Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wild Garlic~

I've posted lots and lots of happenings around our little place and I've had a handful of statements or inquiries about the WILD GARLIC. 


Your garlic grows wild. WOW!I planted ours last fall and it is about 6 inches tall. We harvest in the summer. We are putting new fruit trees in our small lot. ~ by Roberta Palm
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Wild garlic? Never heard of it! 'course I thought it grew at the grocery store - lol. You're going to have a wonderful garden full of goodies. Do keep us posted!
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but I love, love, love that picture of the peach tree with the barn! thanks for sharing girl! (and trying to keep it clean) ~ gail
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I feel as though a certain responsibility comes with blogging, you know?  So, what with all the gals actually READING MY BLOG...lol, (and I love each of you for doing so.) 

Clump of 'garlic' behind the barn


I thought I better read up again and refresh myself on exactly what it is that is growing in my yard--- and subsequently, what we eat~ that we refer to as garlic. I'll tell you, I been calling it 
WILD, ONLY because I did not plant it. 


Clump at the fence. 

I don't have any pictures of our garlic in bloom. When it blooms you know there is garlic below ready to be harvested.  The 'garlic' that we have isn't as pungent as most and doesn't cause us to have bad breath or body odor.... (nope, we get that all on our own...wink~ wink~)

What grows here-- comes back every year, with absolutely no help from us what so ever!  and it GROWS HUGE!  I'm not kidding you at all when I say the bulbs are as big around as my fist!  Now, I am hoping to keep you posted on this -- the flowering and harvesting, because I really want you to see how huge it gets to be.
Three small clumps in the back corner.

This is a good description from: Garlic Central 

Elephant garlic is probably more closely related to the leek than to the normal variety. The bulbs are very large and can weigh over a pound. A single clove of elephant garlic can be as large as a whole bulb of ordinary garlic.
In terms of flavour, elephant garlic is to garlic what leeks are to onions. It is much less intense and sweeter. It has been described - rather unkindly - as "garlic for people who don't like garlic".

This type of garlic doesn't keep as long and so needs to be used rather than stored.  It is also more yellow in color than regular garlic--which is purely white. 
When we pull it up from the ground I give it a good "whop" on the ground and whatever seeds...little pods really that are in the creases of the bulb fall back to the ground. Honey has mowed this down at the end of growing season and it comes back on its own every year. 
I use it just like regular garlic. It is quite tasty. 
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but I love, love, love that picture of the peach tree with the barn! thanks for sharing girl! (and trying to keep it clean) ~ gail
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And- yeah, I know Gail's comment wasn't about the garlic exactly, but she did like my peach trees behind the barn... and I have to say what with the peaches, blackberries and garlic going on behind the barn; it makes you wonder what is so special about the barn? 

We used to have chickens back there! So that ground is very fertile!!!  Oh, I can't wait to get more chickens... 

Anyway-- today we were cleaning out the yard on the far-side of the barn (west) I hardly show pictures of it...because well IT NEEDED CLEANING! 
 But~ I did snap this picture. I like all the rusty metallic-ness (that is my word) of this windmill and check out that handle-less shovel.  


I love this time of year! I love being outside.

God Bless you
and
Thanks for reading!

9 comments:

Wendy said...

Tony would love an old rusty windmill just like your's for the yard! Great picture! Holy Cow your garlic is amazing and to imagine it is wild! Can't wait to see the pictures when it is blooming!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

Ohhh pat! How I wish I could get outside! It's stilll too chilly here. I don't usually mind chilly, if it is SUNNY. But nope, very cloudy and breezy. Projects (and cleaning the yard) will have to wait a little longer.
love that rustiness too!
gail

Kolein said...

Outside? Oh, that's when you walk out the front door and feel great in the sun and bend over and work a bit. I think I remember!!!! LOL! We're still having winter here this spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE NEW YORK!!!!!!!

Ok, wild garlic. Yep. We've got it here too. Wanna know how I know??? It's a long story..got a minute?

We live at the end of a street, no drive through. It's actually called a 'dead end' but I don't like that phrase...so final...and since I moved onto this street...this is where my life began with EC and the boys....so I say the 'end of the street'.

Well, just at the end of our street is a smallish wooded area with a sweet little paved path for all the folks who like to walk and since we live near the University here, a lot of students, too. Just through that path is an area which houses graduate, medical, science, research, and international students. It's a cultural melting pot over there. Folks from all over the world live just a small walk from our home. And they walk in our neighborhood as well. There are ONLY families living in that large complex of townhouses just through the path.

Remember international? Lots of families from China.

So one morning I'm at my front window and ALL OF SUDDEN I JUMP! There is a older Chinese lady with her granddaughter right up near my flower box in the front. I stretch my neck to see what she's doing up near my front windows....I notice she has the bottom of her shirt all filled with something green. So I walk to the door and go outside. "Hello" She bows and smiles, "Hello". And she keeps repeating, "hello" as she continues to pull "weeds" from my lawn. She doesn't speak English. And when she's finished pulling these "weeds". She leaves and moves onto the next front lawn. I watched her move all along our street pulling "weeds".

Later in the day I share this truly funny story with my uber gardening neighbor...she says, what did the green stuff look like? I describe it. She says, Oh that's wild garlic, then bends down, grabs some from her lawn, gives it a rub and passes the 'aroma' onto me!!!! Oh. MY.

It's not in great bnches like yours, but it's everywhere here!!!! growing wild!!!

So then I did a little research about the Chinese culture. Apparently they have community gardens where they can go and pick whatever they want. Hence, her guileless approach to our front lawns!!!

Oh, and my uber gardener neighbor? Well, she closed up shop after her front lawn garden was decimated of all her plantings....it was either the deer or the Chinese lady who did it!!! LOL!!!!

Wild Garlic.

Love ya,
~Kolein

Debbiedoos said...

I love being outside too Pat. We have had some cold dreary days though here in South Carolina. Looks like you have your work cut out for you, but I can tell you love it!

Tina Schiefer said...

Thanks for stopping by. My youngest will be 18 this Summer. It has just flown by...and I agree with Gail's comment above...I can't wait for the weather to warm up already!!!

Until then, it's indoor projects...

Cheers!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing what you found! Garlic is even a workhorse in the garden! It repels aphids, crickets, grasshoppers and so many others because it messes with their sensory organs. It makes the undesirables go looking elsewhere! If you have roses, put in lots of garlic to give aphid protection! And those fruit trees? Plant lots and lots of garlic at their bases and it will protect them from borers and weevils! Awesome plant! Spread the love throughout the garden!

Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures said...

Thanks for sharing your garlicky plants. Any kind of garlic sounds good to me. Love all your open space and that old windmill. Our weather is finally nice enough to be outside...I'll be enjoying the weekend. You have a great weekend too:)

Prior said...

Well, we better enjoy the glorious weather while we can, 'fore it gets hotter than, well really hot! I love your windmill, too.,

Lezlee

Lisa said...

I am so in love with your yard!