Garlic Harvesting

"You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times."

-Morley Safer, Canuck CBS News Correspondent

It was finally time for the children to harvest the garlic that they planted last October!
My husband, Josh, led the excited brigade of aspiring farmers out to the garden (fresh carrots from this week's CSA share still dangling from their mouths), where they used a pitchfork to dig up the bulbs of organic Georgian Crystal (hardnecked garlic) and German Extra Hardy (hardnecked) from the garden.
Then the children contentedly busied themselves with relocating the straw mulch from the garlic beds into the compost bin (incidentally, shovelling dirt, lawn clippings, or mulch into the compost bin is one of their absolute favorite tasks- they seem to never tire of making trips back and forth, the blades of their shovels brimming with organic matter).


Afterwards, they removed the chunks of dirt from the fragrant bulbs, being careful not to bruise them

and the cloves were braided for storage while they cured. The curing process consists of hanging the bulbs out of direct sunlight (in a warm location with moderate air circulation) for about two weeks. This allows the bulbs to dry evenly, without spoilage. The leaves and the wrappers will dry, while the garlic will retain its moisture and essential oils.

The children took some of the garlic home with them to stock their own pantries. Once the garlic has cured, we will use the school's supply to make some pasta sauce for the best pizza party a school has ever had (I happen to know some children who maintain a wonderful Sourdough culture that is just perfect for pizza dough)!