permaculture

[Krettler Family <krettlerfamily@bctonline.com>]

I grow a lot of garlic, 26 varieties so far.  I usually trim back the flower 
stalks
but there is some debate as to the benefit of doing this.  Chester Aaron, a 
popular
author of several books on garlic, is convinced  that the flower "scape sucks
nutrients, or energy, from the bulb."  Chester cuts the scape almost as soon 
as it
appears.  There are some recipes out there for using the flower scapes.  You 
can also
use them like you would green onions.

When it comes to harvesting, I harvest almost as soon as the first leaves dry 
and turn
tan or brown.  In Oregon, this usually starts sometime around the beginning 
of June.
In fact, this year it looks like I'm going to be starting harvest a little 
sooner
since we have had such mild, warm weather this spring.  Depending on the 
variety it
may last to the end of June.  I lay the garlic in shade until I am able to 
hang it in
a shady, well ventilated area. (Under my kids tree house under the fir 
trees.)  I let
the hardneck varieties dry for about a month and sometimes longer.  The 
softneck
varieties we take down sooner if we intend to braid them.  When I get ready 
to store
them I take of only the very outer wrapper on the bulb.  The garlic will 
store longer
the more bulb wrappers there are.  By August I am sorting the "seed" garlic 
from the
"food" garlic and the garlic I intend to sell to pay for my kids yearly 
swimming
fund-raiser.

Good luck,
Karen Krettler
Oregon City, OR

Graham Burnett wrote:

> Sorry if this has already been covered....
>
> I have garlic growing nicely on the allotment- it has just developed what
> looks like a flowering stem which has a red ring around it- should I break
> this off? I've never bothered in the past and always seem to get reasonable
> crops, but would removing this stem actually increase yields? I also met a
> guy on a permaculture course a few years ago who swore blind that you should
> always trim back the leaves of garlic, again to increase yield- again, I've
> never bothered- any comments anyone?
>
> Graham Burnett
> 35 Rayleigh Avenue
> Westcliff On Sea
> Essex
> SS0 7DS
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