Look it’s JB Prewitt the greatest hand model in the world
The first of the garlic scapes have begun to sprout out and I cannot wait to cook them up. Scapes are the shoots that come out of the center of a garlic plant signaling the garlic will soon be ready for harvest. By cutting them off the plant is forced to put more effort into the garlic bulbs creating a bigger end result. They also are very tasty, like a green bean that tastes like mild garlic butter. For one way to cook them try this. Other ideas to come later.
Speaking of forcing plants to put more energy into the food it is also time to start plucking the flowers from the arugula. Like basil and cilantro, arugula likes to send up flowers and stop making leaves. By nipping them in the bud, the harvest increases for each plant. If you knew that was were the phrase came from then give yourself a big gold star.
Funny how it looks like a thistle
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide 
Two good tips. I meant to plant rocket/arugula this year and forgot again. I’ll be ready for the nipping next year.
This is one of my favourite vegetable garlic sprouts as what we call them here
You’ve reminded me to plant some rocket/arugula!
You’re waaaay ahead of us…no scapes or flowers yet! You know, if you let that arugula go to seed, you’ll never have to plant it again…it just won’t come up where you want it 😉
I have tried a few times to grow garlic in my herb garden but have never had any success. The bulb never seems to grow. I had a few that came out in separate cloves instead of staying together to form a big bulb. I have tried buying the plants from a garden store and just planting loose cloves that I separated from a bulb. Everything else in my herb garden goes crazy. Any tips/pointers??? Thanks!
I buy my bulbs from territorial seed, but the last year and probably this year I will have a large enough harvest to replant from my crop. The best time to plant garlic here is in late oct for a crop in mid spring. I live in the south so my winters are mild, with only 1 or 2 heavy freezes, but garlic is able to handle a good amount of cold. Plant each clove with the tip pointing up about 1/2″ deep and spaced 5″ apart. Water in the spring and pull when the leaves turn brown. You need to make sure the garlic is from a good supplier or the soil could get infected with a commercial garlic mold that will destroy any further crop. If the soil is bad then you will have to dig it all out and replace it or plant somewhere else completely.
Wow, lucky you Greg, my garlic was a dud this year and I can’t tell you how many bulbs I planted on my garage roof top — so incredibly disappointing.
I’m looking forward to some excellent recipes for the scapes. I won’t be planting anything in the garden in Maine until the first part of June.
OK. I admit it. I’ve got garlic envy.
If I ever have room for garlic, I will definitely come back to these posts, Greg.
I’d love the garlic plants – it’s good to see they survived the dog this year ;-0
It’s the best time of the whole year, isn’t it?
Thanks for the education on the phrase “nipping it in the bud” ! I didn’t know where that came 🙂
Excellent Views. Appreciate it!