Vegetables Archives - A Country Girl's Heart -Beats that Matter

September 26, 2023September 26, 2023

How to Raise Garlic: Production and Storage

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I am cheering for the completed garlic harvest. 2023 marks the 7th year I harvested this nutritious and easy grow food. For several years I planted 2 to 3 times more than the previous year bringing the total to around 600 bulbs of 7 varieties of hard neck garlic in 2022. This post will focus on hard neck garlic.

Read about my first year growing experience below:

Garlic

2022-2023 Planting Improvements

After attending the Indiana Homesteaders Conference in the fall of 2022, I put together information gathered at a couple of the sessions and came up with a couple new ideas to try on the garlic project. The following is what I did and the results. I planted between 700 and 800 cloves of 7 varieties.

First, I planted the garlic in plots or groups by variety instead of planting in rows. I used the hand cultivator to work up the soil. Next in 3 of the plots I added compost from our farm compost pile. This has been aging several years with no fancy process. (I did not turn it.) It is basically a manure pile that has broken down over time. It does get a good helping of leaves dumped on it each fall via the trees around it.

Compost added before planting garlic.

After garlic was planted

I found by planting in plots I used less garden space and since the bulbs were in close proximity there was less space for weeds. Notice I said less space, the weeds still appeared. I considered this a win and plan to continue growing garlic in such fashion.

The 3 plots I added garlic to were Spanish Rojo, Metechi and Majestic. Keep in mind we had a rather dry start the end of May and June seen only a small amount of rainfall. I did a better job watering the Spanish Rojo of the 3 plots I added compost to when planting.

The Results

Spanish Rojo turned out amazing. They are typically a smaller bulb to begin with but in the 22-23 season I grew the biggest Spanish Rojo bulbs I have ever grown. The other 2, Majestic and Metechi were at least average if not an improvement over last year. I did not water them as much and suspect our dry spell made the difference. I definitely plan to add compost to all the garlic plots when I plant again this fall.

Pictured here I added hay chaff after the garlic was planted as I have every year.

A spring view of 2 garlic plots the separation space is visible.

Keep in mind your soil may or may not need compost or other additions to produce a better garlic. I am not examining all soil needs in this post. Rather I am sharing my personal garlic growing experience. I do discuss farther on in the post general soil requirements for optimal garlic production.

Soft Neck Garlic?

I gave soft neck garlic a try for the first time in 2023. when I get a post written I will link it here.

How much does it cost to grow?

I get excited for ways to grow food for little to no out of pocket cost. Growing your own garlic becomes a sustainable process costing $0 after you purchase your initial start if you select and save a part of your harvest for next years crop. I go over what to look for as you select cloves for planting from your harvest and best places to find your original seed to begin planting.

How to Plant Garlic

Best practice for acquiring seed.

Did you know much of the garlic purchased in a local grocery came from China or other counties? Little is documented as to how it was raised, potentially with chemicals or other impure methods. Local farmers markets are a great source for purchasing to begin growing your own.

Another reason to find a local source allows you to choose from different varieties. Here at CG Heartbeats Farm, I am raising Metechi, Majestic, Music, Montana, German, Spanish Rojo, and Elephant.

If you are not happy with your local options, search online for garlic raised locally in the United States. CG Heartbeats Farm offers an online purchasing option and at local farmer’s markets. In the past I utilized both online and local buying options for my first crop and to add new varieties.

Spanish Rojo Garlic smaller in size has an earthy flavor.

Metechi produces slightly more oil when pressed.

Montana Garlic has a mild flavor and 6 cloves per bulb.

Majestic

Click on the garlic of your choice to pre-order your selection.

Music Garlic is mild similar to Montana in flavor.

Elephant is known for its mild flavor as it is actually from the leek family.

German Garlic provides a strong flavor for stews and other cooking projects.

Limited availability of all varieties

When to plant hard neck garlic?

As a general rule, plant hard neck garlic before the ground freezes. As I recently finished up my 6th growing season, I want to share an observation from my 2020 harvest.

Our 2019 fall stretched long into a late ground freeze. Hence, the timing of when I planted the cloves occurred later than previous years. I will need to check the dates to know exactly how much later.

Trouble Shooting My 2020 Harvest

I found as I harvested many of the bulbs were not as large as previous years. Why were the bulbs smaller? One reason may be a shorter growing season, brought about by the late planting. I did not harvest any later, if anything some I harvested earlier. The condition of the stalks strongly indicated even when I did harvest, I was late in harvesting. No opportunity on the harvest end to lengthen the growing season.

An earlier planting provides space for a longer growing season. By earlier in northern Indiana, I am talking mid to late October vs. late November to early December. I want to begin planting garlic by mid October and be finished in the first week of November.

Factors I consider as to why the bulbs were smaller this year

Shorter growing season (late plant)
Late freeze and multiple dips in spring temps late into spring
High moisture both in the chaff (ground cover) and in the soil itself.
Soil not draining as well as often due to our wet spring.

How to Plant Hard Neck Garlic?

I trench rows with a hoe. Set 1 clove 3 to 4 inches apart down the trench and cover with soil. I push each clove down into the soil a little to keep it standing upright. I cover the cloves with around 1 -2 inches of soil.

Where to plant?

Garlic does best in well-drained soil which still contains decent fertile matter. Too much moisture in the soil seems to discourage larger bulbs from developing.

The Growing Process

After planting, I cover the ground with hay chaff left over from where the hay is stored. As much as I have available, I put wood chips on top of the hay chaff.

A challenge of growing a greater number of bulbs this year was not having enough wood chips to cover all the planted cloves. Instead I added additional chaff and by happenstance it also had a bit of shavings and chicken manure mixed in. I am going to make sure I stick closer to 100% chaff next season.

The wood chips and chicken manure trapped too much moisture in our wetter than usual spring. I found too many stalks had started to rot, while the soil below where the bulb sat was completely dry. Chaff alone seems less likely to create this problem.

Like I said, we had an unusually wet spring and I am certain this fact influenced the stalk decay as well. On a dry year trapping the moisture benefits the plant.

