drdawg said:The second grower only had 'Elephant' garlic though the sign only said "GARLIC". I asked him whether he knew that Elephant garlic was not even a garlic, but was more closely related to the onion. With a sly grin, he said: "Oh, you are just splitting hairs". He did not care! I guess I should not have cared either, but I did. I did not say another word. He knew that I knew he was falsely labeling an "Onion" as a "Garlic". I had made my point and felt better doing so! Sometimes I wish I did not know as much as I do about certain things. Then I wouldn't care about what I didn't know.

Like I said earlier, "If they DID know, they wouldn't tell us because they want to encourage our shopping". Or words to that effect. It's a rare seller who's in it for the love of the product. They just want the money.

Hey Dawg - you haven't commented on my reply to your GREEN question....

I will take exception to the comments about the sellers just wanting the money because we sell lots of garlic at market and we try to educate our customers as much as possible.

We will be harvesting our garlic probably in the next month. I am anxious to see how it fares because, like Ken, it has been a great year weather wise. I know my onions are the best ever!!!!

abhege said:I will take exception to the comments about the sellers just wanting the money because we sell lots of garlic at market and we try to educate our customers as much as possible.

That's why I said MOST. I vend at the flea market myself and I try to educate people about the plants they get from me.

But I also know a lot of the other vendors are not so kind.

Actually I didn't say "most", did I?
I said it's rare to be up front and honest.
And my experience has been that it is.

Tell me the question/answer again, GREEN.

Oh I'm too tired right now to even understand that post!!!

drdawg said:GREEN, what's a "green clove"? I have never heard of that term. I need some (much needed) education here. Thanks.

Is this what you need?

drdawg said:I think we have all become pretty cynical, GREEN. By the way, did you ever explain what a "Green" garlic clove was? If you did, I missed it somehow. Tell me again.

And this?

crittergarden said:I am confused as to how that started..... Let me go back and see if I can see......

Then this?

crittergarden said:OK, I found THIS, posted by YOU on May 16:
It would be the same for us, GREEN.

Which came before THIS, posted by ME, later on May 16:
sells green cloves in BULK for cheap

I THINK I thought you used the word "green" to mean "fresh".
Either that or I was trying to say "peeled" and my brain hiccupped.
It happens.

And this?

My head is swimming.
I'm signing off for the night.

Ken wrote: >>The hardneck doesn't necessarily go bad when the clock chimes "Four months", but it has a tendency to begin sprouting. It wants to go in the ground, and four months from harvest is when it will begin to be planted.

And where I live it's more like 2-3 months after harvest that I start planting again... and by the time spring rolls around both the hardneck and softneck that are left have begun to sprout, but then I stick some in the ground to harvest for "green garlic" while I wait for the real harvest. If I moved south I'd definitely have to learn how to garden all over again!!

Arlene wrote: >>we sell lots of garlic at market and we try to educate our customers as much as possible.

Arlene, I think that's exactly as it should be! What's the point of dealing directly with the grower if you don't get any better information than you do at the supermarket? As a gardener, and I'm sure most other gardeners will agree, it can be hard for me to remember that not everyone understands how this stuff works. Obviously, we all learn something new every day, but I mean the very basic stuff -- like "plant garlic (and other bulbs) with the root side down." "Keep the seeds moist after planting." "Colored peppers are green (usually, anyway) peppers that have gotten ripe." "No, your potatoes and tomatoes didn't cross and make 'potato tomatoes', those are potato seed pods." On the other hand, the people who know absolutely nothing about growing food almost undoubtedly know a heck of a lot more than I do about other things... and I love talking about gardening!

Ken and Crittergarden!! I think we have a disconnect here -- Crittergarden, Ken wasn't referring to the garlic when he wrote "GREEN," he was referring to you, because of the "surprisingly GREEN" thing over on the right side where your name would be. At least, that's what I THINK happened.

Too much, too much. And a couple of glasses of wine with dinner doesn't help! It is bedtime. Good night all.

The difference between an onion and a garlic is "just splitting hairs"?? I hope that when he puts ketchup on a burger, he doesn't confuse it with dishwashing liquid!



>> if in doubt, just add some garlic and hot peppers)

Amen!

>> a couple of glasses of wine with dinner

Amen to that, too! For me, it's one bottle of strong PNW beer or IPA.

>> Mac and cheese,

I learned from shoveling spices into my M&C that there CAN be such a thing as too much garlic, at least if I'm working with dried supermarket "California Garlic". Also there CAN be too much chili powder, thoguh that also dfeels like a heresey.

At least I do melt real cheese into M&C, along with canned mushroom soup (my other "default ingredient").

I think the lowest, most shameful part of nmy cusine is that I used to cut up boiled hot dogs into many dishes. At least I've graduated to cutting up keilbasa.

Sometimes when I check out of a supermarket with nothing but "bachelor foods" in my cart, I want to make excuses for eating so unhealthily, or say that I do eat SOME green things, (there's little else to do with them after GROWING them).

IF the "surprisingly GREEN pittsburgh" is what Ken was referring to, I mean it in several was.

43% tree cover - I think we're top for US cities.
LEEDS platinum buildings, and other LEEDS certified buildings.
A growing community/school garden movement.
Our new mayor, ,who's technically a Democrat but behaves very GREENly.

I have been green since before that was the word for it.
I was blown away by the LEEDS stuff when I got here and the city has done nothing but get greenER in these 11 years.

Going off on a slightly different track here... I've read, from multiple sources, that once garlic starts to sprout it becomes bitter. Apparently my palate is not that discerning, because it tastes like garlic to me! I'm talking cooked garlic here -- not really too into eating it raw... what do the rest of you think?

Sprouting garlic does become bitter. It wants to go in the ground, not on the plate. Harkneck is the worst of the garlics to do this and that's the reason they should be used first.

Something I've never tried is using the "garlic scapes" -- the stalks that grow up from hardneck garlic and form a flower or a cluster of bulbils. They can be harvested -- and doing so is supposed to let the plant put more energy into growing the garlic bulb -- and cut up to use in salads, or cooked, or pickled. Has anyone else tried this? One thing that I read while researching this is that "the scape must be curled" in order to be tender, otherwise it will be tough. This would be a nice way of getting some early garlic flavor into your cooking, while also potentially helping the garlic bulbs grow larger. Opinions?