Ducks 4 in '24

[ducks4you]

Last 2024 gardening. I know that I didn't grow this porcelain garlic. It Was grown locally, so I feel great about planting something that survived My last winter. In preparation, 7 cloves were tossed bc they had dried out or were starting to rot. For those non garlic growers, these were hardneck. There is a "spine" in the center, and the cloves grow on it. It doesn't store as well as softneck, but it was supposed to store up to 5 months. Rotting was disappointing. I can tell that this garlic woudn't have lasted until January, but now it will. 1/2 pint, total.

Garlic Varieties [Complete Guide On All Types of Garlic] - Garlic Store

Hardneck garlic varieties are closely related to the earliest heirloom strains of garlic. They have more complex flavors and are a little healthier. Also, they tend to be resilient, with a robust, smoother, and more garlicky flavor.

garlicstore.com

 

[Marie2020]

never had it so can't say...

I really miss thatvl delicious pop. And apart from the fix and sugar it was relatively healthy

 

[Marie2020]

Last 2024 gardening. I know that I didn't grow this porcelain garlic. It Was grown locally, so I feel great about planting something that survived My last winter. In preparation, 7 cloves were tossed bc they had dried out or were starting to rot. For those non garlic growers, these were hardneck. There is a "spine" in the center, and the cloves grow on it. It doesn't store as well as softneck, but it was supposed to store up to 5 months. Rotting was disappointing. I can tell that this garlic woudn't have lasted until January, but now it will. 1/2 pint, total.View attachment 70752

Garlic Varieties [Complete Guide On All Types of Garlic] - Garlic Store

Hardneck garlic varieties are closely related to the earliest heirloom strains of garlic. They have more complex flavors and are a little healthier. Also, they tend to be resilient, with a robust, smoother, and more garlicky flavor.

garlicstore.com

Have you ever tried pickling it? It's absolutely yummy and moreish

 

[ducks4you]

YES!!! DD is looking forward to that next summer!!

 

[flowerbug]

YES!!! DD is looking forward to that next summer!!

or you can grind it up using the meat grinder and then turn it into garlic relish. use a simple sweet and sour syrup (apple cider vinegar, sugar, etc.) like you would use to make bread and butter pickles. chili pepper flakes, mustard seeds, etc, etc.

 

[ducks4you]

Cross your fingers that I get a good garlic harvest next July!!!
LOTS of plans for using them.
I am Very excited about DH's (Christmas 2023 gift) Excalibur Dehydrator use this winter and next year!
A few years ago I tried dehydrating onions when I saw several going bad and didn't want to lose them.
The cheapo dehydrator I was using just burned them!
DH noticed however that the instructions for timing with this machine brings them to gummy and flexible and I want brittle and breakable. We are just too humid here to expect them not to rot in the jar.
I guess out in Colorado you could use flexible...

 

[ducks4you]

Seems dumb to post a Christmas gift on Next year's thread. DD's bought me a composter!
It came complete with workers.

 

[ducks4you]

Looks like the help straightened themselves out.

 

[flowerbug]

...
DH noticed however that the instructions for timing with this machine brings them to gummy and flexible and I want brittle and breakable. We are just too humid here to expect them not to rot in the jar.
I guess out in Colorado you could use flexible...

if you have a dehumidifier you can just run that in the room with the food dehydrator for the last stage... give 'em the double whammy!

 

[ducks4you]

Just when I retire this thread I find I am not done with it.
Today DD's started the two day Great Barn Clean up. We all talked about it at our local and favorite tavern at dinner last night, when I suggested that bc of the wet Week and the very wet Friday they should use the tractor to clean out the 3 horse stalls.
SUCH arguments against it! So, today I expected to see the two of them pushing a wheelbarrow. DH went out to help, I look out the window and he is driving bucketfuls to the area I wanted them to dump bedding from last Spring, and, sadly, from when my mare past away last summer.
It went like this: Let me think about it, I Thought about it, USE THE TRACTOR!! Say this fast...
They started about 2ish after we feasted on Christmas cheese and crackers and vegetable tray leftovers. I made it out about an hour later. They had dumped my burn barrel (the plastic trash can where I throw away all paper trash) into my fire pit and there wasn't much left. I resurrected that and it was hot red coals by the time we all came back in for dinner around 7PM. DH took breaks by the fire, and here he is right before the last 2 loads, which were dumped under my strip of pine trees south of the garage. My fire pit hasn't been used at ALL this year and it thought that we had sold the place and moved away.