Once planted, the only other important chore is keeping any weeds at bay.

In the spring the green leaves appear as early as February. If you wonder as I did will a frost or freeze damage the growing plants? The answer is no. The tops may brown, but the growth continues.

The garlic reached above my knees in May. We had a freeze warning. We did cover the plants with plastic propped up with portable fence posts, tomato cages, and driveway markers. Pretty much anything we had around that would prop the plastic up over the green plants. I did not loose any from the weather, but it is another factor I consider when I wonder why the bulbs were smaller in general this year.

Scapes

If you like garlic, there is nothing quite like a freshly picked scape. In season for only a week or two, I ate one almost daily for a week. I also enjoyed them on chili. Other years I have make a delicious garlic scape pesto (see this post for ingredients)

What is a garlic scape?

The top of a hard neck garlic plant will produce a flower if not removed. At first, it appears to curl around completely, but over time it will straighten and produce a flower.

Scapes are removed to allow a plant to put its energy into growing a larger bulb. If left alone, the flower will produce seed and it is another way to start garlic. Growing from seed involves 2 growing seasons instead of one. I have not tried producing garlic form seed instead of cloves, but I am saving seeds from Elephant garlic this year to experiment with.

Exactly when a scape is removed influences the size of a bulb and impacts the storage life of a bulb. A scape removed later promotes longer storage. If you do not remove the scape at all a flower will appear and eventually seeds.

Be aware you will likely grow smaller garlic bulbs, but the seeds can be used in cooking too. The size of the flowers and seeds vary depending on the variety.

Order Garlic

Grown with no chemicals at CG Heartbeats Farm

Excited to offer shipped garlic.
Now order and pay for online.
Ships in September and October
Limited to the lower 48 states in the US.

Order Today

Harvest and Storage

Garlic can be harvested, eaten immediately, or cured before eating.

When is the best time to harvest?

In northern Indiana harvest usually happens in July when the bottom 3 or 4 leaves turn brown.

How to harvest?

When I can, I simply tug upward on the stalk. If the ground is dry or the stalks wet, I use a shovel to carefully loosen the soil around each bulb.

A word of caution! Be careful to leave enough space between the bulb and the shovel to refrain from damaging a bulb with the shovel. Ask me how I know? Experience! Last year for some reason I damaged quite a few. This year only one I can recall.

Sorting Garlic

How do I choose the best cloves for seed?

The largest cloves will produce the biggest bulbs so these are the ones I save back to plant next years crop with.

I also do not use any bulbs which are blotted by spots of any kind. While it grows without many issues, I want to use the healthiest cloves for planting.

The Curing Process

I try to hang garlic for around 4 weeks before I consider it completely cured. However, there is nothing wrong with eating some as soon as it is harvested. I may lay it flat, bulbs and stacks, for a day or two prior to hanging it depending on my schedule.

Garlic can be laid out to dry, too. I prefer to hang it by the stalks to allow any oil in the stalk to run down into the bulb. Inevitably, each year I end up with bulbs and no stalks, due to harvest error or late harvest. These I lay out to dry, but if I am going to consume garlic after harvest, it will be the stalkless bulbs,

Storing Garlic

Best places to store your harvested bulbs? Place in dry, dark areas with good air circulation such as paper bags or wire baskets. Keeping it in a refrigerator creates a moisture rich environment causing garlic to sprout and soften faster. I do NOT recommend storing it in a refrigerator.

Braids

Braids provide a gorgeous storage option. I have yet to try my hand at braiding it. The soft neck variety is the best choice for braiding. However, it is on my bucket list along with growing from seed (instead of cloves), fermenting, and pickling garlic.

Spanish Rojo Garlic smaller in size has an earthy flavor.

Metechi produces slightly more oil when pressed.

Montana Garlic has a mild flavor and 6 cloves per bulb.

Majestic

Click on the garlic of your choice to pre-order your selection.

Music Garlic is mild similar to Montana in flavor.

Elephant is known for its mild flavor as it is actually from the leek family.

German Garlic provides a strong flavor for stews and other cooking projects.

Limited availability of all varieties

2023 -2024 Goals

There are a few ideas for creating trenches to help with watering plots in case of a drought for future growing seasons simmering in my head.

I grew soft neck garlic for the first time in 2023. Now, I hope with some modification my crop will yield larger bulbs.

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November 14, 2020November 14, 2020

Tokiwa Tokyo Green: How to Raise Abundant, Heirloom Cucumbers

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Tokiwa Tokyo Green Cucumbers were one of the 10 seed packets I picked as a gift from Baker Creek Seeds in the Fall of 2019. I really wanted a different cucumber variety, but this one was the only available. I felt disappointed at the time.

Based on the information on the package Tokyo Green Cucumbers grow in partial shade and…. I decided to plant in what I called the Niederrheiner Garden (because it is near the Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner outdoor pen). As a side note, the Niederrheiner pen sat exactly where the garden currently is.

I use my flock to kill off the sod as preparation for garden space. You can read how I use Chickens on the Homestead by clicking below.

Planting Tokiwa Tokyo Green Seeds

I planted every seed I had of the Tokiwa Tokyo Green Cucumbers in a 10 foot row about 4 inches apart. If it was a lack of water or other reason, only 4 or 5 ever sprouted.

I left for a week and came home to find weeds had choked out all but 2 of my seedlings, one growing on each end of my 10 foot row.

Trust

My desire to be positive produced my honest thought, maybe God know something I did not. To be clear, I do not always think this way. But in this instance, this was on my mind with peace in my heart. ‘Trust me’, seemed to be the answer to my disappointment with the lack of sprouting and development.

As a bigger picture the Quinoa did not sprout at all. In this instance I needed to learn my mistake of not planting it early enough. I had no such indication I needed to trust God’s sovereignty about the Quinoa.

