GardenSpotlight

This week at market, we are adding freshly dug garlic, patty pan squash and salad cucumbers to our produce line-up.  Yum...all farm fresh picked!

Garlic Scapes are the stem and seed pot of the garlic bulb.  Garlic is usually planted sometime between September and October.  The cloves are separated from the bulbs, some of the papery skin is rubbed off and the cloves are planted separately, about 10 - 12" apart in rows.  The garlic bulb must go through a period of vernalization, which is basically the cold period through the winter.  This vernalization is necessary for the plant to flower the following season.  However, when producing garlic, we don't want the plant to go to flower, so the scapes which harbor the seed pods are removed while they are still green.  These scapes have the same garlic flavor as the bulbs and are widely used in cooking but only available for a very short period of time.  This year, being that we had such a mild winter and early spring, the scapes are about a month early.  We typically don't harvest them until the beginning of July.  The remaining leaves o...

Thanks so much to all who attended the Healthy Eating Festival at our local farmers' market! We all had a great time, farmers and customers alike. In addition to all the wonderful fresh produce, all-natural meat and flowers, several of the farmers cooked up some great recipes to share with everyone. I promised I would post a recipe I shared for our snap beans and plum tomatoes: 2 quarts green beans (or 1 quart each green and yellow beans) Plum Tomatoes - about 4 medium sized, chopped Olive Oil Italian Seasoning Garlic Powder Basil - fresh or dried, to taste Fresh Garlic - about 4 cloves, peeled, crushed and chopped Wash and trim beans. Coat bottom of large skillet with pure olive oil (it's so much healthier than canola and vegetable oil). Heat oil over medium heat and toss in crushed, chopped garlic and cook for about 45 seconds. Add beans, stir with the oil in the pan and cook, covered, over medium heat about 7 minutes. Stir again, add Italian seasoning and garlic po...