shallots

Mid July Garden Update: Garlic & Shallot Harvest

July 15, 2015

Not much to complain about in the garden. No storms have ruined anything (yet).* We’ve had lots of rain; plenty of sun.

Just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Because: you know it will.

As you might remember, I declared that I would finally harvest the garlic on time this year. And I did. But I also learned something interesting: I’m not so sure that my problems with the garlic in past years was due entirely to my timing. I had assumed, based on the appearance of the bulbs (sort of rotten looking and very wet, despite dry soil) that I simply waited too long. This year, I knew I hadn’t waited too long and the first bulbs I dug looked yellowed and rotten. On about the fourth bulb, I also saw a small brownish-orange worm on the bulb.

This is what an unhealthy bulb looks like. At first you can't really see anything specific, but it's yellowed and sort of rotten looking — This is what an unhealthy bulb looks like. At first you can’t really see anything specific, but it’s yellowed and sort of rotten looking

Hello internet.

Diagnosis: wire worms. They burrow into the bulb and create little holes that create rot. The good news is that there were only a handful of affected bulbs. The rest were all bright white and firm.

I do think that I also waited too long to harvest in prior years. This year, I dug them when only a couple of the lower leaves were yellowed. Each leaf on the stem creates a layer of paper wrapper around the head and cloves. Having enough is what helps the garlic to keep longer.

Only the bottom two leaves are yellow, but this is what I looked like when I harvested and I do believe it was the right time.

I then put them on my wire rack [an old “ground-level” bird feeder — which only ever fed the squirrels and the dogs] and put them in the shade to begin the curing process. I am moving them to the garage when rain is in the forecast, but man are they STRONG! yowza. This will go on for about a week and then they’ll go to the lower garage — hopefully less pungent by then.

Garlic curing in its shady spot under the birch tree

The shallots are way more forgiving.

usually I wait for the shallots to yellow and die back a bit before harvesting, but I wanted to clear the whole bed (these grew with the garlic) and the shallots were already too big, so I dug them all up — Usually I wait for the shallots to yellow and die back a bit before harvesting, but I wanted to clear the whole bed (these grew with the garlic) and the shallots were already too big, so I dug them all up

I dug them up at the same time because… well because they are fricken’ enormous. Where have you ever seen shallots this big? How does that work in a recipe when they say “4 shallots”? Can you imagine what my food would taste like if I used “4” of these shallots?

They will stay here for a day or two (unless it rains) and then move to the lower garage

Shallots you can just pull and leave in the sun for a few days. Then move to the cooler lower garage. Then give away. Because I can’t stand peeling shallots.

Here’s the rest of the garden with captions to explain anything of interest:

Pea harvest has been insane. Round cages seem to be working well

I've had very little blow down this year. To be fair, we haven't had a huge storm yet. — I’ve had very little blow down this year. To be fair, we haven’t had a huge storm yet.

This is the last of the original leaf lettuce being washed in my galvanized tub. It'll get dried on big towels before going in the fridge. — This is the last of the original leaf lettuce being washed in my galvanized tub. It’ll get dried on big towels before going in the fridge.

My mantra this time of the year is “tough love.” I actually say it out loud to myself when I am tempted to leave borage in the ground (or dill. or renegade cilantro) because it’s pretty. “Tough love,” I say, then I yank it out. It’s pretty, but it’s HUGE and flops over edges and other plants.

See those gravel paths? I spend way more than half my time in the garden weeding the paths. If that sounds insane, it's because it is. I no longer use Round-Up due to the glyco-concerns. Flame weeder works for about a month in the gravel and then I have to go after it with a hoe. — See those gravel paths? I spend way more than half my time in the garden weeding the paths. If that sounds insane, it’s because it is. I no longer use Round-Up due to the glyco-concerns. Flame weeder works for about a month in the gravel and then I have to go after it with a hoe.

Strange variety of tomato appears to have wilt but it doesn't. Next to it is "Lettuce Leaf" Basil. Very large, ruffly and tasty. — Strange variety of tomato appears to have wilt but it doesn’t. Next to it is “Lettuce Leaf” Basil. Very large, ruffly and tasty.

Reseeded with beets, arugua and cilantro. Despite my attempt to stay stocked with lush cilantro and arugula, it's all gone to seed. Wire is in place to deter cat-box-seeking-cats. it is 90% effective. — Reseeded this spot with beets, arugua and cilantro. Despite my attempt to stay stocked all growing season with lush cilantro and arugula, it’s all gone to seed. Wire is in place to deter cat-box-seeking-cats. it is 90% effective.

