Garlic Planting

A bed of garlic deliciousness

Today, this year's saved garlic cloves are resting snugly in the ground, covered by chicken litter and leaves.

Looking back, we increase the number of plantings by about 10-20 each year.
In 2008, we planted 8.
In 2009, we planted 26.
In 2010, we planted 45.
In 2011, we planted 64
In 2012, we planted 82.
In 2013, we planted 90....

And today, November 2, we planted 110!  We should probably buy the Co-op out of toothpaste and breath mints!


If you're new to planting garlic, click on the links above. You'll find some pretty good explanations, if I do say so myself.

Happy  Fall!

Garlic 2011

We harvested 45 heads of antioxidant goodness today. These were planted back on October 24. For the garden how-tos and health information, check out that entry.

Seems that we're about 2 weeks behind in terms of harvesting just about everything this year, garlic included. The spring was so randomly windy and cold.

Anyway, what to do with this favorite herb of ours? Pickle? Roast and freeze? Dehydrate?  Do you have any favorite ways to keep loads of garlic well into the fall/winter? Please share.

Glorious Garlic: Planting 2010

On the 20th, Andy tilled up our "dump garden". Our future plans for this plot of yard involve lots and lots of garlic. For the past two years, we planted these vampire-repelling bulbs in our large garden, so it's time to rotate crops. Plus, the dump garden is always open for whatever we feel needs to be there. This is an experiment in some ways because the soil in the dump garden is not garlic-friendly. It is a bit rocky, and typically, garlic grows best in rockless soil. Year by year, we're trying to get the soil in the dump garden to be more fertile and more garden-friendly.

Garlic is a pretty amazing herb (yes, it's an herb! Who knew!?). Most know it is an antioxidant, but it also boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, stabilizes blood sugar levels, and helps prevent ulcers. It is rich in, "Calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, vitamin B-3, vitamin C, and zinc" (source). 


This year, we planted 45 cloves, which we had collected from Farmers' Markets and from our own garden. We chose large cloves because those will produce the biggest heads and the biggest cloves next year. We use garlic in nearly every dish, and peeling tiny ones can be so tedious. I love me some big cloves. This is our fourth year planting garlic, so we're feeling pretty good about the process: till up the soil, plant them 1-2 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart, cover with 3-5 inches of mulch (leaves, hay, grass clippings), and wait for the spring to see tiny little green shoots.

The hope is that the leaves we used as mulch will help to condition the soil for future years. We meant to add compost to the soil, but Andy was too far into his element to remember. Oops! I guess this will be our variable year to see if the compost ever made a difference...although, I suppose we switched garden locations, so there are quite a few variables this year! An added excitement to our new planting is that garlic can keep away various insects, such as Japanese beetles, snails, root maggots, carrot root flies, and codling moths (source). Last year, we had an infestation of insects up at the dump garden, so we'll see if the garlic can meet expectations.

Here are some pics from Garlic Planting 2010:

Garlic and Kale Soup

This Garlic and Kale Soup is fantastic! It's perfectly spiced, obnoxiously healthy, and super easy to make. Although this recipe isn't one of our own, we thought we'd share it with all of you. Most of the ingredients are moderately in season ~ meaning that most were either already in our fridge, freezer, or pantry.

According to Vegetarian Times, "Kale and garlic are good for the cardiovascular system; wheat berries are high in fiber; and shitake mushrooms contain eritadenine, and amino acid that speeds up processing of cholesterol in the liver."  Yay for healthy soups!

Garlic and Kale Soup
1/2 cup wheat berries
2 Tbs. olive oil
3.5 oz. shitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced (we bought these dry and rehydrated them)
10 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (we used 2 whole heads!)
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
4 cups vegetable broth
1 bunch kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped.

1. Either soak wheat berries in a large bowl of water overnight, or cook in a pressure cooker if you're pressed for time.

