Garlic

Garlic and Jerusalem Artichokes

April 24, 2012 By Annie

Remember all that garlic I harvested last year? We had hundreds of heads and while we have eaten a lot of them (we love Garlic!), we still have lots left. We didn’t bring any with us down south because I wasn’t sure they would let us take them over the border. Even if we had gotten across with them, the veggie patrollers at the California border would likely not let us through with them.

Normally, I plant garlic here in the Valley in September.

What were we going to do with all the extra heads we now have? We decided to go ahead and plant more. We still have a good number for eating, so we will not run short. These ones may not get as big as the ones I planted in the Fall, we will have to wait and see what happens. So, we planted about 60 more cloves down at the Barn Garden.

A few years ago, our friends gave us some Jerusalem Artichokes. We had never eaten them before, but they assured us they tasted kind of like potatoes only sweeter. We tried them and did like them, so last year we planted some down in the barn garden.

The other day, Graham finished harvesting them. We have a bucketful for fresh eating – just cook them like you would potatoes.

He then planted the rest of them. You can see the tubers at the end of the stalk. Just cut them off, break them apart and plant each tuber.

This year we should have a good increase in the size of harvest we will get. One of the great things about Jerusalem Artichokes is the time of year they can be dug and eaten. That time is now – They are one of the earliest vegetables to come out of the garden and can be enjoyed before there is any other vegetable ready for the table.

Be warned: in moderate climates, these can start to take over your garden. You may want to plant them in a bed of their own.

Filed Under: Garlic, Grow Your Own Vegetables

Garlic Scape Pesto

January 10, 2012 By Annie

You probably already know just how much we love Garlic here in our Valley. We grow several hundred heads of it each year and as I type this, we still have two large flats of Garlic left from our 2011 Harvest. No worries, we will eat every last one of them.

It’s not uncommon for us to each have a whole head at dinner time – we do really love it that much. When you add in the health benefits of eating lots of Garlic, it’s clear that we’re doing a good thing.

For every single head of Garlic that will be harvested, there will be a Garlic Scape. Read more about Garlic Scapes here if you like.

It’s important for each of these Scapes to be cut off, so that as much energy as possible goes into forming the root Garlic head. The bigger we can get them to grow, the wider our smiles.

What to do with all these Scapes? We plant well over 200 cloves of Garlic a year, so that is well over 200 Garlic Scapes that we must cut and use.

We pickle a lot of the Scapes and you can get the recipe for our Pickled Garlic Scapes here. We also eat a lot fresh – they are great added into scrambled eggs and quiches. We also steam them and have them as one of our vegetables at dinner time.

A few weeks ago, I was reading through the Gardenwise magazine (Fall 2011) and noticed there was a recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto. I jotted down the recipe and want to share it with readers who may love Garlic and Scapes as much as we do.

I know this isn’t the right time of year for harvesting Garlic Scapes, but I am getting anxious for warmer Spring like weather and watching all the green appear in our yard. Maybe some of you are feeling the same way?

Our Valley as it looks this morning

How I wish our Valley looked this morning

Here’s the recipe – why don’t you think of making some of this Pesto this year?

Garlic Scape Pesto

Use the Scapes while they are still curly – remember, the earlier you harvest them, the sooner the energy goes back into making each bulb bigger.

2 cups Garlic Scapes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds

3 cups fresh Basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients except the olive oil into your food processor and blend until smooth.

Slowly pour the olive oil through the funnel into the bowl as it is blending, until the Pesto is of good consistency.

This Pesto can easily be frozen, which is great. We can pull some out whenever we want to enjoy.

If you want to know more about growing Garlic, here is a 4 part series with everything you need to know. Garlic is very easy to grow, so think about tucking in some cloves this year.

Filed Under: Garlic, Recipes

Growing Garlic – Part 4 Knowing Which Cloves to Replant

September 20, 2011 By Annie

Here’s the fourth (and last) installment in the Growing Garlic series. Part 1 can be found here; Part 2 here; Part 3 here. In Part 3, I mentioned that I sort my garlic bulbs when I harvest – nice big bulbs get hung together, while the smaller bulbs get hung together with the other small ones. These bulbs will be eaten over the Winter (Spring & Summer too, because I plant so many heads).

Those nice big bulbs? I’ll use those ones for next years Garlic Harvest! It’s important for me to plant the largest, nicest looking bulbs as I am always trying to improve my Garlic Harvests. Since I sell some of my bulbs, it’s in my own best interest to ensure that as many of the bulbs as possible are big and beautiful!

If you plant small, mishapen cloves you will get Garlic heads full of small mishapen cloves. It’s logical – if you are always trying to improve your Harvests (and you are, aren’t you?) then always use your biggest and best. That way, you will get more of those biggest and best heads!

So, I’ve sorted my Garlic. I”ve got several bundles of big beauties and when I’ve got a few minutes I grab the bundles and sit on the porch. Two empty small boxes beside me and I get started.

I open up all the heads and separate the cloves.

Nice big ones go in one box – these are the bulbs that will be replanted in the Garden. The planting will take place in mid-September, in order for us to have lots of fresh Garlic next August.

Smaller cloves in another box. These will end up in the kitchen where they will get roasted in the oven or put in tin foil on the barbeque. Either way, we will eat and enjoy every single one of them.

How big are these keepers?

They’re pretty big!

Ready for replanting? Head over to Part 1, which you can find here.

I hope these posts all about Growing Garlic are a help to you. As I mentioned earlier, Garlic is easy to grow and takes up hardly any room at all. Even if you live in an apartment, you can easily plant 20 or 30 heads of Garlic in a few pots, so do it!

Garlic is a very powerful natural antibiotic, as well as an antioxidant. Read more about the health benefits of Garlic here.

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Filed Under: Garlic, Grow Your Own Vegetables Tagged With: Garlic, Grow Vegetables