Gardening adds years to your life, and life to your years..-unknown
Today is all about garlic.If you have garlic and salt, you can make almost anything!Last year I knew nothing about growing Garlic, I went totally on faith that if I plant it, it will grow. I got a head of organic garlic from the market, broke it apart and stuck it in the ground.As it started to grow, I was surprised and thrilled.The pictures above show our garden from early sprouting to harvest.
So lets talk garlic, there are two styles of garlic, the Hard neck and the soft neck. I grew the hard neck , which was really flavorful , and easy to eat, I dont know the name or kind of garlic it was,but it turned out pretty good, the hard necks are the most similar to wild garlic, and a little more robust in flavor..I have since learned that if you want scapes for cooking, you need to plant the hard neck varieties. Scapes are just the part of the plant that shoots up from the center, and is going to become the flower for the plant to create seeds. To use as a scape, you need to clip it before the flower opens. A scape is very mild in flavor, and can come from garlic, onion or leek plants.Plus, when you cut it off, it helps the plant put energy into growing the bulb, and not the flower and seeds.you can chop it and use instead of garlic or onion, but its much more interesting if you pickle it for an antipasti platter, make it into a pesto, or add to a bean dip. Scapes are even great just brushed with oil on grilled or roasted till tender.
whew.. so we should move onto the soft neck variety. this is the type used when you see big braids of garlic, and many soft neck styles will keep for a very long time. This is the style most often found in the grocery stores. it handles well and is usually fairly mild.all garlic needs to be cured after you harvest it, To cure your garlic, leave the stems and the roots attached, brush all the dirt off and hang them in bunches in a well ventilated, room or in a shady area outside. Let them dry for about 3 to 4 weeks. you can go ahead and braid the soft necks before hanging to dry, and then, as needed thru the next 7 to 10 months ,you can cut them off and use as needed.
This brings us to elephant garlic, I dont think its really a true garlic, more related to the leek family.I haven’t grown this but am curious to try. I understand that one clove will have a top green area of up to 3 feet high and just as wide. I may give it shot sometime soon.
So to plant your garlic, it should go in to the ground in the fall , before the fall frosts come, although here in southern calif. that doesn’t happen to often. Still, get it in the ground as it take about 9 months to grow to maturity. ( I know, right?? that’s a long time!)Your ground and soil needs to be nice and light, not compacted, it needs good drainage or your bulbs will just rot. That’s why a raised bed or deep pot is perfect!
I already have some garlic of unknown origin growing , but I am going to try to get a coupe of other choices in by the end of Jan. I am looking for some heirloom variety’s, but still haven’t made a decision. I’m hoping my garden catalogs get here soon, so I can browse in comfort! well, I think thats all I know about garlic, I will update with news if I find some interesting styles to plant and will add pics as we go. Thats it for today!! Be kind to our earth and to one another!!!
Mommas Back yard Garden Adventures 