Are you familiar with the passage in Matthew 13? Sowing seeds reminds me how Jesus shares the parable of the sower and the various reasons seeds may not produce a harvest. Beyond the garden these truths hold a lesson for how we invest into the lives of others.
~ Maria Graber

Setting up the Trellis

I drove T posts on each end of my row. Repurposing twine from opened hay bales I strung a single string from one post to the other. Tokiwa Tokyo Green Cucumbers vine well.

I planted them close to the Lincoln Peas intending to vine both. The plants will grow and the unwanted vegetation will be choked out by the vegetables. But when the plants are young, those weeds need to be removed.

Weeds

Before leaving I left one string for the cucumbers to vine on. Check out the changes I found when I returned. I quickly added a second twine for the plants to continue vining upward.

These cucumbers really do great in the vining category. Several times a week I would remove them from the Lincoln pea trellis and put them back in their own space. Toward the end of the summer I let them go where they pleased.

Plant Development

The young plants grew rapidly and I found myself adding addition levels of twine 2 or 3 times in the next 5 to 6 weeks.

Flowers

Flowers appeared and my anticipation grew. I did not know what to expect in terms of shape, size and flavor.

Tokiwa Tokyo Green Cucumbers

Finally, I spotted tiny cucumbers growing on the vines. I noted some flowers did not produce cucumbers. . Both male and female flowers grow on one vine. One plant will pollinate itself.

I watched as the cucumbers grew, undecided when I should pick them. I learned they can be eaten at various sizes. The larger the cucumber the larger the seeds inside. (Sometimes) The weather impacted the seed development inside too.

There is a correlation between the bumpy or smoothness of the outer skin and the ripeness of the cucumber.

The bumpy exterior indicates a crisper cucumber with less developed seeds. The smoother skin and often larger cucumber indicates a softer, riper cucumber with larger, (and more developed) seeds.

Uses for Tokiwa Tokyo Green Cucumbers

Dill Pickles
Bread and Butter Pickles
Sweet Relish
Dill Relish
Cucumber Salad

How to Can Dill Pickles

How to Process Bread and Butter Pickles

The Process of Saving Tokiwa Seeds

There are a few different ways to go about saving seeds. I saved seeds 3 different ways from the Tokyo Green Cucumbers this year.

Saving Seeds in Mid-Summer

As I was processing cucumbers into pickles I took a few minuets to save seeds from one of the riper cucumbers. I did not want to miss an opportunity to save seeds in case circumstances prevented any further saving.

I kept back seeds from a riper cucumber and allowed them to dry on a paper plate. Here is what I had this fall.

The Last Cucumber of the Season

I left the last developed Tokiwa Tokyo Green cucumber on the vine well after the fall freeze killed the plant. I removed the seeds before the cucumber had completely dried.

Cutting into the cucumber with a knife, I picked the seeds out.

Saving Seeds from an Over Ripe Cucumber

I choose one of the larger cucumbers in August and allowed it to develop especially large. It was one I missed as I picked about 3 times a week. I wanted this cucumber to select seeds from for next years crop.

I allowed to it to sit and age for 3 months outside on a metal rack exposed to the elements. The ‘rack’ was the top of a wire dog kennel. The cucumber dried up as pictured below.

The cucumber had completely dried. I spent around 30 minutes extracting the seeds for future use. I became apparent despite the fact I had allowed the cucumber to grow large, some of the seeds had not developed enough to be used for planting.

Difference Between a Developed Seed and an Undeveloped Seed

A seed with the potential to sprout and grow a new plant is full, rounded on both sides.

An undeveloped seed will be flat, even pitted in the center and feels empty.

I found the largest number of developed seeds in the rear or larger half of the cucumber.

The front or skinnier portion of the cucumber contained many undeveloped seeds as pictured below.

Storing Tokiwa Tokyo Green Heirloom Seeds

I will store any seeds I have saved in a paper envelope labeled with the name of the seeds and year I saved them. Heirloom seeds often germinate and produce plants beyond the year after they were saved.

Seeds need some air and darkness. I have been advised to not store them in an air tight container such as glass or plastic. However, I am learning on this topic. Do you have any advice for me? Please leave a comment below if you do.

I intend to use these seeds and the produce of these seeds for years to come.

The Abundant Part

I was impressed by how the 2 plants continued to grow and produce up until a killing frost.

I canned 12 cups of relish, and around 32 pints of Dill pickles, and 34 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles from 2 plants. Not to mention all I fed the chickens and shared with friends and family. All. From. Two. Plants.

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July 31, 2020July 31, 2020

5 Ways to Use Garlic

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Here are 5 ways to use garlic in your kitchen. I have included recipes I created over the last few years.

One might need a bit of bravery to pop a whole clove of garlic in their mouth and start chewing. I have been known to do just that.

5 Ways to Use Garlic

Scrambled eggs
Goulash
Garlic tea
Bake
Sauté

Scrambled Eggs

Minced or pressed garlic is a favorite of mine when cooking scrambled eggs. I use a garlic press to create little pieces and press directly into a hot cast iron skillet after adding coconut oil.

Often, I add an extra clove or two for my own eating pleasure. After it caramelizes, but before it burns, I use a spatula to scoop the cooked pieces out on a plate to cool. Oh, the delicious taste! Of course, I only recommend if you actually like the taste of it. I will add heating the it takes the sting out. You know the burn you get eating it raw.

When I add garlic to scrambled eggs, I use a Mexican flavored shredded Colby Jack cheese, onion (sometimes) and peppers if I have them. Any time I make scrambled eggs, I add whipping cream to the eggs along with salt and pepper before placing in the pan.

Scrambled Egg Ingredient List

eggs
1 large garlic clove
¼ cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup shredded cheese
½ medium sized onion

Goulash

Another favorite dish of mine is a stovetop dish, I call goulash.

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger
½ to ¾ box of shell noodles
1 to 2 garlic cloves
a quart of V8 juice
1 pint of stewed tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Begin by heating water in a pot to cook the shell noodles. Start cooking the hamburger. Add the pressed pieces and chopped onion to the hamburger as it cooks. I add salt and pepper to the hamburger at this point.

