The garlic has ceased growing and the leaves have turned brown indicating the time to harvest has arrived. I took the chance of a fleeting dry spell to lift the new bulbs and set them aside to dry naturally in an old metal griddle, out of the rain. A bit disappointed with the size of the garlic bulbs which I dug up with a garden fork. I guess the mild winter and wet summer do not make for good garlic growing conditions.
However, the first garlic bulb has already been used in cooking. No complaints about the taste – small is beautiful as E.F. Schumacher said! Being freshly harvested cloves, the skin simply rubbed off in my fingers. I hardly needed a knife to prepare the home grown garlic for cooking.
The rain is a pain for most growers, except for the lucky ones who are mainly tunnel or greenhouse based. That being said, the peas, beans, leeks, cabbage, broccoli, chard, beetroot and herbs are growing well outdoors
This year’s garlic harvest. Smaller than last year due to milder winter and wetter summer.
. The lettuces look a little battered and sad, while the apples could do with some sun, like us all! In the next dry spell, I hope to get time to harvest the blackcurrants. Rain or shine, they are ready for the table or the freezer. Blackcurrants are a taste of a sunny summer’s day, which I can imagine if I eat them with my eyes closed, topped with some yoghurt and honey!
