a small portion of the recently harvested garlic crop hangs in the shed
Over the past several days Jessica and I (mostly Jessica, to be perfectly honest) pulled all of this year’s crop of garlic. We grew a little over 1000 plants this year, and are very happy with the way the crop turned out. Of the 14 different varieties we grew, there are only a couple that we will not grow again next year. Of course taste tests may change our minds, though I must admit that I’ve never been able to differentiate much between the flavours of different varieties. I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough for that sort of epicurean precision. Bulb size, storage potential, and beauty are our three main criteria.
No Trackbacks
You can leave a trackback using this URL: http://ryansgarden.com/2012/08/01/the-2012-garlic-harvest/trackback/
3 Comments
Ryan and Jessica
wow that is allot of Garlic! We have just harvested ours as well any recommendations on how to store them for maximum longevity?
Wish I was there on the island for lots of reasons, but right know I would love to come over and debate the aesthetics of garlic.
Do you and Jessica agree on what constitutes a beautiful garlic? Be careful though as I believe it was this exact topic and some absinthe that led to the unfortunate incident between Rimbaud and Verlaine on that fateful July 10.
your friend
Gary
Gary,
Much to my dismay, we’ve never been fortunate enough to have optimal storage conditions for any of our crops, so the garlic generally just stays in the kitchen once it is thoroughly cured. It usually last for a delightfully long time. We keep it loosely packed in mesh and brown paper bags, never in the fridge, and never in bags or other airtight containers. I think it needs to breathe.
I must admit that your literary reference went right over my head. Explain!
Garlic is beautiful when it is curvy, smells nice, is good at cooking, and there is plenty of it. Just like…never mind.
When are you coming back (permanently)? Next week? If you come soon we can go swimming together.
Ryan,
Great to hear that we have similar storage for our garlic, we store ours in a burlap sack downstairs in our basement.
“I must admit that your literary reference went right over my head. Explain!”
Arthur Rimbuad was a favorite poet of Jim Morrison of The Doors and Paul Verlaine was an eminent Symbolist poet and was Rimbaud’s lover for a short time.
“During their time together they led a wild, vagabond-like life spiced by absinthe and hashish”
In one of their finally meetings Verlaine shot Rimbaud in a hashish and absinthe induced delirium. The story here http://www.mag4.net/Rimbaud/DocumentsE3.html
However I further hypothesize that it was the aesthetic debate around Garlic and Rimbaud’s insistence on a hard neck as one of the criteria which was the final straw as Verlaine was known to enjoy soft neck garlic on occasion and Verlaine could not suffer a hard neck snob.
Garlic is beautiful when it is curvy, smells nice, is good at cooking, and there is plenty of it. Just like…never mind.
I am in complete agreement with your assessment…
When are you coming back (permanently)? Next week? If you come soon we can go swimming together.
Still working at getting to the island, as I go more in depth it seems like services for children with disabilities ends in Comox. However I will not let that discourage me and I will still fight the good fight. Swimming sounds delightful and I understand you may know a thing or two about fishing which will need to be fit in between harvests.
Your friend
Gary