Gar-little

It's harvest time! Okay, really, I've been harvesting since July... tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. But it was finally time to check out the one thing I was really excited about...

Garlic!

I don't claim to be a fantastic cook (my brother got that gift). What I cook isn't fancy, but it is edible and generally tasty. And one of my favourite ingredients is garlic. Not only do I like the taste, but I love the smell of it when I'm cooking.

I have never, ever, ever, used dried garlic, garlic salt, garlic flakes, or even that weird looking garlic in the jar that my mother-in-law likes.... it's fresh or bust! (And no Chinese garlic please...)

So I was thrilled at the idea of having garlic from my very own garden to cook with. 

As you may recall, I planted my garlic a little late, but I got sprouts very quickly. I started to get a little worried when I didn't get scapes (flowers) but otherwise, the plants seemed healthy. And this week, they were showing all the signs that the internet said meant it was time to harvest. So I got out my shovel and...

I have officially grown the world's smallest heads of garlic. Seriously.. as a child, I would have referred to this as Barbie garlic. And lest you be decieved by the picture - they are actual heads of garlic with several individual cloves in each one... they are just really, really.... REALLY small.

I'm guessing it's because I planted them so late. But, I cleaned them up, let them dry, and a few nights later, chopped one of them up for my famous herbed chicken and potato dinner. And it tasted just perfect!

I still have some planting cloves set aside, so this fall I'll get some in the ground. Next year... next year I'll have some mammoth garlic! I just know it!