Place the shell noodles in the boiling water.

When the hamburger has cooked thoroughly, I add a pint of stewed tomatoes, and a quart of V8 juice. Once this mixture begins steaming, I turn down the heat to a simmer.

As soon as the shell noodles are slightly soft, I drain the shell noodles and place them back into the pot I cooked them in. Next, I add the hamburger mixture. I continue to cook all the ingredients together until the shells are cook to desired softness.

After I dish out my portion, I top with Parmesan cheese.

Garlic Tea

I choose to drink garlic tea because mixing minced pieces with water removes the burning sensation I feel when eating it raw. But I am still getting the benefits of the raw product. I read waiting ½ hour after cutting or crushing enacts allicin.

Instructions

Heat water to boiling.
Place in cup.
Using a garlic press crush into pieces directly in a cup of boiling water (include the oil).
Cover and allow it to seep for 30 min.
Drink and if you desire eat the crushed garlic too.

Bake Garlic

Drizzle a whole clove with olive oil, coconut oil or other oil of your choice. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes covered to soften it. Uncover it, cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes to caramelize them.

Sauté

Using a skillet, place garlic cloves and oil of your choice. I like olive or coconut oil. Cook stirring often. When cloves are soft and caramelized remove skins. Eat as is or spread on bread.

Order garlic from CG Heartbeats Farm by clicking the link below.

CLick to order garlic

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April 25, 2020April 25, 2020

5 Reasons to Shop Local Farmers Markets

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I recently learned of a story telling how a great uncle hauled cucumbers into a local town about 7 to 10 miles from the homestead. Here sat large wooden barrels where cucumbers soaked to be hauled off on the train as pickles.

A picture of the place my great uncle hauled pickles. I wonder if my Grandpa did too.

It must have taken an entire day to drive with horses pulling a wagon loaded with cucumbers almost 10 miles, unload the cucumbers and drive home. Imagine the time involved in hand picking all those cucumbers before somebody in the family needed to spend an entire day hauling a load to town. Yet, in those days it was worth it? Our American society needs were different during that time.

I heard my great uncle had the following to say about hauling pickles:

“He said his Dad was one best pickle sorter and the pickle factory knew it. They always had him unloaded ahead rest of the wagons they knew he always had the best sorted pickle.”

These ‘days gone by’ marked the beginning of the industrialized and global market we know today. While some changes are good, others sadden me. Why does a farmer today need money from the government to survive when he or she produces one of the most important commodities for human life: food?

In our current crisis why does a farmer find themselves reliant on a global economy for income when neighbors need to eat? These same neighbors purchase food that may or may not have even been produced in our own country.

Why Local Farmer’s Markets Today

CG Heartbeats Farm table at a 2019 Market

Here is where I see a huge value in a local farmers market, not only do you support families in the community where you live, you are also able to gain first hand knowledge of practices used to produce the food you eat.

I am not sure how you think about this, but I hate it when I read ingredients on a package to realize there are several that I do not know what they are or why I want to put that inside of myself.

Does it take longer to cook your own food? Maybe, but not always. It is rather, a mind set shift. I would like to use garlic as an example. Until I began raising my own garlic, I always used the dry stuff that came in a shake out container.

Fresh Garlic vs. Dried Store Garlic Powder

Easy to open the cupboard and dump. But not much more work to use real garlic once you have a process in place. Mine looks like this:

Granted this does involve a few additional steps. Key in this process is a good garlic press. I have tried a few different ones. I highly recommend a quality hand garlic press to help the process go smoothly. The whole process takes me less than 5 minutes.

We just decided that it takes about 5 minuets or less to use real garlic, so what is the motivation behind adding a few more minuets to cooking a meal?

Health Benefits and Flavor

Health benefits first prompted me to start growing my own garlic. I found that it grows well here at CG Heartbeats Farm and most varieties grow rather large.

Order Garlic

Grown with no chemicals at CG Heartbeats Farm

Excited to offer shipped garlic.
Now order and pay for online.
Garlic ships in September and October
Limited to the lower 48 states in the US.

**Click Here** or on **above picture** to order / pre-order garlic. 2020 garlic crop ships in September or October.

Order Today

Using fresh food enhances flavor dramatically. This applies anytime a person uses a fresh food, even home processed (frozen, canned, or dried) over some similar product processed in _______ (Who knows? Fill in the blank.)

These days I find it most unfortunate the difficulty of knowing truly where food came from. A label may only read a location in the United States where a package was distributed from. I feel a disappointed at the lack of disclosure on several different factors of many food options today.
~ M. Graber

5 Reasons for Shopping Local Farmers Market

Here are my top reasons for choosing to shop at local farmers market. We can all utilize our local markets as often as possible.

What reasons would you add to what I listed above? Leave a comment sharing why you find local farmers markets important.

Shop Online at Local Farmers Market

Relevant to our current call to social distance, a new way to shop at local farmers markets has emerged. Online shopping with local pick up. One market in Culver, Indiana uses a web company called Local Line. CG Heartbeats Farm now offers online ordering as a part of Culver Farmers Market. Check it out if you are in or near Marshall County Indiana as this site is for local sales ONLY! https://www.localline.ca/cg-heartbeats-farm

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November 20, 2019July 22, 2020

Garlic ~ Year 4

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This fall marks the 4^th year I have planted garlic. I love thinking back to the first year. I planted about 6 cloves each of 3 varieties: Music, Montana, and German. I recall my Dad helped me prep the ground in a flower bed I was not using for anything.

Really, it was one of the easier spots to dig here on the farm. Despite my attempts of keeping the weeds out, the grass roots (unwanted growth = weeds) were well established. At one time a flower bed, I had in previous seasons dug up the grasses. The ground was rarely walked on and was soft here.

We dug with shovels and sifted through the soil to remove roots. The small amount of space we needed might have been 2 ½ ‘ x 2 ‘.

Each year since I have saved back a portion of the garlic I grew and used it to plant more the next year, growing in numbers. I will skip ahead here in the story to say this past week I planted around 350 cloves of 5 varieties.

