Planting garlic before winter and the best garlic bread recipe

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We love garlic in my family, and my husband decided it was time to start growing it. Because of Alaska's short growing season, Garlic works best if it's planted in the fall a couple of weeks before the ground freezes. Since it's getting close to first frost, the time is now. Fall and winter are so close in Alaska that  Fall gardening means getting your beds in order and putting in bulbs for next year. We are planting some ornamentals and garlic. Lots of garlic. The ornamentals will come up in spring for bright color. The garlic will be ready to harvest a lot later.

If you can't find garlic bulbs for planting at your local garden store, buy either organic garlic or garlic from your local farmer's market for planting. 

We are using Micracle-Gro® Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables for our outside beds. For indoors, you can plant garlic cloves in Miracle-Grow® Potting Mix. Both are safe for vegetables and other edibles. The garden soil is only appropriate for outdoor beds. It has all the good organic food garlic wants. Since garlic can be difficult in our short summers, we want to give it the best chance possible. Our indoor garlic isn't for growing bulbs, it's for the scapes which are the green shoots that come up from the clove. They can be used much like green onions with a nice garlicky flavor. Did I mention we really love garlic?

This pin for Olive Oil Garlic Crostini  is good, but even better?

Making a roasted garlic mayonnaise, then spreading bread with that and toasting it. Seriously, best ever.

Youl'll need roasted garlic- the best is wrapped in foil and thrown into the grill over wood, but that's true of almost anything. In a pinch, you can roast in an oven or even in a skillet. Just make sure the garlic is lightly charred and very soft.

You will need:

• 5 cloves of roasted garlic
• 3/4 cup olive oil- light is okay, NOT extra-virgin. You want the flavor
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Peel the garlic, and put it in a blender with 3/4 of a cup of olive oil. Blend well. Pour the olive oil into a measuring cup with a spout.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, using a whisk, mix up the egg yolk and lemon juice. The egg yolk is what creates the emulsification.  

Then whisking quickly and pouring the oil slowly, start mixing in the oil. My daughter poured while I whisked. As you whisk, you'll notice that it starts getting light and fluffy. Keep pouring in the oil and whisking until all the oil is incorporated and it's fluffy. It won't be white. This is not your grocery store mayonnaise. This is so much better. After it's all mixed, whisk in the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Then rock your own world. Get some bread. I used cheap white sandwich bread because it was convenient. Spread the bread with your fresh mayonnaise and toast it. Again, on the grill is best, but I just used a skillet for the bread in the photo.

Oh my gosh. Seriously so good. The lemon juice provides a bright tang which works well with the garlic and olive oil. My daughter loves it too. You could add cheese if you wanted, but just like that,it's a quick, tasty addition to soups and other winter cooking.

To find out what's good to plant in your area this fall, check out the tips on Miracle-Gro's Find beauty in the Fall page. I also recommend Miracle-Gro Facebook page to talk with other garden enthusiasts and learn more about what works in your area and the best way to grow it.

Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables with all of it's amendments is a good choice for my garden.

One final tip- if you are planting garlic, mark your bed! It's slow to come up in spring so you might lose track of where you planted it. Because the snow and ice can be hard on decorations and fencing here, we just marked our garlic patch with large stones for now. In spring when do more planting, we will replace the stones with decorative stakes.