Ended up staking the tomatoes inside the cages. Which basically renders the cages nothing more than a big pain in the ass... — View of caged tomatoes: ended up staking the tomatoes inside the cages. Which basically renders the cages nothing more than a big pain in the ass…

I've been pruning these tomatoes to 2 stems for each plant. Each gets a stake. It looks neater, the plants seem healthier and I've heard the tomatoes ripen faster. It is way easier to weed. I might be done with the cages — View of staked tomato plants: I’ve been pruning these tomatoes to 2 stems for each plant. Each gets a stake. It looks neater, the plants seem healthier and I’ve heard the tomatoes ripen faster. It is way easier to weed. I might be done with the cages

Chartruese colored 'Green Envy' zinnia is my favorite! — Chartruese colored ‘Green Envy’ zinnia is my favorite!

Brussels sprouts plants are looking good. Trying to stay on top of cabbage worms with BT.

*So yeah. I might have spoke a little too soon…

Last night (July 12) we got an inch and a half of rain and some wicked wind:

Looking south at the snap pea blow down.

Looking west. The good news is the peas are nearly done and the cucumber cages stayed upright. The pea plants create wind resistance that just can't stand up to the elements. Oh well. — Looking west. The good news is the peas are nearly done and the cucumber cages stayed upright. The pea plants create wind resistance that just can’t stand up to the elements. Oh well.

Shallots are In! …I Mean Out!

July 27, 2010

I don’t know how I’ll ever use them all, but roughly calculating along the lines of grocery store prices, I could probably sell them and pay for my daughter’s college. Or better yet, something fun for my office.

Seriously. Why are shallots so damn expensive? They are an onion, for Pete’s sake!

Anyway, it has been years since I planted shallots. I remember getting ticked off trying to peel the paper thin skins and thinking, “never planting these again.” But that was before I started cooking so much. I bet I substitute onions for shallots more than anything else when following recipes. So now — provided they last in my lame ~~root cellar~~ lower garage, I should have enough to last me more than a year.

Successful shallot/onion/garlic storage is all about how you “cure” the bulbs. This is how NOT to do it:

how not to cure your shallots

By the way, if you’ve been following along (and I only just remembered this now), I forgot to plant these last fall and was worried they wouldn’t grow. Obviously, I was wrong. They are just fine. And given the price of the shallot sets you buy to plant, it might be worth not risking a Fall planting here in Minnesota, since harsh winters with little snow cover will kill Fall planted garlic and shallots.

For the record, I have tried planting garlic in the spring, after just that type of cataclysmic winter and it did not work. So the same can not be said for garlic. At least not for me, anyway.

Here is the progression. Hover over the photo to see the date:

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure when to harvest. And given the frenetic nature of the past two months, I wasn’t inclined to research it, either. I decided to treat them like onions and garlic and wait until the stems were mostly flopping over and 50% or more brownish. It might have been a little long… Oh I don’t know…

What I DO know is that patch looked horrible and needed to be weeded. And low and behold the ground was also dry. In fact, I was just about to turn the sprinkler on for the first time all summer when I realized I didn’t want the shallots to get wet, so I dug them all up and set them out nicely to dry.

About six hours later, the big hailstorm started (video of the end of the storm is above in green “how not to cure shallots”). I took this picture when it was safe to go outside. I think this guy had melted by about 40% or so.

It wasn’t until the end of the storm that I realized that the shallots were not only in the rain, but under the overhang of the roof getting completely pummeled. At least they were now clean:

I’d like to say that was the last time they were rained on, but I would be lying. They were rained on, in approximately the same spot, two more times. I have no idea how that will affect their storage, but I will keep you posted.

This was the beautiful site after the big storm that destroyed farm fields, roofs, shattered windows and cleaned my shallots:

And that’s really what it looked like. The white balance on my camera was perfect. It was beautiful.

Our driveway, however, was not:

It’s Still 40 and it’s Still Raining

May 13, 2010

I need a garden fix. I want to weed. I want to escape this stupid computer and stupid soccer and get the Hell out of my office. My dog is ready to implode. I have chicks in my laundry room. The cats are sitting in the trees with the bird feeders. It’s raining. It’s cold. And I never went looking for more Morel mushrooms. My asparagus has stopped growing. I want to take a bath. I want to take a bath and go back to bed. I want to eat banana bread in the bath and then go to bed.

Waa waa wahh.

How’s that for a pity party? I’m good at those. Oh. I forgot one thing. I have a headache. I had two meager glasses of wine last night after a long day and today I have a headache. So stupid.

