Planting Garlic and Another Heat Wave

Since last week, here in San Diego County, we have been experiencing one of the longest heat waves I can remember.  Today the temperature reached 101.  Yesterday I think we made it to 104!

When you get to the bottom of this post I have a 10 day forecast for our area.  Is that really rain I see forecast for the 23rd? There is a chance that Hurricane Odile on the Baja Coast may bring us some rain, we have a 50% chance, but then we have a 50% chance that we won't.  Maybe I will get out tonight and do a rain dance under what is left of the moon and hope for a 51% chance of rain.

Not much else to do with the high heat so I spent the mid-morning under the shade of the front veranda and planted up 32 garlic cloves.  This is garlic that I grew last year and kept the smaller heads to separate into cloves to plant this fall, for next years harvest.  I hope this batch will do better than last years,  I only got a dozen or so that were large enough to use for cooking.

You can see by the sprout that these were ready to be planted.  I lost a few that rotted but I did end up with about 32 cloves.  I will give them about a month to 6 weeks in the pots and then plant them out in the garden.

"Garlic used as it should be used is the soul, the divine essence, of cookery. The cook who can employ it successfully will be found to possess the delicacy of perception, the accuracy of judgment, and the dexterity of hand which go to the formation of a great artist."

Mrs. W. G. Waters in 'The Cook's Decameron,' 1920

10 Day Forecast for Escondido

Mon Sep 15

102^°F Observed High 12:05 pm

Tue Sep 16

101^°

Wed Sep 17

106^°

Thu Sep 18

88^°

Fri Sep 19

83^°

Sat Sep 20

80^°

Sun Sep 21

83^°

Mon Sep 22

^86°

Chance of rain:

10%

Tue Sep 23

88^°

AM Showers

Chance of rain:

50%

Wed Sep 24

90^°

Chance of rain:

10%