Growing Healthy Relationships like Garlic

Originally Published on October 4, 2011 Written by Mineko Takada-Dill

If you would like to improve your relationships with somebody you love, think about growing Garlic!

While most people in the Pacific Northwest think the summer is over and vegetable gardening ended till next spring, I began preparing for garlic planting.

I prepare nitrogen rich soil by growing cover crops (fava beans) in the spring and summer, and add more organic fertilizer and till the soil for planting. I buy or recycle the garlic from the previous season and plant the cloves in early October. There are so many different kind of garlic and each tastes very different. Garlic grows over winter and I fertilize with kelp and fish fertilizer in Spring. Harvesting season is between June and July. So Garlic needs 9 to 10 months to be harvested. There are no shortcuts. There are many rules, when to fertilize and stop watering to grown big garlic. Even though I treat all garlic plants equally, some grow big and some do not.

1. It takes some time to have good long term relationships

2. You have to take care to create a nurturing environment with love and tenderness. It is not one time deal. You need to keep nurturing.

3. Sometimes even when you provide a good environment, your loved one may not thrive like others because he/she is unique.

4. Like eating garlic, which tastes good, but maybe your breath smells bad later; our relationships also have ups and downs. We take the bad with the good. We accept that we all have bad days and try to come up with solutions for the problems. Love and garlic are both definitely good for your health.