Seed Garlic Vs. Farmers' Market - Garlic Harvest 2014

In October 2013, my friend Kate and I decided to undertake a little research project. We wanted to know how organic seed garlic purchased through City Folk's Farm Shop from Seeds of Change compared to large, fully developed cloves from reputable farmers' market growers. Many garlic growers keep back their own seed stock and it stood to reason that maybe those of us who don't have seed stock could save a little cash and perpetuate locally adapted strains by buying from a farmers' market vendor.

So we planted four varieties of garlic in two different locations in the garden. They all grew well, we ate the scapes, and then as leaves faded it was time to harvest. What seed source would win?

It turns out that our paper map (which is a more detailed record than I usually keep) was missing one critical component: number of cloves planted. Wooden markers long degraded, we couldn't quite tell where one variety stopped and another began. This made comparing the harvest difficult.

We only grew Broadleaf Czech garlic from Seed Saver's Exchange. It made tiny little heads with many little cloves which means fiddly peeling work to cook with it. We won't be growing Czech again.

The Music or Elephant varieties grew similarly whether from farmers' market or Seed Saver's Exchange seed stock as far as we could tell from our incomplete documentation. Elephant is fun to grow because it produces big heads of big cloves, but it doesn't keep well so we know we won't ever rely on that variety alone.

The one obvious, undeniable conclusion was that the German Hardneck harvest from Gerry's Garden, a Clintonville Farmer's Market vendor, produced bigger heads than the Seed Saver's Exchange seed garlic. Overall, this variety was the most vigorous producer too. Our 2015 garlic plot (planted in just a few months) will be dominated by German Hardneck seed stock that we hold back from our 2014 harvest.

How did your garlic grow this year? On Thursday I'll share how we harvested and cured our 100+ heads of garlic.

PS. I'm teaching about harvesting and produce storage techniques at City Folk's Farm Shop on Thursday evening. Seats are still available!

Seed Garlic Vs. Farmers' Market - Garlic Harvest 2014

In October 2013, my friend Kate and I decided to undertake a little research project. We wanted to know how organic seed garlic purchased through City Folk's Farm Shop from Seeds of Change compared to large, fully developed cloves from reputable farmers' market growers. Many garlic growers keep back their own seed stock and it stood to reason that maybe those of us who don't have seed stock could save a little cash and perpetuate locally adapted strains by buying from a farmers' market vendor.

So we planted four varieties of garlic in two different locations in the garden. They all grew well, we ate the scapes, and then as leaves faded it was time to harvest. What seed source would win?

It turns out that our paper map (which is a more detailed record than I usually keep) was missing one critical component: number of cloves planted. Wooden markers long degraded, we couldn't quite tell where one variety stopped and another began. This made comparing the harvest difficult.

We only grew Broadleaf Czech garlic from Seed Saver's Exchange. It made tiny little heads with many little cloves which means fiddly peeling work to cook with it. We won't be growing Czech again.

The Music or Elephant varieties grew similarly whether from farmers' market or Seed Saver's Exchange seed stock as far as we could tell from our incomplete documentation. Elephant is fun to grow because it produces big heads of big cloves, but it doesn't keep well so we know we won't ever rely on that variety alone.

The one obvious, undeniable conclusion was that the German Hardneck harvest from Gerry's Garden, a Clintonville Farmer's Market vendor, produced bigger heads than the Seed Saver's Exchange seed garlic. Overall, this variety was the most vigorous producer too. Our 2015 garlic plot (planted in just a few months) will be dominated by German Hardneck seed stock that we hold back from our 2014 harvest.

How did your garlic grow this year? On Thursday I'll share how we harvested and cured our 100+ heads of garlic.

PS. I'm teaching about harvesting and produce storage techniques at City Folk's Farm Shop on Thursday evening. Seats are still available!

Wild Estes Park Colorado {Silent Sunday}

1) Bouldering in an Estes Park City Park  2) Face painting at Highland Farmers Market in Denver 3) Market sign at Highland Farmers Market 4) Lil collecting hail in one of three hail storms 5) Wildflowers in Estes Park (We later learned that the pink thistle is invasive.) 6) Alex throwing a snowball in Rocky Mountain National Park  7) Kite flying 8) Scene from our miniature movie inspired by the tiny wild succulent and cactus garden. 9) Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park 10) Stunning view walking into Estes Park Farmers Market 11) Spirit Hound Distillers menu 12) Lyon's Pinball arcade 13) Stream walking at Rocky Mountain National Park 14) Wild parsnip and pollinators at  Rocky Mountain National Park

There's a story behind each of these images - which do you want to read?

