It's harvest season!!
And that means it is super busy, even more than during spring planting. So please forgive me for not posting as often as I should be. I promise, there is a lot in the works: from harvesting to preserving, baking and cooking. There will be many recipes coming your way, helping you to deal with all the nutritious produce that your garden has gifted you with. It can be overwhelming, but start with the frost tender stuff and work your way through. Slow and steady wins the harvesting race!
Today we are starting with garlic. It is mid-September and hopefully you have pulled all your garlic from your garden by now (see the article Garlic - The Stinking Rose for all the details) and have it curing in a warm, dry place. The very best way to preserve garlic is, of course, curing it so that it last in the cold cellar or pantry through the winter. However, there are often bulbs or cloves that haven't cured well. These are ones that may have not developed properly or that may not have good layers of dried skin or peel. Instead of letting these cloves go to waste, we can make use of them in numerous other preservation methods.
I have posted here two short videos on preserving garlic I did for the Calgary Horticultural Society's Garlic Festival. Sadly, we could not have a live event this year, but fortunately for you, that means I can share these videos with you all.
This first one goes over the method for making and storing minced garlic, garlic salt and garlic butter.
The second one covers lacto-fermented garlic and honey fermented garlic.
Keep and eye out for future recipes for lacto-fermenting many other vegetables.
I hope these videos showed you exactly how quick and easy it is to preserve small batches of garlic. The results are super convenient and useful at almost every meal. And nothing beats the flavour of fresh from your garden garlic. Plus, your home will smell like a homey Italian restaurant; one that is never bothered by vampires!
Yummy gardening everyone!
Further Information
The Calgary Horticultural Society (https://www.calhort.org/) for Calgary gardening specific information, events and classes.