This year, I plan on doing the same thing, only maybe adding some more organic matter.

We would really like to find a source for organic rabbit manure!

Thanks

As for me, I am still tallying things up – but the good news is, not All is lost! (insert happy dance here)

And although I am still figuring things out, my gut feeling is that it was a combination of things: a lot of rain & wind & cold temperatures all through the winter & long into spring — and this is key — too much mulch. I don’t think I pulled it back soon enough or far enough – and the soil just stayed cool & damp.

The theme of my next year’s crop will be all about breathing!

(Thanks for checking in! Appreciate your sympathy and support!)

I’m not sure up in Sequim, but down here south of Olympia, the weather has just been plain old lame! 70 degrees or so, not much sun, and boy do our strawberries show it..(lack of the juicy red).

Our Romanian Red was terrible this year. We planted 30 cloves, got 8 that actually came up and produced decent sized bulbs. Not sure how this happens, but the best of them all for us, was Music, Velek, Carpathian and Purple Glazier.

A good chunk of our Music strain is 3″ diameter in size. All we used this year to feed them was worm tea and GoProOrgranics fish emulsion.

Can you give us some feedback Blythe, on what exactly happened to your crops?

Thanks and great video! LOL

After living in Alaska, I don’t know how to grow squat so I have just a couple pots out back with some herbs, a couple green beans and bell peppers. Meager start for sure with this cold weather. Just trying not to kill them now that’s its sunny – I must remember to water so they don’t scorch! I know nothing about fertilizing or soil though so I’ll be lucky to get anything out of this.

Oh yeah – gently sauteed in EVOO sounds great. A splash of balsamic vinegar or a little lemon juice is also good. Grilled. Slow roasted. Chopped fresh like chives on baked potatoes. Thrown in with pasta.

And yes – I have dehydrated the garlic before. The scapes dry great – as do the cloves. When you’re camping, a little package of dried scapes makes a pretty gourmet meal. During the winter, the dried scapes add a hint of garlic and a remembrance of spring that is quite uplifting, especially during those dreary February days when the rest of the garlic is gone and nice weather seems a long ways away.

Pickling the scapes is also a good idea. They freeze well, too. And they keep a good couple of weeks under refrigeration.

It’s also very easy to make your own dehydrated garlic from the bulbs. One year, I was frustrated with trying to sell to the fresh market and had trouble finding outlets that were equipped to carry the fresh garlic – and so I dried a lot of garlic cloves – and I do mean lots. The biggest problem was peeling the cloves. I also roasted whole elephant garlic bulbs, blended them in a food processor, and spread the garlic mush on trays to dry, and they were absolutely wonderful. I spent a lot of time fixing up my shop to meet health standards, thinking I could make a bottled product, but I have yet to completely follow through with that process – it’s a long story and best saved for a lengthy post.

Happy eatin!

Yummm

Have you ever tried to take some of your garlic and dehydrate it?

Two trains of thought on scape removal: 1) picking the scape encourages the plant to concentrate its energy on producing a bigger bulb; and 2) not picking the scape allows the plant to harden off as it would naturally, resulting in better storage capabilities. Personally, I have always picked mine (I thought it was a rule), and those I missed did appear to have smaller bulbs. Some claim that if you have really good soil, size won’t be affected either way.

In my area, we always lose a certain number of bulbs to molds (a lot of factors can play into this, but a cool, damp climate near the saltwater is a big one) – so storage is important to me. I really hate having to throw garlic away when I’ve spent 9 months trying to grow these little babies. This year, I’m going to do a little experiment. I am going to leave a bunch of scapes on. The obvious benefit is that the little “flower top” (which isn’t really a flower, but looks like one) will produce a bunch of little bulblets, which I can later plant. These plants might take a few years to get as large as their parents, but it’s an inexpensive way to increase your seed stock.

So if you can restrain yourself from eating them all (or sharing them with your salivating friends), you might want leave a few on, too.

Thanks for checking back in, Greg – glad you like the site Glad to hear your garlic is doing so well.