Wild Estes Park Colorado {Silent Sunday}

1) Bouldering in an Estes Park City Park  2) Face painting at Highland Farmers Market in Denver 3) Market sign at Highland Farmers Market 4) Lil collecting hail in one of three hail storms 5) Wildflowers in Estes Park (We later learned that the pink thistle is invasive.) 6) Alex throwing a snowball in Rocky Mountain National Park  7) Kite flying 8) Scene from our miniature movie inspired by the tiny wild succulent and cactus garden. 9) Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park 10) Stunning view walking into Estes Park Farmers Market 11) Spirit Hound Distillers menu 12) Lyon's Pinball arcade 13) Stream walking at Rocky Mountain National Park 14) Wild parsnip and pollinators at  Rocky Mountain National Park

There's a story behind each of these images - which do you want to read?

A Gift of Green BEAN Delivery

A few weeks ago, the fine folks at Green B.E.A.N. contacted me about some updates in the works. I reviewed Green B.E.A.N. a few years ago and concluded then that the service was useful and cost effective, so I was interested to see what was new. My brother in law and his wife recently welcomed their first baby, Lil's first cousin, into the world. They live in Saint Louis which is too far for us to support them in our usual way by making meals. Unlike flowers that fade and clothes that are outgrown quickly, new parents can always use healthy food. The email from Green B.E.A.N. came at exactly the right time because Green BEAN could deliver for us!

Ordering a gift through Green B.E.A.N. was simple. I just set up an account with my payment information and my brother in law's delivery address. I chose the organic produce I want delivered plus a few healthy treats each week. Green B.E.A.N., available in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky, takes care of the rest.

The recently redesigned website features enticing photographs and descriptions of each option. Items you add to the bin are conveniently displayed on the right sidebar so you don't have to scroll up and down the page to see your total. I appreciate the methods of sorting the available foods because I can easily select vegan foods for my sister in law and see which vegetables are coming from local farms.

I'm impressed with the updates to the website and the ease of ordering for my out-of-town family. The account information is easy to access and it will be easy to cancel when I'm ready. I feel good about sending my growing family some healthy, growing food.

If you want to give the gift of Green B.E.A.N. delivery or start up service yourself, use code 15HHml for $15 off your first bin through July 29.

Disclosure: Green B.E.A.N. provided one bin for my review. I purchased the gift bins myself and all opinions remain my own.

A Gift of Green BEAN Delivery

A few weeks ago, the fine folks at Green B.E.A.N. contacted me about some updates in the works. I reviewed Green B.E.A.N. a few years ago and concluded then that the service was useful and cost effective, so I was interested to see what was new. My brother in law and his wife recently welcomed their first baby, Lil's first cousin, into the world. They live in Saint Louis which is too far for us to support them in our usual way by making meals. Unlike flowers that fade and clothes that are outgrown quickly, new parents can always use healthy food. The email from Green B.E.A.N. came at exactly the right time because Green BEAN could deliver for us!

Ordering a gift through Green B.E.A.N. was simple. I just set up an account with my payment information and my brother in law's delivery address. I chose the organic produce I want delivered plus a few healthy treats each week. Green B.E.A.N., available in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky, takes care of the rest.

The recently redesigned website features enticing photographs and descriptions of each option. Items you add to the bin are conveniently displayed on the right sidebar so you don't have to scroll up and down the page to see your total. I appreciate the methods of sorting the available foods because I can easily select vegan foods for my sister in law and see which vegetables are coming from local farms.

I'm impressed with the updates to the website and the ease of ordering for my out-of-town family. The account information is easy to access and it will be easy to cancel when I'm ready. I feel good about sending my growing family some healthy, growing food.

If you want to give the gift of Green B.E.A.N. delivery or start up service yourself, use code 15HHml for $15 off your first bin through July 29.

