ordering garlic

[anja]

Next month is the season for planting garlic, in case anyone hasn't
been browbeaten on this subject by me recently. The easiest way to
start this is to get a head of garlic with cloves that aren't too
tightly bound to the stem, and plant them clove by clove butt first in
the dirt, with the papery skin carefully removed and the clove
unscathed. I haven't yet perfected the outcome. Some will tell you
that the garlic will naturally seed itself, but a lot of garlic cloves
need to be lost in the garden before that just happens.
Chester Aaron's "Garlic is Life" rapturously recounts how whole
circles of garlic were grown around garden patches to protect them
from pesky critters. One has to have really hot garlic and not mild
elephant-sized garlic (with the easily detachable cloves) for this to
really work. He has tales of extremely difficult to dismantle,
extremely hot garlic heads from Mexico strung in necklaces to ward off
sickness, but then that is the hotter type. The most native to this
region is apparently the Inchelium. But since Chesnook red takes off
just over on Sauvie Island, and seems to be relatively suited to the
region, I'd say it can stay.
The fresher and younger the garlic is the less disturbing it is to
one's system. This goes for lots of living things. However I'm still
against Palin for VP.

[Lori Loranger]

Ahhhh garlic!
I have "naturalized" garlic here in my garden, which seeds itself from
the seedheads which form at the top of the stem - like clusters of tiny
garlic cloves which fall back down into the dirt and grow. But I get a
much better result if I organize nature just a bit ;^) by spacing the
little babies so they can grow bigger.
I have lots if anyone wants to try planting the "seeds" or little shoots....
I have read that "elephant garlic" is not actually garlic, but a type of
leek - anyone out there care to confirm or deny that one?

I'm enjoying these last dry warm days - cutting lemon balm, pineapple
mint, Moroccan mint, borage, sage, cleavers, and even a final bit of
nettles, to dry for the cold times.
Still have a pumpkin or two turning orange on the vine, and tomatoes
which have not given up yet!

I hope you are all enjoying these beautiful fall days!
peace
Lori

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[Glenna Rose]

Borage. How do you prepare it, leaves or blossoms, and for what specifically?

I heard yesterday that a mixture of Spanish Thyme and French Lavender
is an antifungal in the garden.

Sage is used for house purification. Bundle it, set it afire then
take the smoking bundle throughout the house. Honest, I also heard
that yesterday. Whole bunch of uses for sage including tea. I've
made the tea but the type of sage I have doesn't taste that good,
maybe another variety would be better.

If you are interested in using guords for painting, bird houses, etc.,
I can list the directions on preparation here; it takes several
months.

Glenna

--
---<-@ Glenna Rose @->---

I cannot change the world, but I can make my little corner better.

[Summer]

Borage flowers are edible, and make a beeeautiful garnish.  They are sort of cucumber-like in taste.  Here are two recipes below that went in various CSA baskets this year (if you're going to freeze it instead of canning... you could use apple peel for pectin, sucanat for sweetener... yada yada).  We like to add "wild eats" to some baskets, with preparation methods, and borage has sort of become a wild plant, as it's taken over our garden!  YUM!

As for sage tea, I've never been a big fan, but it contains great properties for aging women.  I dry it and use it in a lot of winter comfort foods.  

~Summer

Borage Jelly

 

This is great spread with cream cheese on crackers.

 

6 cups borage leaves and flowers soaked in 4 cups cold water overnight, drain and reserve water

4 cups borage infused water

4 1/2 cups (950 mL) white sugar

1 tbsp. (15 mL) lemon

1 package commercial pectin

sea salt, pinch

red pepper flakes, pinch

 

Cook according to commercial pectin direction.

 

Borage Fritters

Both borage flowers and leaves are edible, and are reminiscent of cucumber. Because it is a tonic plant for the adrenal glands, borage provides an invaluable support for a stressful lifestyle. Borage is rich in minerals, especially potassium.

 

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch borage, cut into strips

1 liter extra-virgin olive oil, for frying

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, flour, baking powder, water, cheese and a pinch each of salt and pepper and whisk well to combine. Cover and rest for at least 2 hours.

 

Heat the olive oil to 350 degrees F. Stir the borage into the batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set on a plate lined with paper towels, to drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

[Lori Loranger]

Borage leaves and flowers contain: saponins, mucilage, tannins, vitamin
c, calcium and potassium. The seeds contain essential fatty acids; the
seed oil is used like evening primrose oil.
The leaves of borage are an adrenal tonic. The leaves and flowers have
expectorant and fever reducing qualities, and are used in cough syrups.
I just cut the flowering tops and let them dry. I also add the fresh
flowers to salads and whatnot. But I leave plenty for the bees, who
adore this plant!

Sage is dried and tied into "smudge sticks" to purify an area with the
smoke.
Sage makes a great gargle or mouthwash, also a hair rinse, esp. for
graying hair ;^) or dandruff.
It is astringent, antiseptic, antibiotic, estrogenic (a uterine
stimulant) and reduces blood sugar levels. Epileptics should avoid sage
because of the thujone content. The purple variety is more medicinal
than the common green one; if you're going for a more pleasant flavor,
try varieties like pineapple sage....

Thanks, Summer, for the recipes!

-LL

[Betty...@aol.com]

THanks for your charming Garlic note. As I child, I wore a clove of garlic in a cloth bag, on a string, as a necklass to ward off illness, AND I MADE IT TO AGE 81! I wish I had a garden. I have a pot of garlic chives and it is flowering now. I hope to keep it growing, any suggestions?

Betty


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[Lori Loranger]

My experience with chives is that, if you cut them, they will grow!
The flowers may make a nice bouquet allowed to dry in a vase without
water. Give the pot a nice trimming and some sunshine, and they should
just keep going and going and going....
enjoy
Lori