It's garlic time! Planting, that is...

[larry_stewart]

When the scapes come up, what do you do with them? I want to give the garlic as much time to grow as I can.

The theory is if you cut them off, the plant puts more energy into the bulb. Usually they emerge 3 or 4 weeks before harvest ( I think). They will grow straight up as they emerge, then kinda curl around ( which is when you pick them) and then they will ultimately straighten up again and produce a flower if left on. When they are in the curly phase, they are much more tender, and can be stir fried or cooked up any way you could cook up green beans or asparagus. Raw they have a strong garlicky flavor, but once cooked, hey loose a lot of that . When cooked, to me they have similar consistency of the asparagus stem. I have also pickled them ( which was just ok) and made a raw garlic scape pesto , which was really strong , but really good ( and freezes well too. I think I still have some in the freezer). I never used to eat the scapes cause I just didnt know anything about them. Now I think its great cause garlic is basically a dual crop, scapes and garlic bulbs

 

[taxlady]

BTW, only hard neck garlic makes scapes. That hard neck is what's left of the scape, inside the bulb. I wonder what the other kind of garlic does for flowers.

 

[GotGarlic]

BTW, only hard neck garlic makes scapes. That hard neck is what's left of the scape, inside the bulb. I wonder what the other kind of garlic does for flowers.

I think they put up a soft stem like chives.

 

[larry_stewart]

BTW, only hard neck garlic makes scapes. That hard neck is what's left of the scape, inside the bulb. I wonder what the other kind of garlic does for flowers.

%100 Correct. I should have mentioned that. All I grow s hard neck, so the fact that there even is another kinda of garlic slipped my mind. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[dragnlaw]

Tidbit I just read about, I never knew... from BrainstormHealth UK

What is the 10 minute garlic rule?

Crush, chop or mince garlic and keep it away from heat for 10 minutes. During this time the maximum allicin is created and stays intact during cooking. You can then fry, saute, bake to your heart's content and still get all its medicine. THAT'S IT!