The Great Garlic Haul of 2013

Remember back in October when I planted all that garlic? And it actually grew and produced lovely scapes?  Well now look at it!

Last week I took up one of the garlic plots - and this is just some of it! This is going to be The Great Garlic Haul of 2013!

Most of the bulbs are just lovely. Some of them are a little small but I think they will be just fine. I'll keep the biggest ones for planting - the rest will be cured and then will be ready for action.

One of the things that really bugs me about this part of the country is that there is shocking lack of fresh produce. The produce in the grocery stores is horrible - it's one of the reasons that we grow our own. I'm not sure if I'm just used to having a good selection from when I lived on the West Coast and we got tons of fabulous produce from California or what... but it's just a misery out here. You'd think that with these growing conditions you could final all kinds of local produce but nope. If you drive around here all you'll see growing is corn, soybeans, and wheat - not food.

The thing that really grinds me gears is how expensive garlic is in the stores - and it's almost all from China. Doesn't that seem a little crazy to you? Why do we have to fly it in from halfway around the world?  And it's terribly expensive. I think I got my $9 worth - which is what I paid last fall for the planting garlic.

I figure I have a king's ransom in garlic out there - and it's all mine mine mine. I'm going to take up all this lovely garlic, cure it, preserve it, and use it all up. Soon the meat chickens will be ready for dinner and I'll be able to make Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. Oh happy day!

Happy Monday everyone! Are you taking up your garlic?