Wednesday, October 7, 2009

We won't be at market Oct 10th, See us on Oct. 17th

The latest weather forecast for Saturday: A chance of snow and freezing drizzle. Patchy fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 34. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
I will be home, separating garlic for planting and planning out my plots. I hope to see you next week!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Chesnok Red

October 10th update

Here's the forecast for this Saturday: A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Doesn't sound pleasant, but we have a little more garlic to sell so may be there anyhow. (Check the blog on Friday)
We have quite a bit of Chesnok Red and I will be selling some miscellaneous planting stock as well. If the weather's not too bad, we'll probably sell out by noon.
We will be planting our garlic soon, which takes 3 weeks or more. See the 8/10 post for planting instructions.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Oct. 10th will be our last Saturday at market

There is still lots of Chesnok Red Garlic in our barn, enough to carry us one week longer than anticipated. On October 3rd we will have some Inchelium Red (stores til January), lots of Chesnok Red (stores til December) and a few others. We will also have some extra-big heads to sell for planting. If you want to grow large heads, start with large heads.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Garlic Available 9/12/09

• Dukanskij- A delightful hardneck, originally from Kazahkistan. Raw, its starts smooth but finishes with a bite. Sweet and pleasant when baked or roasted. Fat cloves are easy to peel. Will keep through December. GREY

• Bogatyr- Rich and spicy. A unique garlic with an excellent flavor. Try in gazpacho, salsa and for a spicy pesto. Good cooked or roasted too. Fat dark purple-brown cloves are easy to peel. Will keep to December ORANGE

• Shantung Purple- Extra-flavorful chinese softneck has 6-8 beautiful rosy/tan cloves. Cook for a strong earthy flavor, or eat raw for a fiery heat you won’t forget! Stores to January. PURPLE

• Siberian- An outstanding strain with fat, dark brown cloves that peel easily and taste very strong. Good in stir fry, soups, stews and potatoes. Will store through Dec. YELLOW

• Rose de Lautrec -French garlic from the Southern region of Tarn. Deep rose colored cloves are like little jewels, and the taste is fabulous! Good in salads, in dips and sliced thin on crackers. Will store to January. By special request, limit 5.


Also available: Chesnok Red, Inchelium Red and Shatili. German Extra Hardy is available in a Jumbo Size heads for $1.75 each. (It is not recommended for planting because of a disease problem in the plot where it grew.)

Chesnok Red is available in Extra Large heads for planting.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Garlic Available 8/29/09

• Bogatyr- Rich and spicy. A unique garlic with an excellent flavor. Try in gazpacho, salsa and for a spicy pesto. Good cooked or roasted too. Fat dark purple-brown cloves are easy to peel. Will keep to December ORANGE

• Siberian- An outstanding strain originally grown by peasants for market. The fat, dark brown cloves peel easily and taste strong. Good in stir fry, soups, stews and potato dishes. Will store through December YELLOW

• Brown Tempest- Robust garlic flavor for true garlic lovers. A very strong, tangy quality when used raw for appetizers & salads. Milder, but delicious when cooked. Perfect with potatoes, meats & stews. Stores through Dec. BROWN

• Inchelium Red- A softneck variety that is excellent for roasting. Discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. One of the best-tasting softneck garlics with a mild, lingering flavor. Stores to Jan. RED

• Shatili- Excellent in, green chile & curries. Intense, spicy flavor stays strong through cooking. High in medicinal compounds. Gorgeous hardneck, originally from the Republic of Georgia. Keeps through December. BLACK

• Chesnok Red- Excellent-tasting hard neck garlic, originally from the Republic of Georgia. (Chesnok means garlic in Russian.) Earthy lingering flavor with a unique zesty bite. One of the best baking and cooking garlics. Will store through December. PINK

• German Extra Hardy- Great sliced raw, an addictive garlic taste, with full flavor. Big, easy to peel cloves. Excellent in red sauce: put in at end of heating. Loses flavor if cooked too long. Will keep through November. BLUE

• Persian Star- Spicy, exotic, and very flavorful. Try on salads, in dips or in pesto. Slice thinly and serve on crackers. Originally from Uzbekistan. Will store through Dec. GREEN

• Tzan -Tangy & flavorful in sauces, with pasta and for oriental cooking. Also a good, strong raw garlic. From Shandong province. Stores to November. TURQUOISE

Monday, August 10, 2009

Use Our Garlic For Planting!

