Tuesday, August 9, 2011

garlic harvest

a couple of weeks ago i realized i didn't know much about when the garlic was supposed to be harvested and panicked. i started reading about it (1, 2, 3) and learned that it's usually considered ready when the bottom leaves begin to yellow. i pulled up a test bulb and decided to wait a week.

a week passed and i woke up and marveled at some of our new tomatoes in the garden.


got reacquainted with hydrangeas


and got down to business.


v. weedy garlic patch! 

i think this clove got knocked around by a frost in the fall because it grew upside down!
i read that you have to treat uncured fresh bulbs of garlic very gently because they're as delicate as an egg (!) so i took a big basket out to the garden with me and tried to remember not to throw them in from across the plot. i harvested them row by row so i could make sure to keep the different varieties separate, then i bundled the bulbs in groups of 15-20 depending on their size and hung them in our barn to cure. by the end of this week they should be ready to store.





the bulbs are a bit small but maybe even more delicious because of it. alnis and i both were interested in doing some braiding but i've read that this is more commonly done with softneck garlic (all we grew was hardneck) and our leaves were maybe a bit too brittle & yellowed anyway when i got around to pulling them up. might still give it a try, though. why not, right?


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