There is a moment, in autumn, when the sky lowers and the leaves make noise under your shoes, when those who have even just a small piece of land really feel it: the season of garlic, onion and broad beans is about to begin. Dirty hands, cold hands, a few seeds in your pocket and the desire – yes, the desire – to see something born when everything is still gray outside.
The air became more pungent from one day to the next. Condensation forms on the windows and you’re already thinking about the sweater, maybe one that pinches a little. October, November: it is that curious passage in which the green retreats and the earth remains bare, waiting. It’s not just something for “peasants”, on the contrary. Anyone who has a balcony with two pots quickly understands: now we can sow, even if the sun outside lasts less. Garlic, onion and broad beans, yes, they are certainly not rare plants. But, in their own way, they tell family stories. There’s always a grandmother or uncle who talks about it in front of the fireplace.
You don’t need much space, nor who knows what experience. A wooden box, a deep vase, even an old tub: as long as there is soil and patience. Choosing what to plant now is like making a promise to yourself – something that grows slowly, silently, and then when you least expect it… it appears. The spring harvest seems far away, but everything is already written now.
When to plant garlic, onion and broad beans: it takes just a moment
There are those days, at the end of October, when the earth is not yet hard. It seems inviting. It’s garlic time: the best cloves (those without spots, full) are inserted into the ground about five or six centimetres, the tip pointing towards the sky. It seems easy, then someone makes a mistake and the plant grows crooked. It happens. The onion is a slightly different story, it loves fresh air but not too much, bulbils or seedlings are planted around November, ten fifteen centimeters between one and the other. With field beans, the rule is always the same: in the ground, from the end of October to December, beautiful seeds far apart, even twenty centimeters, which then grow robust.
It often happens that you see someone who, between one word and another, bends down and covers everything with a gesture. Muddy hands, dirty shoes. Small details, but they are the ones that stick in your head.
Terrain, exposure and those tricks you learn over time
The terrain? Serve airy, yes, but not too loose. Usually it is dug when there is still some sun, perhaps on a warm afternoon. If the earth is hard, a handful of sand helps, or well-made compost. The important thing is that the water does not stagnate: the roots of garlic, onion and broad beans hate still water. A neighbor once told me that it is enough to observe after a rain: if the ground crusts, it is better to intervene.
There is no single rule for exposure. In the city, you often struggle with the wind between buildings, so a sheltered but sunny balcony is better. In the countryside, just stay away from walls that are too cold and choose the place that sees the sun at least half the day.
Measures? Someone writes them down on a piece of paper attached to the refrigerator:
- Don’t overwater immediately after planting.
- A light net above, if the blackbirds pass.
- Mark where you sow, even just with a stick.
- If the earth hardens, a hoe is more than fine.
Then comes the sudden rain, perhaps in the evening. And there, a sheet of non-woven fabric, recovered from the back of the garage, makes the difference. They seem like details, but they save weeks of work.
Waiting, small signals and harvesting of garlic, onion and broad beans: nothing is ever the same
The hard part? Always wait. After planting, nothing seems to happen for weeks. Garlic underground, stored until February. Onion that slowly extends its roots, broad beans that emerge, sometimes, in the heart of winter. In January it doesn’t take much: a green tip breaks the crust and one already feels lucky. Then, suddenly, April. Or maybe May, it depends. The heads of garlic can be recognized by the top part which turns yellow, the onions still take a few days to dry, the broad beans often arrive between one rain and another.
It happens that something goes wrong. A seed is not born, a row is lost. There’s no point in getting too upset. Someone curses, someone else smiles and tries again. It’s part of the game. Strange to say, but every little mistake becomes a story. And then we realize that everything starts from there, from a clod of earth and from patience. That feeling that comes as the air changes and the spring harvest, after all, is already announcing itself now. Almost noiseless.
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