[QUOTE=bower;670740]I'm also afraid to skip the mulch and risk losses. Although I've seen garlic do fine without mulch at the farm, the microclimate here is more extreme. We get a lot of freeze and thaw cycles every winter, so I can't really count on the snow. I think some of my losses last year could have partly been blamed on the quality of mulch as well, which was different on different beds and a bit thin in some places. Dryer bits of kelp mulch were not as good. Even leaves did better. So I need a nice even layer of fresh kelp. The leaf mulched bed didn't lose a single clove, either, although it wasn't that thick maybe inch and a half.
I also think that smaller cloves, rounds or 2nd year cloves are more vulnerable, maybe because they're not planted as deep.
.[/QUO TE]
My garlic plot is so small that I'll probably not chance leaving it without mulch.
Once the red maple leaves drop, I'll add some leaf mulch... Should be a hard frost soon.
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