Plant garlic in mid-October (earlier for high elevations.) Select largest cloves from largest bulbs.

How To Plant- Plant in good enriched soil in full sun. Separate cloves, plant each clove 2 to 2 1/2” deep, and 5” to 7” apart, with the pointy end up. Use only large cloves. Mulch 2” to 4” with straw or grass clippings (no herbicides or pesticides.)

Care & Feeding- Fertilize green shoots 2-3 times in March to May with fish emulsion or other high nitrogen fertilzer. Water well in late February and throughout Spring unless we have a wet winter. Keep well-watered in May & June. For hardnecks clip central seed stalk when they make a loop, or shortly afterwards (usually in June.)

Harvest- Dig up when half of the leaves are brown, usually June 25- July 10. Shade immediately. Hang or put on ventilated shelves for 3 weeks to “cure”. They must have good air circulation & shade.

How To Store- Store at room temperature or cooler, out of direct sunlight. Cool basements and garages can work well for storage. The bulbs need air circulation, but storing in paper bags can keep them from drying out too much. Hardnecks generally store up to 5 months. Softnecks up to 9 months.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Garlic Available 8/1/09

These are the descriptions for the garlic we'll have Saturday 8/1. The color afterwards is for you to color-code your garlic with markers when you buy it.

Malaysian -So mild and sweet, you can enjoy it without cooking it. Makes smooth aioli, baba ganoush, and hummus. Original seedstock from Malaysia. A very easy to peel rocambole variety. Stores through September. ORANGE

Inchelium Red- A softneck variety that is excellent for roasting. Discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. One of the best-tasting softneck garlics with a mild, lingering flavor. Stores to Jan. RED

Shatili- Excellent in, green chile & curries. Intense, spicy flavor stays strong through cooking. High in medicinal compounds. Gorgeous hardneck, originally from the Republic of Georgia. Keeps through December. BLACK

Chesnok Red- Excellent-tasting hard neck garlic, originally from the Republic of Georgia. (Chesnok means garlic in Russian.) Earthy lingering flavor with a unique zesty bite. One of the best baking and cooking garlics. Will store through December. PINK

German Extra Hardy- Great sliced raw, an addictive garlic taste, with full flavor. Big, easy to peel cloves. Excellent in red sauce: put in at end of heating. Loses flavor if cooked too long. Will keep through November. BLUE

Chicago Italian- A great-tasting garlic with a spicy aftertaste when sliced raw. Perfect for dips, pesto and garlic bread (see back). Nutty and smooth when cooked. Easy to peel. Stores to October. BROWN

Persian Star- Spicy, exotic, and very flavorful. Try on salads, in dips or in pesto. Slice thinly and serve on crackers. Originally from Uzbekistan. Will store through Dec. GREEN

Tzan -Tangy & flavorful in sauces, with pasta and for oriental cooking. Also a good, strong raw garlic. From Shandong province. Stores to November. TURQUOISE

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wheelbarrows Full of Chesnok Red!

We will have plenty of Chesnok to sell this year. Chesnok means garlic in Russian. It's really strong and tasty, stores until December (or longer) and holds up to cooking. Use it in spaghetti sauce, pickling, roasting and sauteeing.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Harvest Is Over and the Garlic Looks Great! Look for us at the market on August 1st

WeeBee Farms will be at Boulder Farmer's Market August 1st and August 8th. We won't be there August 15th, but will be back after that.
The 1st week we'll have lots of Chesnok Red, German Extra Hardy, Inchelium Red and Tzan. Tzan is one of my new favorites for raw garlic sliced on crackers. It's very smooth with huge garlic flavor, but not hot.