How to Tell if Garlic is Ready to Harvest
It’s a little more difficult to determine when to harvest garlic than it is a tomato. You have to watch the plants and decide when you think they’re ready. I planted a ton of garlic last fall and I’m patiently waiting to harvest it. So how do you know when it’s time to harvest your garlic?
The best way to know when to harvest your garlic is to watch the leaves. When they begin to turn yellow and begin dying it’s almost time to harvest. Everywhere I read recommends harvesting when you still have 6-8 green leaves left on your garlic. These green leaves form the wrapping that protects the garlic during storage. If you wait for all the leaves to die back you’ll be basically killing off the protective covering of your garlic bulbs, making them more susceptible to pests and disease. However you don’t want to harvest too early because your garlic won’t be as strong or flavorful. About 2 weeks before you think it’s time to harvest you should quit watering it to make harvest easier.
I went out and checked my garlic the other day and it looks as though 2 of my varieties (the earlier maturing ones) are almost ready to harvest. I have 6 green leaves left and after digging down to inspect one of the bulbs they looked fairly nice. I pulled one of the bulbs to check the wrapping and make sure everything looked good (I’ll probably use this bulb in my pickles). Looks like it’s time! One of the reasons I’m growing my own garlic is because I love fresh garlic in recipes. It’s hard to find good fresh garlic around here so I decided to grow my own.
Do you grow your own garlic or buy it at the store (or do you use the powdered stuff)?
Share this:
Checking on the Our Hive Split
Yesterday we went out and checked our two hives. We wanted to make sure the old hive was still doing well and thriving, and they are (time to put on a new box for them).
We also wanted to make sure the new queen had been accepted and was going to work laying eggs and building the new hive, and she was. We were able to spot eggs, larvae and new capped brood in the new hive. That means our queen is hard at work and she’s no longer living in a tiny box, she’s got a whole hive to rule over.
Because we split our hive we won’t be able to harvest any honey this year. It’s the honey harvesting season right now, so we’ll be searching out a local beekeeper to buy some all-natural local honey from!
Do you buy local honey?
Share this:
My First ‘Ronde de Nice’ Squash
My first ‘Ronde de Nice’ squash was ready to harvest on Sunday!
I’ve had a few female flowers open before this one, but they weren’t pollinated fully so the fruits didn’t grow this big. This one I hand pollinated (I need Chicago Mike to send me some squash bees).
This squash weighed in at 9 ounces. I picked it small because it’s the perfect size for Mr Chiots and I to eat in one meal. I love squash fixed in so many ways: sauteed, steamed with olive oil and pepper, battered & fried, au gratin, in omelets, in lasagna, and many other ways. I have 4 squash plants so pretty soon we’ll be eating squash every day I think, and it will really help my garden harvest totals for the Garden Harvest Challenge!
What’s your favorite summer squash recipe?
Share this:
Making Pickles
On Sunday evening I went out and picked 4 Boston Pickling Cucumbers that were the perfect size for pickling in spears. I have been reading through the book I got the other day and I settled on a quick pickle recipe.
I reduced the recipe because most of them call for several pounds of cucumbers and I only had about 1 and a quarter pound. So I found a recipe that made 1 quart. I changed it a bit, because I just can’t seem to follow a recipe by the book.
We’ll see how they turn out, I didn’t can them because it was such a small batch. I’m basically brining them in the fridge for a month or so.
Here’s the recipe I used:
Quick Small Batch Dill Pickles
4 pickling cucumbers (around 1 pound)
1 cup water
7/8 cup of white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of pickling salt
2 garlic cloves
8 peppercorns
2 teaspoons of pickling spice (or a pinch of flaked red pepper)
fresh dill sprigs
8 sour cherry leaves (they’re supposed to promote crispness) or 3-4 grape leaves
Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Meanwhile scrub and cut pickles into desired sizes. Add pickling spices, peppercorns, fresh dill, cherry leaves to quart canning jar. Add pickles to jar and pour brine over the pickles. Seal with lid and put in refrigerator for at least one month. Alternately you can water bath can pints or quarts for 10 minutes .
I’ll let you know in a month or so how they turned out. My next batch will probably be using a different recipe, perhaps I’ll try soaking the cucumbers in salt before I pickle them. Or perhaps I’ll make some fermented pickles.
Do you like sour or sweet pickles?
Share this:
The Joys of Summer
One of the great joys of summer is stopping at a little ice cream place on the way home. I grew up in a ice cream loving family, we found ourselves frequently stopping for ice cream at little shops.
Yesterday we went to the local greenhouse with some friends and we met my parents there. My parents decided to come to our house for a visit afterward to see what the gardens looked like, so we took the scenic route home through the little town of New Baltimore.
We stopped by this great little ice cream place that we love. The sizes of the cones are outrageous as well, this is a large with the top scoop almost gone already! They say if you get the jumbo they have to turn it sideways to get it out the window.
They have so many different flavors of ice cream and it’s all made in house.
Their raspberry ice cream is really fantastic (this is what we had) and our friend Missy said their chocolate was really good as well.
My dad & mom went for old-fashioned vanilla, always a safe bet.
This little ice cream is stand is one of the best around so we find ourselves there a few times during the summer.
Do you have a favorite little local ice cream shop you visit?