Disclosure: Green B.E.A.N. provided one bin for my review. I purchased the gift bins myself and all opinions remain my own.

Spread the Love Sunday & Ohio History Center Giveaway!

Now that I have the bad news of the chicken slaughter off my chest, it's time to share some good news:

1) First, I'm thrilled to announce that I was selected to be part of the US delegation to Slow Food International's Terra Madre and Salone de Gusto in Turin, Italy this October! I'm excited to represent small farmers at the conference and to learn from more experienced growers and food producers. Soon, I'll share details about how you can participate by supporting the delegation through farm-to-table fundraisers.

2) My friends Joel and Dana of WellPreserved.ca just announced their book project and The Home Ec Big Outdoor Party. Congrats to them! If you happen to live or visit the Toronto area in mid September, I'm sure the party will be a blast.

3) Have you heard about The Commissary? It's a new commercial test kitchen, co-working space, and connection point for the central Ohio food community being built in Grandview. I support their Kickstarter campaign to outfit the community space where folks can hold cooking classes, private events, and pop-up restaurants. Can you support them too?

4) Not another Kickstarter?! Well, yes. The Shazzbots, a seriously entertaining kids band in Columbus is raising money for a TV pilot. We've loved the Shazzbots since Lil was a little duder and any time we can encourage decent television among the stratosphere of mind-rotting junk, we want to support that. Give the Shazzbots TV pilot project a look - they even have a $1 reward!

5) Sprout It gardening app is holding a Jeni's ice cream contest just for trying out their garden planning software. The info in the software is solid and it automatically sends email reminders with growing tips. Download the app and enter the contest by Monday. 

6) To spread the love to you, I'm giving away three two-packs of tickets to the Ohio Village & Museum provided by the newly-rebranded Ohio History Connection. The 1800s historical Ohio Village includes a town hall, school, church, houses, barns, and more.

We visited the Soldier's Aid fair a few weeks ago and saw tin type photography in action. Another favorite part of the village is the gardens that include chickens this year!

If you want to visit the Ohio Village & Museum with a friend, tell me how you're spreading the love these days. Leave a comment below by Thursday, July 3. I will choose three random winners on 7.4.14.

Spread the Love Sunday & Ohio History Center Giveaway!

Now that I have the bad news of the chicken slaughter off my chest, it's time to share some good news:

1) First, I'm thrilled to announce that I was selected to be part of the US delegation to Slow Food International's Terra Madre and Salone de Gusto in Turin, Italy this October! I'm excited to represent small farmers at the conference and to learn from more experienced growers and food producers. Soon, I'll share details about how you can participate by supporting the delegation through farm-to-table fundraisers.

2) My friends Joel and Dana of WellPreserved.ca just announced their book project and The Home Ec Big Outdoor Party. Congrats to them! If you happen to live or visit the Toronto area in mid September, I'm sure the party will be a blast.

3) Have you heard about The Commissary? It's a new commercial test kitchen, co-working space, and connection point for the central Ohio food community being built in Grandview. I support their Kickstarter campaign to outfit the community space where folks can hold cooking classes, private events, and pop-up restaurants. Can you support them too?

4) Not another Kickstarter?! Well, yes. The Shazzbots, a seriously entertaining kids band in Columbus is raising money for a TV pilot. We've loved the Shazzbots since Lil was a little duder and any time we can encourage decent television among the stratosphere of mind-rotting junk, we want to support that. Give the Shazzbots TV pilot project a look - they even have a $1 reward!

5) Sprout It gardening app is holding a Jeni's ice cream contest just for trying out their garden planning software. The info in the software is solid and it automatically sends email reminders with growing tips. Download the app and enter the contest by Monday. 

6) To spread the love to you, I'm giving away three two-packs of tickets to the Ohio Village & Museum provided by the newly-rebranded Ohio History Connection. The 1800s historical Ohio Village includes a town hall, school, church, houses, barns, and more.

We visited the Soldier's Aid fair a few weeks ago and saw tin type photography in action. Another favorite part of the village is the gardens that include chickens this year!

If you want to visit the Ohio Village & Museum with a friend, tell me how you're spreading the love these days. Leave a comment below by Thursday, July 3. I will choose three random winners on 7.4.14.