it's early November and the time of year when I plant garlic so it will come up in the spring. I purchase heirloom garlic from the local farmers market and simply break off cloves and put them in the dirt about 2 to 4 inches down. Then it is recommended to cover them over with mulch to protect them. So I use shavings from the wood turning classes that I teach. (More info about those classes here). In the spring I purchase basil seedlings from the farmers market and plant those in the same vegetable beds. The whole idea here is to make basil pesto from a combination of my own plants and garlic. I typically can nine or more 8 ounce jars of pesto and store them in the fridge to tide me over through the winter. And of course I enjoy garlic and many of the foods and stir fries that I prepare.
I also use my wood shavings for litter and kindling to light my wood stoves - one in my home and one in my workshop. This particular batch of shavings includes some Osage Orange shavings that a student sent me from a tree on his property in Texas. Here's a photo of the prepared bowl blank and a finished bowl:
This blend of shavings looks quite nice on my vegetable bed:
This is all about living sustainably for me and also being self-reliant and saving money.
