Garlic in the ground, and a plan for next year

Autumn is garlic time, and for once I'm ahead of myself. Over the weekend I pushed forty cloves into the bed where the beans were, each one pointy end up, about a hand's width apart.

Last year I planted in late spring, and the bulbs came out small and a bit sad. This time they get the whole winter to settle in. The cold is what makes each clove split into a proper bulb.

I've also done something I've never bothered with before: I drew a map of the plot on the back of an envelope and wrote down what is where. Half of my problems this year came from forgetting what I'd grown in each bed.

What I'd do differently

• Plant earlier, and not wait for the "perfect" weekend.
• Keep the map, and update it every time something goes in.
• Mark the garlic row properly. Last year I dug it up while looking for something else.

Now I wait until July. That's the hard part.