We planted our garlic field eight months ago, in late October, not long before the last shares of the 2006 season were delivered, and it has just begun to yield its first dividend—garlic scapes. A snake-like stalk that shoots upward from the base of the plant, the scape, which looks like it might be the bud of a large flower, makes a complete loop-the-loop before shooting skyward again.
Scapes are in your shares this week. If one is allowed to remain on the plant, a bundle of clove-like bulbs is formed at its tip. We cut the scapes off before the plants expends much energy on making bulbils because we want them to focus on making bulbs, the first of which should arrive in late August. Your scapes may be used in most ways that you use garlic cloves, although they’re a bit more fibrous. They can be tossed in a blender and stored frozen until needed. Jan and the kids have found that the scapes also make excellent bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
We haven’t grown garlic here before, and so had to buy planting stock. We purchased some of our garlic seed stock from a Canadian grower at the Garlic Festival in Saugerties, and purchased more from a friend who farms in Pennsylvania, totaling several hundred pounds. At the festival, Jan sampled garlic-covered chocolate, garlic-honey-mustard, garlic ice-cream, garlic coffee, and a garlic margarita. Once home, we broke the bulbs apart, wanting to plant just the cloves, and, over two long days, planted into six three-row beds marked by the old Farmall, each 300’ long. We mulched the garlic using about 50 bales of rye straw immediately after planting, and then left it alone for the winter. The rye grower, who spends $600 a month on allergy medicine so that he can continue growing his grain crops, told Jan the rye mulch was weed free.
In spring, the young garlic spikes poked through the mulch well before any other crop had been established, giving us our first small success of the season. When we looked for the first signs of growth in April, we found the mulch wasn’t weed free at all, and in fact encountered our first weeding chore of the year. The Canadian stock, having come from a climate that is probably more like ours, gave us the more vigorous plants in the spring. When weeding the garlic we discovered a nest of five newborn bunnies—beautiful, soft, feather-light. And now, as I write this, Jan is outside chasing rabbits from the cucumber greenhouse in which we’ve been keeping some young broccoli plants, their favorite food, and I wonder if we made a mistake in tucking the little bunnies safely back into their fur-lined nest. Garlic filled the air following the hailstorm, the hailstones having smashed the leaves, sending the perfume into the air, lending an unreal quality to the storm’s aftermath. Time will tell what impact the storm had on the size of our bulbs, but, for now, we are happy with our scapes.
In addition to garlic scapes, this week’s share includes a head of red crisphead or Romaine lettuce, a bunch each of French Breakfast or Easter Egg radishes and white Japanese turnips, a head of the bok choy that weathered the hailstorm, a bunch of green Swiss chard, and a bunch of dill. Those of you who have a fruit share will receive red sweet cherries. If you are new to turnips, try slicing them, and then sautéing them in butter or oil and grated garlic scapes. The greens are good braised. For those planning ahead, next week’s share will include a salad mix, vitamin greens, Red Russian kale, more radishes or turnips, more garlic scapes, perennial herbs, and cucumbers or peas.
Have a wonderful week,
- Ted Blomgren
