Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Garlic harvest

It's been a wonderful festival of fresh vegetables lately and the fun continues to grow. Today it looked like it was going to deliver excellent drying conditions with plenty of warmth and wind. What a treat it is to be hot after so many cool wet days this summer. It looked like the ideal day to pull the garlic and get the curing of it underway.

curing_garlic_750

Every year I think I plant enough and every year I set out to plant more. The better I get at curing it the longer it keeps and the sweeter it tastes. Like carrots after a good frost, well cured garlic is delectable.

This year I planted it very close together and hoped we would have enough moisture to support the crowded rows and I got lucky. For next year I'll put bone meal in directly at planting time and see if I can boost the bulb sizes a bit. I am reasonably happy with what I got, but I expected bigger bulbs with the moisture being in abundance. Sure did have good germination rates though. Virtually every clove planted yielded a bulb.

fist_of_garlic_750

PU's been really throwing herself into the gardens this year again. The results have helped make the place look loved.

west_garden_750

3 comments:

  1. purple manitoban garlic. the best. cured or not!

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  2. aaah, it looks absolutely gorgeous out there!

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  3. Wow...what lush, green and prolific produce!

    ~Lisa

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