With plenty of work-work to do today (work-work is my made up word meaning ‘real work’ for ‘real clients’), I put on my ugly hood (shown on model with the face I use to scare my kids with):

And went out to feed the chickens, the birds, empty the compost bucket and take some garden pictures. Come along for the ride…

First stop: Let the chickens out. You think that’s a scary face in the photo above? How about this one? Especially when he flies at your face. I have a big stick I use to keep him in his place.

Sadly, I lost one of my two hens — on MOTHER’S DAY of all days. She must have flown out of the 7′ high fence. We are blaming Lola.

Next stop: Empty the compost and check out the garden.

That’s looking back toward the house. You can see that not much has happened in the last three weeks.

Lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula and cilantro are all just eeking along.

One big surprise are the strawberry plants. They were new last year. I struggled with bugs and this year I have removed the straw mulch, having read it makes the bug problem worse. My *plan* is to keep the refuse under the plants very clean. We’ll see how that goes…

Look at all the blooms!

Here is the garlic, planted last Fall. It is huge compared to other years. The heavy snowfall protected the bulbs and I didn’t lose even one. I predict a June harvest instead of last year’s August harvest. That is both good and bad. Good because I’ll have garlic sooner, bad because it is much harder to store through the hot months.

Here are those scary red potatoes I planted in early March. They are doing well, except for the frost damage from last weekend.

It got down to 28 here in Watertown. See the damage?

And they were even covered with a heavy blanket:

In fact, I tried to cover EVERYTHING with blankets, which was actually quite funny:

So glad I did. Not sure what the apples will do, but you can tell which blossoms were covered and which weren’t.

Here are those shallot plants I was so worried wouldn’t fill in. I should have planted the bulbs last Fall with the garlic, but I forgot. They went into the ground in late March. Most came up and and I am excited. I haven’t had shallots in several years.

I have a bunch more pictures to share, but my ‘work-work’ awaits. After the garden/compost stop, I filled the bird feeders. Thanks to Red-Winged Blackbirds, my gallon-sized feeders have to be filled daily if I want to sustain my little Chickadees, Nuthatches, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers and so on. On the way, I pass my very favorite shrub, the Snowball Viburnum:

I hack about six feet off this thing every year. (I have no idea how large it would eventually get.) I’m trying to prune it so that the left side sort of arches over the path. Yeah. Good luck on that one. I’m a spaz with a pruning saw…

That’s the flower close-up. It is the most gorgeous chartreuse green at this time of year. No scent to the flower, unfortunately, but man are they pretty in a vase.

Then it’s back into my God-Forsaken house with my God-Forsaken animals and the new God-Forsaken chicks.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Jennie. Please send Sunshine. And a personal assistant. I promise to try to be a nicer person.

How Not to Plant Shallots

March 20, 2010

Ignore that picture, as there is nothing wrong with it.

What I should have done is take a picture of the date next to the cute little rows off pointy-headed bulbs. Because that would be more appropriate with the title of this post.

You see, I am approximately 4.5 months late planting my shallots. I know that I have mentioned my ‘to-do list’ strategy, right? The one where I keep a running list of what I need to do in the next day or two? I’ll go a step further. This is the actual list:

Followed by excerpts from the next two months of lists:

…where you will note that an empty circle is an unfinished task. As we progress from October to December — when the ground is frozen solid — I finally gave up and scratched “Plant Shallots” out and off the list forever. Until I rediscovered the bag of bulbs in the garage yesterday…

Funny, though, as I look back on these lists, the other things I have forgotten to do… A client’s thing… My Mom’s photo mug… Another client thing… And that damn Greenhouse Motor. Which you will be happy to know that I finally figured out how to detach, pack up and send off for repair. I finally crossed it off my list.

Yesterday.

On 3/17/2010.

A full five months and ten days after it was first written down on 10/7/2009 (see above).

So anyway, the shallots. The truth is, I simply didn’t get them in the ground before it froze last fall. Then I rationalized that, since the directions that came on the package said, “Plant shallots in the ground immediately upon delivery in all but the coldest northern regions.”

That’s not that far of a stretch, is it? We’re pretty damn cold and pretty far north. Still, I think given that we plant garlic in the fall, the shallots should have gone into the ground with them.

So I planted them yesterday. Which is not the correct way, but I’m crossing my fingers that 1) the bulbs are still viable, and 2) the bulbs will grow. We shall wait and we shall see. They will be in for plenty of wild weather, but they would have gotten that if they went in the ground last fall, too.

Now: do you think I should gamble and plant these, since I decided not to cook them and serve them to Dave?

I think I should. Please chime in.