Several years ago, my good friend Peter sang the praises of his home-grown garlic. I eagerly accepted his offer of a free bulb or two to get our crop started, and added a few more varieties from an outfit on Vancouver Island which specializes in seeds and bulbs for our west coast climate. I got Janice to create a fresh bed with her compost, and she produced an excellent crop. Since then, we have been harvesting, sharing, and getting others to plant their own garlic. Karl started his crop several years ago from our cloves and has since gotten his neighbours to plant cloves he gives away. The taste is excellent, the cloves run with juice when pressed, and there is none of the questionable chemical treatment from China (which seems to supply most of our garlic in stores).
We always cut off the flowers so the plant energy can go to the bulb, but only recently learned that the flowers are delicious in soups and salads.
Janice asked me to take these pictures for her records. The second was my last, taken from ground level. As soon as I shot, I leaned forward just a bit more for a better angle when, 'pop
went my lower back and the shooting pain commenced. Days later I can finally stand tall again. But it was all for a good cause--garlic, and the eternal hope that I will be allowed to buy yet another camera lens.
1 comment:
I had no idea the blooms were edible. Now we want to grow our own. I'll bet the blooms look great and taste wonderful on a salad.
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