My soil is good so found the plants have no trouble going right through to it. My trees are not in raised beds, but they look nice in beds. I like the beds as the soil warms up faster, so melons and corn and other things that like warm soil can be started earlier. Also in wet areas you can increase drainage with raised beds. I like it too because it defines a clear area for my brambles to grow. Any that stray out are removed. I will always use raised beds, the advantage is too great. I have another reason that is more specific to me. My dog has a hard time telling the difference between garden and grass. But it was easy to train him to stay out of the raised beds. I have to grow all vegetables in raised beds else my dog would stomp them into the ground. I grow blackberries in the ground and had to put a fence around them to keep him out. I could not train him to stay out, he didn't get it? The green posts with white tips hold a chickenwire fence, so he cannot run though the blackberries, which are currently buried under leaves for the winter. Burlap will go over them too. Putting it down Tuesday. Jesse will go right up to the raised beds and sniff in them, but is trained not to walk in them. (Chandler blueberry in full fall color) This post was edited by Drew51 on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 18:22

it's hard to tell from the photo of your garlic how many leaves have died down but if you count the green ones, ideally you should have at least 6 ones intact. Each leaf is a clove wrapper and if you want your bulbs to store well, you don't want all the wrappers to have deteriorated before you harvest. I've found that there can be up to an entire month's variation from one year to another on when I've harvested my garlic and the different types that I've grown span across 8 weeks. However, if you gently scrape the soil away from around the bulb, you should be able to see how big it is and whether it's ready to harvest. If you still can't tell, gently dig it out and open it up. When you peel the bulb, the cloves should have filled out and the clove skins not too thick - the clove skins will shrink and dry out after they've been cured but it will be obvious if the garlic hasn't finished growing. The bulbils can be left intact, they continue to mature as the bulb dries out/ cures, you'll see the spathe gradually open and reveal the bulbils which can be big enough to eat. Don't separate the bulbils, they will dry out if you do. You can plant them again straight away into a pot and they will grow into rounds (undivided bulbs) that you can plant again in autumn. otherwise, just store them until autumn and plant with the rest of your garlic. I've only been growing garlic for 4 years - beware it can become obsessive:) This is a great blog by a lady who's been growing garlic for over 30 years and she's still learning! http://barbolian.com/topics/garlic/growing-garlic/

Garlic will be fine outside in that zone. It's fine outside in my zone too, just not in pots! I'm looking forward to the spring! Good luck zackey and if all can report back. Mine are in raised beds, I'll report back too. Do you know what varieties you are growing? I'm trying a hard neck and a soft neck that is hardy. I have grown others, and will grow different ones each season till i figure out what works best. Only two varieties this year. Killarney Red (Rocambole) Idaho Silver (Silverskin) Rocamboles These are the most widely known, hence the most widely grown of the hardneck garlics. They have a deeper, more full-bodied flavor than softnecks. Rocamboles produce large cloves which are easily peeled, making them preferred by chefs & food processors. Their loose skins however, give rise to their major disadvantage, a shorter storage life than most other varieties. By the end of January most Rocamboles show signs of dehydration or begin to sprout. Killarney Red Outstanding Rocambole from Idaho. Original source is unknown. Best producing Rocambole year after year. Better adapted to wet conditions than most others. Silverskin (Softneck - braidable) Sillverskin garlics are the type most often found on supermarket shelves due to their very long storage life. They are the highest yielding variety and do well in a wide range of climates, hot southern, wet maritime, and cold northern climates as well. Idaho Silver Original source unknown. Bulbs are a beautiful creamy silver color, good size and character. Reddish-pink cloves. Well adapted to northern interior climates with cold winters. Mild and sweet baked. Raw, starts slowly with the heat building to very hot.

I would like to trade a couple of potted goji berry bushes for hard neck garlic cloves for fall planting. Send email to ctboring@yahoo.com.