I posted the last 2 years sharing the experience of planting garlic.

Garlic and Garlic Year 3

Spanish Rojo

I added a new variety last year, Spanish Rojo (or Spanish Red). This variety came up a few weeks later or even a month then the Music, Montana and German. Also it produced smaller greens from the beginning. No surprise really the bulbs were about half the size (or even smaller) compared to the other varieties.

Benefits of a smaller size: On several occasions I popped a clove in my mouth and ate it. These are the perfect size for that. Yes I had to pucker my face, but I knew my health would benefit. I found folks that might only be cooking for one or two people wanted to purchase a smaller bulb. Again the Spanish Rojo was a perfect fit.

New Ground

Garlic has done well here at CG Heartbeats Farm producing large cloves over all. Last year I out grew the flower bed. Rather, I had found a new way to remove sod. I share about that in Chickens on the Homestead. Briefly, I allowed the chickens to kill off sod and used that space for gardens. I did still turn over the soil and look for roots to remove.

While I planted Montana, German and the new Spanish Rojo garlic in the flower bed by the house. I moved a 5’ by 5’ chicken pen and planted around 34 cloves of Music garlic in that area

That ground produced the some of the largest bulbs harvested in 2019. I decided that this year the Spanish Rojo will be going in ground where a chicken pen had been. I want to see if the bulbs will grow bigger there. Not that it is all bad to offer a smaller size bulb. There did seem to be a demand for it.

Harvesting in 2019

We had an incredible wet spring in 2019. The grass and every thing grew like crazy. A rule of thumb I go by is to wait until the bottom 4 leaves have died off to harvest the bulbs. I guess I miss counted or the bottom leave left no trace of its existence? Anyway, some of the bulbs seemed like they should have been harvested earlier. No loss for me, they will still be good for planting and that is what I did with those bulbs.

Garlic and Farmer’s Markets

I felt happy to bring 4 healthy varieties of garlic to the 2 local markets I attended last summer. I enjoyed the conversations on the topic of garlic. I liked hearing others also grew garlic.

Next year I plant to offer an online buying options and you might find CG Heartbeats Farm garlic in a local store.

A new Variety

I choose Elephant as the new variety to plant this year, bringing the total varieties of garlic here at CG Heartbeats Farm to 5. I read they had a lighter sweeter taste and grow as large as softballs. Wow! Now the bulb I purchased ($10.95 + shipping) was not much larger than some of the music bulb I grew this year. A couple of the elephant cloves were definitely larger. I made sure to plant them in the new garden ground that had been a chicken pen.

Humm wonder how big they will get. I read that the tops grow 5 to 7 feet tall. In hindsight I needed to plant them on the north end of the garden not the south end. They may cast a shadow on the shorter garlic varieties. I am leaving room to improve it seems.

2020 Garlic Crop

Planting garlic this fall happened in shifts as it seems to each year. Every year I seem to fight the feeling as good as I want to when I go about this activity. And yet each year I am getting more planted. This gives me a satisfied feeling.

I did prep the ground and plant all the 340 + cloves with in one week. I will add this is all happening by hand, in its entirety. I started on a Tuesday removing the corn stalks and some bean plants. The next day I made it outside around dusk and worked by a flashlight for around 3 hours. I had removed all plants, worked the soil only to remove unwanted rooted green plants (mostly grass), and planted 97 cloves of German Garlic.

On Thursday I planted Spanish Rojo and Elephant in the rest of the garden I had cleared on Wednesday night.

On Friday my friend Beth came over to help me. We prepped ground and planted 77 cloves of Music garlic in the garden bed up by the house.

We spent a bit of time turning over the dirt where I had previously moved a chicken pen.

We have been trading work days or afternoons usually. It has been an encouragement to me and I always enjoy helping her. Not only did we get work done, we hung out, had lunch together, and chatted.

Beth and I harvested candy onions and a bit of mind. We even found a clove or two of garlic that i had missed earlier this year. I had planted the candy onions in between the rows of garlic last spring. When I harvested the garlic I gathered in the ones I could find. They never got real big so I will not do that next year.

I knew I had to get the Montana garlic and Egyptian walking onions in on Saturday. We were forecasted to have temps down around 6 degrees in the coming week. In hind sight, that week has passed and the ground has not frozen yet. No matter, I am trilled to have the garlic in.

That Saturday, I moved the last chicken pen, finished working the soil (slightly) in a 5’ by 10’ that had chickens on it since May, and planted around 80 Montana garlic varieties. I did get the Egyptian Walking onions planted, too. I will save that for a post next year.

Montana Garlic planted in this garden

The garlic is in for this fall. I will be adding hay chaff first and then wood chips as the become available this winter. The hay chaff comes from the barn and the wood chips from chopping wood here at CG Heartbeats Farm.

New in 2020

In 2020 there will be an online purchasing option on this website. A limited amount of garlic will be availbale to purchase online. That means even if you are not local to our area, you will be able to order our garlic and garlic scapes.

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November 5, 2018July 22, 2020

Garlic: Year 3

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This fall marks the third year I have planted garlic. The first year(fall of 2016) I planted about 6 cloves of 3 different varieties for a total of 18. When I harvested in 2017 I kept what I raised to either plant or use. Year #2 (2017) I planted around 18-20 cloves (each) of the same 3 varieties. I only sold a few of the 2018 crop choosing instead to save most of the bulbs harvested to plant and use personally for human consumption and for putting in the chickens water. If you are unfamiliar with planting garlic, one planted clove grows into a bulb of garlic. Each bulb has 4 to 9 cloves depending on the variety.

