I've been planting flowers for the past few weeks. From peonies to tulips to starflowers, I've planted it!
However, I also want to grow herbs and food as well, so today in the midst of the first winter snow, I got to planting. I noticed a few weeks ago that I had a bulb of garlic that sprouted. Yay!!! As sprouted garlic is perfect for planting. Additionally, between Ace Hardware and the Dollar Store, I've been purchasing packets of seeds and I was happy to finally start using them.
Here's what I did today, in pictures :)
Planting in cardboard candle packing
I love 3-wick candles and when shipped, they often come in packaging like this. Of course, I can recycle them and often I do. But they are great for repurposing AND they are great for using as planters. So that is exactly what I did. As I you can see I drilled holes at the bottom of them for drainage. I think even using a pen could work too. I drilled 3 holes into each section to ensure there would be good drainage.
Maybe it will hold up, maybe it won't. But even if it doesn't, I just want it to get me through winter and early spring. I can replant or just pop this entire thing into a raised bed. I shall see
What To Plant With the Garlic?
The garlic needs to be cold in order to do its thing, so I wanted to plant with it something that needs or at least could stand the cold. So, I opted on the lettuce and for a little flair, some Cosmos. But even the best laid plans are quickly foiled...
A Garlic Surprise! 
Looking at the garlic whole, I thought I had 2 sprouted cloves. Upon opening the bulb, I was surprised to find 5! I have six sections to plant and since garlic is the priority, I was definitely planting all of it. Unfortunately, that means the Cosmos got the boot and the lettuce was left with just one section. No worries, I'll probably have more of these candle cartons soon!
Planting
I followed directions for planting garlic that I found on the internet and a short YouTube video. I also planted the lettuce seeds based on the packet directions but I think I used too many seeds for the space. So...yeah.
To the soil I added pearlite which helps with water drainage. This is Miracle Grow potting soil. Garlic likes fertilizer and I have none at the moment, and since its snowing I'm not going anywhere anytime soon to get it. Compost is also recommended which I do have, but it's frozen. So I'll add the compost hopefully in a few days.
The Finale
This is the finished product. Everything is garlic except one. I'm not sure if I need to cover the sprouts or not. I will research. I left room for compost on top as well. So I can cover them with the compost once it is thawed.
Experiment in flight! I'm excited. This is going to go out on my deck as the garlic needs to be exposed to cold weather under 40 degrees for a period of time. Lets see what happens!
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