-budding? if yes, should the buds be harvested from dormant wood or should the bud be harvested during growing season. if the latter, presumably, it could still survive 2-3 days in the mail if wrapped in moist paper? am happy to try and gaft using the budding technique. anyone willing to trade/sell me some budwood?

Hi! You'll definitely want to check out www.territorialseed.com an OR company - they have a great print winter catalog with growing hints. Their web site has a special winter gardening section. Per their grow chart, you can still direct seed Arugula, spring cabbage, carrots, corn salad, spring peas/favas, lettuce, mustard greens, and radishes. And of course garlic! Having said that, the last couple of years I've been experimenting with fall/winter gardens. Arugula does great. Have not had luck with the overwintering crops planted in July/August like cabbage and broccoli - they get all chewed up by slugs. Fava beans and peas croaked from the cold. I am sure I am colder than you, though. So, other successes planted this late are: lettuces/greens. Some of these will grow slowly all winter under plastic cover, and burst into growth in early Feb. Some, like Arugula, Cracoviensis lettuce, Siberian Kale, will grow enough, if you plant enough, to harvest enough leaves for salad - or at least additives to store-bought. Beets, carrots planted earlier do great left in the ground fall/winter. Minus is going into the garden in the dark after work when it is raining to harvest root crops out of the mud LOL! I continue to experiment. This year I am seeing if I can get snow peas to bear under plastic this fall.

Did a web SEARCH and found the following site as the first hit regarding SERENADE- http://www.serenadegarden.com/howto/FAQ.html Even on eBAY can you find this product. http://cgi.ebay.com/Serenade-Organic-Garden-Disease-Control-Spray-32-oz-RTU_W0QQitemZ320264801834QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL0806191277r7250 Most 'hardware' stores cater to people who use common (and mostly non organic based) chemicals in a garden, and would not sell such ORGANIC BASED products, so you would probably never see this there, unless another cusomer asked for it and they ordered it special. To find such products, you would have to locate sources that sell ALTERNATIVE products for ORGANIC control. The internet is obviously quite powerful in giving many choices of sources. Bt, is a good example as is Neem. Neither might not be found in many hardware stores. Hardware stores (True Value, ACE, etc.) carry canning jars. BIGGER hardware stores ike Home Depot and Lowes, do not. Its a matter of popularity too. Most home gardeners may not even bother with trying to be organic when they grow things. Here, I spend extra time and money on organic alternatives to harsh chemicals. Herbs are no different. I wouldn't want to add a chemical base like Miracle Grow to herbs, or spray them with nasty refined chemicals. One place that I DO know that carries MANY organic products is Peaceful Valley and even though they are far away on the west coast, I still buy quite a lot from them. Needless to say , if I could find ALL the organic products in a LOCAL garden shop, I would become their best customer!