Rainy Day Work

What Do You Do on a Rainy Day? Rainy Day Work.

We just finished (Tues-Wed-Thurs)  a blessed three-day run of cool, cloudy weather punctuated by numerous rain showers. Even though it keeps us out of the fields, rain and cooler weather is always welcome in summer here on the farm. We never complain. Anticipating the arrival of this major weather system, we sowed some more summer squash and green beans. The current plantings of these two crops are about to play out, so it was long past time to start their replacements.

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Elephant Garlic – before

Waking to showers, we took the opportunity yesterday to prepare our recently harvested garlic for storage in the cellar. The bulbs with stalks still intact have been drying in the shade for a couple of weeks.  Last Monday they were gathered into a cart to sit on the front porch out of the moisture. The “drying shed” they were under was only a couple of sheets of tin temporarily held over a wire bench with some saw horses. The front porch was a much dryer location, and a better place to cut the tops and roots of the garlic. All our onions have already gone into the cellar, preceding the garlic in the drying process by  a week or so. It sure has been a good season for all of our bulb crops. The rains came at the best possible times, and we were able to dig them up and get them under cover just before another rainy spell. Hopefully they will keep well this year.

The kind of garlic we grow is Elephant garlic, which is not really a garlic at all, but a member of the leek family. The bulbs are typically larger than true garlic, have a milder flavor, and have fewer cloves than true garlic. Our garlic was started from a few bulbs a relative of Italian descent gave us years ago. It is simply the best in our books.

Elephant Garlic
Elephant Garlic – after

When the garlic has been sufficiently set out to dry all of the moisture has gone out of the tops and the roots. These can then be removed. The chore is a good one to be done by two workers, as one can cut the tops while the other crops the roots short and neat. We should have rinsed the bulbs in the field when they were pulled, but our sandy-loam soil doesn’t cling too tightly so that they clean up fairly nicely with just a soft rub in your palms. Still a wash in the field would have made them come out a bit cleaner.

This season marks the largest garlic crop we have ever had. Each year we have saved more of our increase to plant back the following fall. Even though we don’t have tons of garlic to sell, we are offering it for sale this summer. Be advised, supplies are limited.

What’s Available in the Garden?

First, what’s past and gone – for now:

  • cucumbers
  • green beans

Now, what we have:

  • okra
  • zucchini
  • yellow squash, but not for long
  • tomatoes, just starting
  • garlic, it won’t last long
  • hot peppers: Jalapeño, Serrano, Red Chili, Anaheim, and others
  • eggplant

Give us a call, and set up a time to come and visit. We would love to see you.