Garlic is a staple in our kitchen – even Hannah likes it. That’s why I increased our crop planting to 100 cloves last fall – up from 60 the year before.

I spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting in the dooryard cleaning garlic. For the past few weeks I’ve had it hanging in the garage so it could dry out. Today I snipped off the stems and the roots and then peeled back a few layers of skin to reveal the beautiful purple streaked skins. With 90+ heads of garlic we have enough to last the rest of the year and  some to share!

2011 garlic harvest

I love the purple color that spreads across the heads of my Russian Red.

russian red garlic

You might call me a garlic geek – it’s the only crop I seem to be truly successful growing each year.

As least we won’t need to worry about vampires.

Do you know some cultures believe that garlic increases courage and improves strength and stamina? Now there’s a reason to add it to your diet!