Its Garlic Harvesting Time!!!

Every year, I reserve 2 beds for garlic.
One for regular garlic, and one for elephant garlic.
If I ever drop this tradition, I will drop the regular garlic, Elephant garlic is too much fun.
To make truly spectacular garlic, plant the cloves in the autumn.  You can get your seed garlic from an awesome nursery...or just go to the farmers market.  I have done both and the advantage of going to the nursery is that they will often tell you more about the varieties... but if you flirt a bit with the farmer... then he or she will often tell you their growing secrets.  (I love our farmers markets!!!)
I like to cover my  garlic beds with mulch- straw looks pretty, but autumn leaves work well too.  This keeps the weeds at bay, the nutrients in the soil, and the moisture in in the summer.

... and that is pretty much it.

As far as maintenance goes, I weeded the bed once in April.

 In May, I harvested and ate the flowers the garlic plants produced (called scapes, so tasty stir-fried! They taste kind of like an asparagus and a garlic had a baby.)

When the plants begin dying back, it is time to harvest.

Garlic ready to harvest

I used a pitchfork to loosen the soil around the garlic plants, and then just lifted them up.

After they come out of the ground, brush the dirt off of them and leave them outside for about 2 weeks.  This helps them cure, and get ready for storage.

guarded by pirates!

I could have just left them on the straw, but I plan to plant part of my winter garden in their place, so I wanted them out of the way. 

In a couple of weeks, when they are dry, I will brush off the remaining dirt, and either put them in a wreath or in a braid. (check back!)

Elephant garlic is SO much easier to cook with than regular garlic, because one clove is... like the size of 6 regular cloves!  One clove to peel, not 6.  I am a very lazy cook, so this works for me.   Also, Elephant garlic keeps for a long time.  As long as it still looks good, it is good to eat.  I actually still have elephant garlic from last summer, and it is awesome :0)  After the first investment, (if you can't find someone like me to share seed garlic with you)  you can just choose 2 or 3 heads, and plant


I often see garlic - especially elephant garlic- selling for 7 to $10 a pound.  I gotta say, it is easy to grow and well worth the time.

All done!  (for now...)