New this week: Dried garlic is here! About 10 days ago we harvested all of the garlic from the field and laid it out in the greenhouse to cure for about a week. That process is complete now and the skins have dried down, protecting the garlic cloves inside. This garlic will store for many months.
There’s just one thing: it’s ugly!
Over the last several years it has gotten more difficult to produce an aesthetically-pleasing garlic crop. The temperature fluctuations in the late winter are the reason for this. When the growing garlic plants experience extreme variability in air and soil temperature (think hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold), the plant responds by bulbing up early, and then splitting into multiple plants, thinking it is time to re-grow again. That results in a bulb that is split apart. Fortunately, this doesn’t affect shelf-life or flavor.
It’s still just as delicious as ever and will last on your counter or in your cupboard!
Here is a photo of how the garlic turned out this year:
Despite the visual defects, we’re glad we’re still able to grow organic garlic in Florida, because we love to grow it, and we love to eat it. It’s a real labor of love and some years it works out better than others.
Here’s the good news – we had an abundant harvest and we expect to have enough to last us through the end of the season!
We’re bringing the first few crates to the market this weekend. So come get you some if you’ve been waiting all season for this!
All the best,
Ellen and Cole
P.S. All other crops are abundant and amazing right now. Beans are in extra abundance and super flavorful. This week only we have Queen Anne’s Lace flowers. Basil is abundant! And more, more, more…