Using what I have:

The entire homestead project has been largely using what I have available. Although some money has been invested along the way, most money has been invested into the chicken project. I have looked and continue to look for heritage vegetables that are sustainable and do not require seeds to be repurchased every year. One of my biggest struggles has been ground to plant in. Yes I have 11 acres at my disposal, and it grow grass abundantly. The grass has a fantastic root system that makes gardening a challenge for me. At this time I have not found a local person to turn the sod for me(with a plow). I will need to invest in a tiller of sorts, sooner than later as I grow the garden project. I do not want to fight weeds and grass roots with only my energy (which seems lacking) and a shovel. Even in the large flower bed, it is the grass that has taken over. I had a help a couple years in a row and still the grass returned. The benefit was that at least the ground had been worked in the flower bed and was easier to dig in compared to the lawn. This was where I planted my first garlic, a small section of what was previously a flower bed. My Dad helped me prep the ground the first year. We went over the ground with spades, removing as many of the roots as we could. It was a project that took approximately one afternoon. 18 cloves of garlic planted!

Area where garlic was planted in 2016 and harvested in 2017. The space was probably less than 3 ft. by 3 ft.

Year 2: I spent more time prepping the ground, but had not started early enough as cold weather was upon me. Hardneck Garlic needs to be in the ground before the ground freezes. While I did work to remove more of the roots, I knew I left some. It was either leave some roots and not plant the garlic in time or I would miss getting it planted altogether. I tripled the amount planted and was able to spare a few to select customers in the summer of 2018. I share the planting process and more about the first and second Garlic seasons in a previous blog post titled: Garlic

Year 3: This year I added a forth variety called Spanish Rojo or Spanish Red. The other three varieties remain the same as the past two years: German, Music, and Montana. As I have said, this marks the 3rd fall I am planting garlic. I intend to again increase numbers planted to about between 10 and 140 cloves. Of course I need more room to plant the higher numbers. After consideration I decided to once again use the flower bed expanding the area, and add another spot on the farm as well.

Garlic beginning to grow in the early months of 2018

This spring, in a section next to the garlic, I worked removing grass, roots and a few weeds. Here I planted four tomato plants. I did need to weed a little from time to time, but as the tomato plants grew they provided enough ground cover to keep the unwanted growth at bay. These produced many little tomatoes both grape and super sweet varieties. I took some to the farmers markets and shared with friends. I also enjoyed many delicious tomato sandwiches, even though they were the small tomatoes.

In the last couple weeks as I began to prepare the ground to plant garlic I have certainly seen a reduction of roots, weeds and grass thanks to the ground cover provided by the tomato plants.

Instead, I found myself picking up an extreme amount of tiny tomatoes to avoid the seed springing to life new tomatoes plants next year. I am sure I did not get every single one. Should they appear in the 2019 growing season I have a plan. I intend to feed the young plants to the chickens who I learned enjoy eating the tomato plant leaves. A bonus use of unwanted plants in my opinion.

Beginning to prepare the soil in the fall of 2018.

The picture below shows last years space and the additional space in the flower bed. This picture was taken before transplanting some of the Day Lillys.

I had a chicken pen that was approximately 5 ft x 5 ft where the sod finally appeared to be almost non exsistent this fall. I moved the panels to a new location giving the chickens new ground and the homestead an additional place to plant. With the sod almost completely gone I began turning the dirt over. Trilled with how soft the soil, I did find some roots under the surface.

No matter, the work proved considerably easier compared to digging up sod. If I did not share previously, I currently have not a plow or cultivator. My ‘tools’ consist of myself, a shovel, wheelbarrow and other non-motorized gardening implements. I also have almost no money invested in the garlic venture, only the initial garlic cloves. The chickens did a wonderful job and by next year they will have removed more sod for me to increase the garden. In 2017 I set the chicken pens up specifically where I want a garden. It has felt like a long process, but I was hesitate to leave the chickens out for any length of time. Now that I have housed select pens outside I am seeing much faster progress in sod removal.

The pen in its new location and the dirt turned in the old location.

For the 2019 growing season I will plant garlic in the 5ft. x 5 ft. space the chickens cleared for the homestead.

About half of the garlic is planted in this picture.

As I have in years past after the garlic is planted I cover with hay chaff. (Using what I have) and later in the season as wood chips become available from the wood shed I added wood chips all to help reduce the unwanted plant growth among the garlic plants.

Garlic Scapes and Pesto

I want to add that this past growing season(2018) I made use of the garlic scapes when I removed them from the plants in June. I made pesto from the scapes. All who enjoy the taste of garlic gave the pesto positive reviews.

Here is the ingredient list I used:

garlic scapes chopped
parmesan cheese
coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

The scapes, removed usually in June, allow the energy of the plant to grow bigger bulbs. Below is a picture of the flower that develops into seeds if the scapes are not removed.

I am looking forward to next years harvest garlic harvest. I think the harvest is the most exciting part for me. The Spanish Rojo smelled good and I am certain I will enjoy eating it next year. I feel pretty happy when planting the cloves too.

Preparing the ground is a bit of a drag for me and the hardest work of the whole process. As I write this I have about half of this years garlic planted. My progress this past week came to halt as probably close to 2 inches of rain has fallen. I am waiting for the ground to dry out. When I see the forecast includes lows in the 20’s for 3 nights in a row, I plant the garlic despite unwanted roots and moisture.

Please share your experiences with fresh garlic in the comments below.

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September 26, 2018January 1, 2019

Farmer Markets – Nappanee Farm and Flea Market

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In July, I began attending a second weekly farm market and what follows tells a bit of my experience.

As I have shared in my previous post about the Bremen Farmer’s Market, one of the fun rewards of attending included making new friends. Julie attended the Bremen Market bringing beautiful fresh cut flowers and displayed them in a unique way. Setting up next to her one Wednesday evening I believe the first words out of my mouth were, “I love your cart. It is so cute!” I adored her the way she presented her flowers. I learned it was an old, repurposed fire hose cart with wooden boxes added to sell from.

We chatted throughout the evening and she gave me information about a market in a near by town where she also sold flowers. I had not sold all my eggs that week and was of course gaining more by the day. The hens were busy laying at that point in the summer. I decided to give the Nappanee Farm and Flea Market a try.

At this point I still had no canopy and the sun was hot a few of those summer mornings. I recall the good feeling of adding a second market to my week. It was a few weeks later I found myself blessed with a canopy. I enjoyed the cover from the hot sun.

