Monday, October 13, 2008

Garlic Prep

As you can probably tell from my lack of posting yesterday, the garden is slowing down. As time goes on I'll have less and less to talk about - well until those seed catalogs arrive. Today I actually had something to do for the garden. It is garlic planting time. Now tomorrow I'll do the planting, but today I was preparing the garlic.

In past years, garlic hasn't done well. I just take the cloves apart and put them in the ground. But the internet is a wonderful thing - either that or it is a great way to waste time. So I researched. Some people tell you to peel your garlic to get rid of all the insect eggs and diseases lurking. Some people say to not remove the skin. In the past I haven't removed the skin, so this time I'm going to try. The skin peeled easily off of three varieties and not from one. So that one stays for now since I don't want to damage the cloves.

Two varieties, German Extra Hardy and Georgian Crystal, were from Seed Savers Exchange. They seemed like very healthy large cloves of garlic. One variety is from Nichols, Bogatyr. These cloves were much smaller (could be the garlic variety or could be quality), and one of them was diseased, so I tossed it. In fact I had to throw a lot of these cloves out since they were either tiny or damaged. The last variety is an unknown. It is a garlic I bought at the store and loved. It is the only softneck garlic that I'm going to plant. All the others are hardnecks.

Then I read that I should soak the cloves in either vinegar or baking soda overnight. Now vinegar is an acid and baking soda is an alkaline. They both are good for killing fungal diseases (but not together mind you since they would neutralize each other). Baking soda seems to be the most commonly recommended one, so I'll go with that tonight. Often people also recommend adding either fish or seaweed emulsion to the soaking water, but I don't have either, so it just isn't going to happen.

Tomorrow morning I'll do a 3-5 minute soak in vodka then plant them. I'm guessing it kills diseases, but I'm also guessing the garlic doesn't like it much since you're not supposed to leave them in there very long.

So there you have it. I've stripped my garlic naked. Tomorrow I'm going to get them drunk and put them to bed. Who says gardeners don't have fun?

11 comments:

  1. This is funny! Naked drunk garlic--I love it.

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  2. Very interesting Daphne, I something new today I have never cleand my garlics. I so totally agree with Anna what a picture, naked drunk garlics ,it's funny!/ LOL Tyra

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  3. ROTFL! We put our garlic in this past weekend. But ours went into the ground fully dressed and completely sober.

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  4. LOL!

    I'm planing garlic for the first time this year and I've also heard conflicting peel/don't peel. I think I'll do half and half.

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  5. At least you didn't get drunk and naked and then plant the garlic. That might have made the neighbors sit up and take notice ;-)

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  6. You might even invent a new garlic flavor of vodka. Thanks for reminding me I need to get my garlic in my bed as well.

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  7. What a funny post! Thank you for walking us through your process. I would have figured you just plopped them into the ground. It's nice to know the right way to do it.

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  8. This is so interesting Daphne. I have never heard of peeling the skin off the garlic first let along getting it drunk! I have always just plopped them into the ground after seperating them. Seeing that I have yet to get around to planting mine maybe I will try this out with a few cloves myself! Thanks for passing this along.

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  9. I had never heard of such a thing either until I decided I really wanted my garlic to grow and researched it. I've tried garlic in the past and it just hasn't flourished. I'm hoping. Some people say not to take off the skin though. Who knows who is correct? But if it works, I'll keep doing it. I know not doing it doesn't work for me and I'll try just about anything to get garlic to grow in my garden.

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  10. Daphne,
    I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your garlic preparation... hopefully you get a great harvest! Garlic is one of the things I haven't tried in my garden. Right now the raised beds are full of winter rye, so I guess I'll have to wait until next year.

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  11. Baking soda and vinegar react and result in the formation of sodium acetate which is antimicrobial in nature and that is why it works so well.
    gourmetgarlicgardens has the recipe for the solution.
    Wikipedia has the info on baking soda and vinegar.
    now I wonder if those little cloves will still be butt end down when the spring comes after dancing their drunken little jigs...

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