Last fall I decided to plant garlic to overwinter. I wasn't really very excited about it because garlic is cheap in the store, it all tastes the same (I thought), and I don't use all that much of it. But I have a fond memory of braiding freshly-harvested garlic stalks with my friend Nancy at her beautiful Chicago home one summer, so I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a head of hardneck and a head of softneck from the Ballard Farmer's Market, broke up the cloves, and planted them in mid-October.
I was extremely excited when they sprouted, all in their perfect 4" rows, within a few weeks and grew a few inches before the winter really hit. There they stayed, a few inches high, for about four months.
In April they started growing taller. I got excited: garlic, soon! Alas, I read the internet and realized it would still be a few moons before the harvest.
But in June, the scapes arrived to distract me! These flower stalks grow out of the hardneck varieties and are edible themselves. In fact, many gardeners believe cutting the scape results in larger, more flavorful heads. The scapes have a mild garlic flavor themselves and can be made into pesto.
So when life gives you scapes (and a lemon, some pinenuts, and parmesan cheese), make pesto!
I was extremely excited when they sprouted, all in their perfect 4" rows, within a few weeks and grew a few inches before the winter really hit. There they stayed, a few inches high, for about four months.
In April they started growing taller. I got excited: garlic, soon! Alas, I read the internet and realized it would still be a few moons before the harvest.
But in June, the scapes arrived to distract me! These flower stalks grow out of the hardneck varieties and are edible themselves. In fact, many gardeners believe cutting the scape results in larger, more flavorful heads. The scapes have a mild garlic flavor themselves and can be made into pesto.
So when life gives you scapes (and a lemon, some pinenuts, and parmesan cheese), make pesto!
I also had some shelling peas in the garden by this time, so I harvested them and made delicious Pea Pesto Pasta. I was so pleased!
Notes for next year:
--Grow more garlic
--Plant them closer together to save on watering
--Plant two heads of hardneck for more scapes and to give some away, one head of softneck for storage.
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