I met a few people that were visiting from other states. Texas and California are two places that immediately come to mind. These conversations interest me as I learn about what others are doing around the country. Hearing their food and other lifestyle goals provide insight to what people value. Taking few minutes for true human connection seems to be a rarity in today’s social media society. This is what makes farmer’s markets enjoyable to me.

Take a look around the market on July 28, 2018

Ashley and her family joined us in Nappanee a few times with their local raised grass-fed pork. For the months of July and August various vendors attended.
This past summer I have learned much plan to share more about that in a future post. Hoping to gain repeat egg customers I believed in my commitment of showing up consistently. As it turned out on several days I was unable to attend. I was gone on vacation in August and as September rolled around I found many of the hens were going into molt leaving me with less eggs. I regrettably had little to take to the Nappanee Market as most of what I had to sell, I sold at the Bremen Farmer’s Market on Wednesday’s. This will need to be resolved for markets next year as I look at what other items I plan to raise for my own consumption and to take to markets.

Click on the picture to connect and order your own local raised heritage breed pork

I feel thankful for a place to sell eggs for human consumption and happy to provide local food as an option for purchase. I have enjoyed meeting new people at Nappanee’s Farm and Flea Market just like I did at the Bremen Farmer’s Market. As the season closes and I look forward to next year’s plans, I see that I need to add additional items if I am to grow my income.

This coming Saturday is the official last market of the 2018 season in Nappanee.

Nappanee Farm and Flea Market

Where: the north east parking lot at Coppes Commons in Nappanee, Indiana

When: Saturdays 9am to 1pm

Who: For all who find value in locally sourced food, enjoy items from the past, and crafts of today, pretty flowers, and potted plants. You will find something for your table and perhaps other places in the house as well. These events are free and open to the public. Take the family out for fresh air, and face to face interactions while shopping for local produce and eggs. Check out all Coppes Commons has to offer inside while you are there.

What: A place to connect with vendors who provide fresh vegetables, crafts, eggs, antiques and flea market items, seedling trees fresh cut flowers, home sewn clothes, and locally raised grass fed pork.

What are your favorite items to shop for at a Farmer’s Market? Leave a comment below to share or send an email.

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September 19, 2018February 9, 2022

Farmer’s Market ~ Bremen, Indiana

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As I mentioned in a previous post (Local Farmer Markets), earlier this year I needed to find an additional outlet for eggs that I was not selling as hatching eggs or hatching myself. As I looked at options, I decided to try a local farmer market located in Bremen, Indiana.

Opening night of the 2018 season stands out as the favorite of the entire summer. Having 11 doz. eggs to part with I set a sale price in order to move them. I did indeed part with all 11 dozen. Happy as I was with that fact, the best part was the enjoyment that occurred on my part. A guest musician played old country and gospel favorites, music filled the air, but not in an overbearing manner. I learned at 6 pm each evening a church tower in town rang out familiar tunes. Again, music filled the air, at this point I breathed a sigh of contentment for a cool breeze flowed on the night air and all felt peaceful and right in my world. Here I am getting ahead of myself in the telling of the evening.

I was not as early as I had hoped to be and felt a rush of anxious thoughts coming on as I droved as rapidly as the speed limit allowed. The afternoon had sped by rapidly as I hunted out items make this first farmer market a success. What did I have to use as table and chair? What about signs? What could I sell besides eggs? How to price for sales? All to soon the time indicated I needed to leave and make the best of the first night. I had wanted to wait until the next week to attend. I had been encouraged to attend that week so I decided to do my best and go with what I had.

I chased away nervous thoughts of self-doubt. I was going to at least be present and consistent. An important part of starting business and getting one’s name out to the public, I continued to hear from those more experienced than myself in start up operations.

Finding Gayle, the coordinator, I chased away self-defeating thoughts. She was warm and generous finding me a bit of assistance in unpacking my car and setting up. As I sat down in a chair I had won several years back barrel racing Roses Casino, I resolved to enjoy my evening despite no canopy or cover, a small table and simple signs. I say simple as they were made of index cards printed on with markers pinned to a small bulletin board I had in the house. I did not have much more than that for my first event. I used the backs of previously printed Eagle Equine business cards to share this website and reach new readers.

For me, the evening was almost perfect. I enjoyed meeting new people of my nearby town and hoped to see familiar faces throughout the summer. I felt pleased meeting many of the vendors. Some would not stay the entire summer, others would become friends. That first night I started thinking of ways I could improve my sales, other produce I might have available through out the summer, and items that would be nice and some necessary to add to my simple display. This first event began my learning process.

Click on the photo above to order soap or contact Sue via a FB group.

As the summer went on I sold black raspberries, garlic, garlic scapes, fresh cut flowers, small tomatoes of 2 different varieties, early summer squash, seedling trees and perhaps I will yet sell sweet potatoes depending on the harvest yield. I wrote down produce I was ask for and multiple ideas I had as they came to me throughout the summer. I started giving thought to what preparations I wanted to make for next year.

I added new items. Some purchased out of my earnings and others contributed by the support of my spouse. A canopy was the most expensive investment, perhaps the most appreciated when the rain fell or the sun beat down with added almost unbearable humidity. I retired the small wooden table for a card table that served different a purpose in my house. It was easier to transport and larger. I have given thoughts to a display involving both in the future as I add more items. Attractive Longaberger baskets I had on hand, a small chalk board, a small wooden box, chalk signs and a toy easel with white board on one side and chalk on the other all became new tools for displaying various items.

One of the best parts of being a vendor has been making new friends and seeing familiar friendly faces of returning customers. I have gained new friends and acquaintances as I learned to know different vendors who have also attended through out the summer. I am grateful to the many people in the community who visit and purchase from various vendors. There are some who seem to find a way to show up every week and shop the market.

There are only two more weeks left for the Bremen’s Market in 2018: tonight and next week. The last week promises to be special too. Bremen carries the nickname “Mint City” due to a history of producing mint. The theme for the last market of 2018 will be mint.

