With all this rain we’ve had here in the Midwest lately, the veggie plants aren’t exactly thriving. My poor tomato and pepper plants are needing some hot sun, and fast!
In the meantime, I’ve planted squash, cucumber, and beans.
The garlic is coming along nicely. Last fall I planted two types: German Extra Hardy (hardneck) and Ozark (softneck). I’m still a fairly new garlic gardener and learning more all the time. The hardneck varieties produce what is called a scape. This is a stem that grows up out of the plant and produces a flower bulb. Many experts and seasoned gardeners teach that we should remove these scapes before the flower opens up. The thought behind removing the scapes is that the garlic bulbs themselves will end up larger come harvest time, since the plant’s energy will be directed to the bulb itself. The German Extra Hardy in my garden have grown their scapes.
I went ahead and removed them yesterday. This was my first time doing this; only my second time ever growing garlic to begin with. There are many, many YouTube videos on how to remove the scapes, see below for a couple of links. After the scapes have been cut off, they can be cooked and eaten. Some even consider this a delicacy. Once again, please check out some of the instructional videos before trying this! I am going to give it a go and will report back. I left a couple of the scapes alone, still attached to the plant, to see the flowering process as it happens. Always looking for a learning opportunity!
Trimmed off the top parts, including the flower bulb and the softest part of the stems, to try out.
Here are a couple of good videos for reference:
Have a great week!
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