2. Heat oil in 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, and season with salt, if desired. Saute mushrooms 10 minutes, or until beginning to brown. Add garlic, and saute 2 minutes more. Stir in vinegar; simmer until vinegar is almost evaporated,  stirring to scrape up browned bits from pan.

3. Drain wheat berries, and add to mushroom mixture with vegetable broth and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes. Add kale, and cook 10 to 20 minutes more, or until kale is tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Per 1-cup servings: 138 CAL; 4 G PROT; 5 G TOTAL FAT; 20 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 103 MG SOD; 3 G FIBER; 4 G SUGARS

Planting in the Dark: Garlic

As the days get shorter and work gets more demanding, finding time to live sustainably undoubtedly becomes more challenging. However, one must fight on and prevail. The rewards are just that much sweeter.

Because only Monday and Tuesday of this week were forecast without rain, we needed to use any spare time possible to get next spring's garlic in the ground. Getting cloves planted before the soil freezes is imperative, so we knew it was now or never. As much as our lazy tendencies screamed at us to stay inside enjoying the warmth of the house, we knew we'd be disappointed if we missed the window to plant the garlic and were left to survive on the few cloves per week we get in our CSA box next spring.

Garlic planted in the fall produces much larger heads then garlic planted in the early spring, and when Andy and I think of the perfect garlic head, we think of gigantic heads with cloves the size of silver dollars! So, Andy canceled after-work plans yesterday to till up the garden, and then plant 26 organic, locally-grown cloves. He spaced them 4" to 6" apart with 1" to 2" of soil covering the cloves. We planted our garlic in a very sunny part of the garden, in soil that is well-draining and not stony ~ all important ingredients for big, robust heads of spicy goodness next spring!

Tonight, not getting home until after dark, we had quite a riot insulating and covering our garlic in the dark. We live in a climate where winter temperatures frequently drop below 0 degrees, so we always mulch 3-4 inches. Last year, we used dried leaves, but this year, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon enough free straw. The cool breeze outside and the satisfaction that our little bulbs of perfection were safe from the deep freeze of winter inspired a bit of our own warmth inside: a cup of the chamomile tea which we harvested this summer! Yum!

Spring seems so far off right now, but when the time comes, there is nothing quite like seeing those first little bursts of green, reaching towards the sun, letting you know fresh garden eating and days soaking up the sun are right around the corner. These nights in the dark planting with flashlights, jackets, and the need for a warm cup of tea are no price for the feeling of cutting the first garlic scapes of the season or slicing the spring's first fresh garlic cloves!

All planted and waiting for insulation.
Mulching in the dark!

Garlic

Our first attempt at planting garlic was a successful one! In mid-October of 2008, we planted German Stiffneck garlic, which we obtained from our local garlic guy at the Dane County Farmer's Market. We chose this variety for its reputation of strong flavor. Additionally, we searched for a large head of garlic because we had read that larger cloves result in larger heads. We have found this to be true.

We buried our 8 large individual cloves 1-2 inches deep and 6 inches apart. Then, we covered the garlic bed with 6-8 inches of leaf mulch.

In early spring, we pushed away some of the leaf mulch in order to give the garlic shoots room to pop through and get some sun!

Throughout June, we cut garlic scapes, which are the the flowers that shoot off the main stalk. By cutting the scape, the plant puts all of its energy into the bulb, resulting in the garlic heads having a stronger flavor. Plus, garlic scapes are great additions to spring food! We use them as we would a garlic clove.

Yesterday, we harvested the heads of garlic. Once the stalks are about 30% yellow, the plants are ready to be dug up. The garlic can be used right away, but the flavor won't be as strong as cured garlic. To cure the garlic, leave the pulled garlic in the sun (maybe on your porch) for 3-5 days. Then it can be stored for a longer period.

We've decided to cure six heads and use the other one for basil pesto. Yum!

Basil Pesto (all ingredients can be modified to make your taste buds happy!)
3 cloves of garlic
3 cups of fresh basil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in a food processor except for the olive oil. Pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Simultaneously, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The pesto is ready when it looks like a runny paste.

Can be frozen or used immediately.