Harvesting Garlic

I’m probably the last one on the block, so to speak, but I finally dug up my garlic today. In November, I planted cloves from bulbs from Maple Bank Farm, Holbrook Farm, Sport Hill Farm, and Cherry Grove in Newtown, CT. (Yes, I was late getting them in the ground too!) Anyway, today was the day to get them out of the ground.

Garlic yield from one 4x4 raised bed.

I get little bulbs because I live in the woods and photosynthesis requires photo to synthesize  (from the Greek photo, light, and synthesis, putting together). But this year, the bulbs were even smaller because of an experiment: I cut the scapes off half of them and allowed the other half to go on creating that bulbil. As everyone says, the garlic bulb is much smaller when you don’t cut the scape. Much. They aren’t kidding. However, that bulbil is edible and it’s mild enough to eat raw (like say, on a salad) even if you’re not a raw garlic aficionado.

The garlic is drying now, in a dark place with a fan running 24/7. It’s obviously not enough to get me through the year (this being my personal agricultural experimental station and not a real farm). Happily, the real farmers are beginning to put theirs out. Garlic is one thing you want to get locally if you live in the north.

In addition to being my favorite food flavoring, garlic is said to have tremendous health benefits. (Notice I wrote “is said to have” to avoid making any unsubstantiated health claims. I can’t risk having U.S. Marshals seizing my stash.) Garlic has an antibiotic called allicin that has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. The antibacterial is the kind that only kills bad bacteria and those bacteria do not develop a resistance to it. Additionally, it’s an antioxidant. While it does not reduce cholesterol (if that’s something you feel is valuable) it is said to do the things that make a low cholesterol number desirable: cleaning arteries and reducing plaque. Note: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Bottom line, anecdotal folklore or not, I loves me some garlic!!

Garlic festivals

CT Garlic & Harvest Festival
October 8 & 9, 2011 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Bethlehem, CT

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
September 24  & 25, 2011, (Sat. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Saugerties, NY

Annual Garden State Garlic Gathering and Festival
October 1 & 2, 2011, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Olde Lafayette Village, Lafayette, NJ

 

CT Garlic & Harvest Festival
October 8-9, 2011 in Bethlehem, CT
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival

September 24 & 25, 2011, Saugerties, NY

 

CT Garlic & Harvest Festival

October 8-9, 2011 in Bethlehem, CT

http://garlicfestct.com/

 

Hudson Valley Garlic Festival

September 24 & 25, 2011, Saugerties, NY

http://www.hudsonvalleygarlic.com/

 

 

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