The Garlic Wars

[jennyema]

I stopped roasting garling and started taking the whole peeled cloves and putting them in a small sauce pan covered in olive oil. cook at a low heat for an hour and you will have great cloves without the paper mess and the added bonus of the oil to use in other things. They come out plumper and just as sweet. My pan only holds about 10-12 oz

Make sure you read up on the garlic/oil BOTULISM threat to make sure you are doing this safely!

 

[CharlieD]

I've been buying peelrd garlic and am very happy with it. Chop when i needed, as much as I needed. Much easier than buying the whole head of garlic.

 

[blissful]

This is one of the garlic gardens in the backyard today. They should be ready to harvest in June.


This is a little closer.


Box of garlic left from last year's harvest. Varieties of garlic 10 months old.


The first two pictures are hardneck variety, see the posts in the middle, that is the hardneck. There is one layer of cloves around the post, bigger cloves. Both are starting to dry out and discolor by this time. Hardnecks don't store as well as softneck varieties.




The last two pictures are softneck variety. No posts and the cloves are in layers, one layer of cloves, then another inside. Smaller cloves. These are the ones you can buy in the grocery stores now because they last longer, these are in good condition to use even now, 10 months later.




If you squeeze a globe of garlic in the grocery store and it's not firm, don't buy it.

 

[Dawgluver]

Awesome, Blissful!

 

[4meandthem]

Make sure you read up on the garlic/oil BOTULISM threat to make sure you are doing this safely!

I appreciate your concern (really) but I am thouroughly cooking the garlic at a simmer and using the oil to cook other things. You can get the cloves anywhere from soft to brown and caramelized. Less waste and the end result is easier and just as tasty. the amount of oil is usually pretty small and used pretty soon after. I am well aware of the botulism threat!

 

[Andy M.]

I appreciate your concern (really) but I am thouroughly cooking the garlic at a simmer and using the oil to cook other things. You can get the cloves anywhere from soft to brown and caramelized. Less waste and the end result is easier and just as tasty. the amount of oil is usually pretty small and used pretty soon after. I am well aware of the botulism threat!

As long as you use all the components of the oil/garlic within two weeks you're OK.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

This is one of the garlic gardens in the backyard today. They should be ready to harvest in June.
View attachment 13769

This is a little closer.
View attachment 13770

Box of garlic left from last year's harvest. Varieties of garlic 10 months old.
View attachment 13771

The first two pictures are hardneck variety, see the posts in the middle, that is the hardneck. There is one layer of cloves around the post, bigger cloves. Both are starting to dry out and discolor by this time. Hardnecks don't store as well as softneck varieties.
View attachment 13772

View attachment 13773

The last two pictures are softneck variety. No posts and the cloves are in layers, one layer of cloves, then another inside. Smaller cloves. These are the ones you can buy in the grocery stores now because they last longer, these are in good condition to use even now, 10 months later.
View attachment 13774

View attachment 13775

If you squeeze a globe of garlic in the grocery store and it's not firm, don't buy it.

A beautiful and blissful sight to behold. We only grow about 70 bulbs for the year what do you do with yours?

 

[blissful]

A beautiful and blissful sight to behold. We only grow about 70 bulbs for the year what do you do with yours?

Thanks Bolas,
The two gardens are marked by variety and we keep them marked as they are harvested, dried, and stored. I think this year we have around 7 varieties plus elephant garlic (which really isn't garlic).
We use it in cooking.
Pickle it and store in the refrigerator.
Save the biggest bulbs for seed for the next year.
Give it away to friends and relatives.
Some friends barter or buy it from me.
As you can see, we ended up with a bit extra this year.

Until this year's garlic is harvested, I'll probably take the firm garlic and put it in the food processor and freeze it in small ziplock bags, flattened, so I can use it as I need it. The rest, that is degrading, I'll put it in some water and use it as a spray insecticide for the vegetable gardens. The animals around here don't bother the garlic gardens so the garlic spray might help us keep them and bugs away from the other produce.

Your garlic looks very nice--thick stalks. Are you growing a hardneck (you'll get some scapes from them) or softneck varieties? I see that you don't have mulch between the rows. We mulch it 6-8'' deep with straw when we plant. Garlic has no problem coming through the mulch. For us, it keeps the weeds to a minimum so less weeding.

Again thanks also Dawgluver.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Good methods Bliss.My garlic is a mix of supermarket, garden shop hard neck and last years.I planted themall at the same time last year along with red and white onions and supermarket shallots.
We have had three days of fantastic weather and bugger me some of the onions and shallots have sent up scapes, is this a problem?

 

[blissful]

Good methods Bliss.My garlic is a mix of supermarket, garden shop hard neck and last years.I planted themall at the same time last year along with red and white onions and supermarket shallots.
We have had three days of fantastic weather and bugger me some of the onions and shallots have sent up scapes, is this a problem?

I don't for a fact know the answer.
I know with garlic, once it sends up scapes, most people chop them off, so the garlic globes get bigger. It might be similar for onions, I'm not sure. Some schools of thought say cutting the scapes does not help make the globes bigger.
I cut them off, saute them, or use them in vegetable broth.

This article says to cut the shallot scapes.
Shallot Scapes! « Giantveggiegardener's Blog
This article from your side of the pond says to cut the onions scapes.
cutting onion (etc) tops? - GardenBanter.co.uk
Hope that helps.

I don't see any problem with planting garden center or supermarket garlic/shallots/onions. The only warning I've heard is sometimes they spray them with a chemical to stop them from spouting. I don't think all places do that.
Also, we seeded leeks last spring and they weren't that big last fall, so we covered them in straw by winter and they are now big and gorgeous. We'll seed them again now, and overwinter them for next year.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Thanks bliss I have only grown same year onions, garlic and shallots before and they did not scape.
I think its a myth about supermarkets spraying the veg so it cant sprout, so you have to pay more at the garden centre.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I don't see any problem with planting garden center or supermarket garlic/shallots/onions. The only warning I've heard is sometimes they spray them with a chemical to stop them from spouting. I don't think all places do that.

It seems unlikely because any added chemicals would have to be proven food safe for human consumption.

I've often planted supermarket garlic when it got overly ripe and started to sprout. (Sprouting garlic cloves taste different to me, unappealing.) I think it's a great way to dispose of the overly ripe garlic and they become next year's garlic from the garden.