I love growing and using garlic in the kitchen and for colds and flu. Every year we plant garlic and when it is harvested I am stingy with its use. So last fall we planted tons of it in hopes that it would get us through a year. The problem always is to save some of the cloves back to re-plant in the fall for the following year. That is where it gets me, there is never enough to plant "lots" for the next year. In my opinion of course.
The garlic came so early this year because of the warm winter and spring we had. A couple of weeks ago I started pulling the blossoms off the garlic to help it grow bigger. The blossoms are called scape's and are good to saute and put into recipes calling for garlic or onions. You can also make herbed vinegar with them and they look really neat in the jar. What I don't use right away I freeze for when I might need some for cooking. They are especially good in greens like Swiss chard and spinach this time of year.
Once you pick the scape's off, you have to wait until the whole plant becomes 1/2 to 3/4 brown. Then it is time to dig them up and place them in bundles to cure. Curing is basically letting the skin on them dry out before bringing them into the house.
We bundled this garlic into ten heads per bundle and tied it with twine. Once bundled it need to be hung in a place with good air flow and preferably no sun. We hung ours in the rafters of our lower porch. In a couple of weeks it should be ready to bring in. If you plant soft neck garlic you can make a garlic braid instead of putting it into the bundles like we do.
I love growing and using garlic in the kitchen and for colds and flu. Every year we plant garlic and when it is harvested I am stingy with its use. So last fall we planted tons of it in hopes that it would get us through a year. The problem always is to save some of the cloves back to re-plant in the fall for the following year. That is where it gets me, there is never enough to plant "lots" for the next year. In my opinion of course.
Once you pick the scape's off, you have to wait until the whole plant becomes 1/2 to 3/4 brown. Then it is time to dig them up and place them in bundles to cure. Curing is basically letting the skin on them dry out before bringing them into the house.
We bundled this garlic into ten heads per bundle and tied it with twine. Once bundled it need to be hung in a place with good air flow and preferably no sun. We hung ours in the rafters of our lower porch. In a couple of weeks it should be ready to bring in. If you plant soft neck garlic you can make a garlic braid instead of putting it into the bundles like we do.
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