Bremen Farmers Market

Where: Located on the corner of Jackson and Main Street downtown Bremen, Indiana near the historic water tower.

When: Every Wednesday from 4 PM to 7 PM May through September

Who: Anyone who finds value in home grown food, locally crafted wares, delicious baked goods, potted flowers and plants. These events are free and open to the public. Take the family out for an evening of fresh air, delicious eats, treats and while shopping for local produce and eggs.

What: Vendors have varied throughout the summer. Leather crafts, home knitted mittens and hats, honey, maple syrup, produce, eggs, baked goods, fresh cut flowers, plants, mums, tree seedlings, homemade soaps, local raised grass fed pork, breads, fruit, and herbal tinctures make up most of what has been offered at the Bremen Farmer’s Market. Tonight, a new vendor, Poppin off Popcorn will be attending with specialty popcorn flavors.

Stay connected online with the Bremen Farmer’s Market on FB: Click on Bremen Farmer’s Market

History

Bremen’s Farmers Market started in 2015 to provide a place for local producers to present their wares to the general public.

Have you ever attended a Farmers Market? Leave a comment with your experience.

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March 8, 2018March 8, 2018

Planting Seeds Indoors

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I found a neat planting calendar on The Old Farmers Almanac, www.Almanac.com to enter ones location and view the suggested times lines for planting various garden vegetables. Here I discovered that tomatoes, onions, lettuce and peppers need to be started the first to the middle of March (if starting indoors). Actually, onions could be started as early as the first of February, but here we are, the first part of March already. The first of March it will be when I start my onions.

Indoors or Outdoors?

Why start seeds indoors? I would like to give my garden vegetables a head start for the growing season. Our season here in northern Indiana is long enough to produce vegetables with out starting them indoors. Plants started indoors will be available for harvest sooner then seeds started outdoors. If I choose to start seeds both inside and out, I will have a longer time for harvesting and eating fresh from the garden. I like this line of thinking!

The Dirt

Take a walk with me out to the manure pile and previous manure pile location.

I am about ready to start a new pile, but want to use some of the dirt generated from the old pile before I do. The process of composting both animal and plant waste products produces wonderful rich soil from which to grow vegetables.

I am going to bring soil inside in a 5 gallon bucket to use for starting my seeds. Now one can purchase potting soil and do the same thing. I am all about using what I have available and for me compost is free. If you do not personally have the option of composting, sometimes a farm will allow you to get compost from their manure pile. A word of caution here, if wanting to keep everything organic, it would be important to know if drugs and/or antibiotics where used on the animals who produced the manure. I know I use a limited amount and so my compost is as close to organic as I can get it. I am ok with that for the time being.

Planting Seeds

Now is the time to place some of the soil into small containers. I have saved some of the pictured egg cartons to act as a green house for starting seeds. They trap the moisture, but once a seed is sprouted the lid needs to be opened. I have found they do best if transferred into a bigger container soon after sprouting.

After watering to make the soil moist, seeds may be planted shallowly. In this example I am planting onion seeds. I used my finger to hollow out a small spot in the soil to drop the onion seed into. After placing the tiny seed, I gently covered the seed with soil.

Now aside from keeping the soil moist and warm enough for the seeds to sprout, there is not much to do, but wait for the tiny little green sprouts of a new plant to poke its way up through the soil. These are due to sprout in 10 to 15 days so I added it to my schedule to check them on March 15(10 days) and March 20(15 days). Check back on A Country Girl’s Heart ~ Beats that Matter FB page for updates those days on the onion seeds progress.

This project has cost me nothing aside from the cost of the seed and a bit of rather easy work. I am always looking for ways to repurpose items like manure piles and egg cartons. What items to do have around your house that would allow you to start seeds with little to no cost to you?

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February 16, 2018February 17, 2018

Choosing Garden Vegetables

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When it comes to eating, we all like different foods. What goes into a garden is much like planning menu for a week or month. Choosing what we plant and how it develops may actually influence our food menus in coming months, based on what choices we have available.

We have many options when it comes to producing our own food, no matter if we live in town or city, suburbs, or way out in the country . There are wonderful options for apartments, a city lot, 1, 5, 10, 20 acres or a large farm. Almost everyone has options when it comes to producing at least some of their own food if given the correct information. Sometimes, a bit of creative ingenuity will be required.

A financial investment up front is needed(there are ways to reduce the costs), in some cases more than others. The end result lowers the grocery bill and may improve ones health reducing medical costs in the future. Check out Dr Caroline Leaf’s book Eat and Think Yourself Smart for data links and informational ideas on how our diet effects our health. I read this book a couple years ago and will be posting a review link in the future. Click here.

Here are a few guidelines I consider as I decide which seeds I am planting this year

What and where is my available planting space

I have not worked up the ground here for a garden with the exception of where the garlic is planted. I have plans for some ways to prepare the ground for a garden space, but until I do, I am going to use mostly container gardens. I have been offered to share garden space by two of my neighbors. I like my neighborhood!! I am not sure yet, how much extra space that will give me. Renting or sharing garden space is definitely an option for those living in an area with little or no ground of their own. In my case, I simply have not prepped the ground for lack of tools to make it easy and lack of energy to get it done the hard way.

What are my favorite foods

Peas, green beans, lettuce, both sweet and red potatoes, spinach, heritage and cherry tomatoes, different varieties of onions and lettuce, bell peppers of any color, squash

What vegetables do I desire to store for the next winter

Peas, green beans, sweet and red potatoes, onions, tomatoes (for ketchup and tomato Juice)

What tools will I be using I currently have

Tools I will be using include:

Cracked/broken buckets, shovel, small spade, cultivator, various sizes of plastic containers I have been washing and saving for seed starting,

What do I need to purchase and corresponding cost

I have a wish list of products I would like to try, but they are likely going to wait until next year. Items I would like to purchase are:

a warming mat for seed starting $15 – $90
a grow lamp/light(s) $ 20 – $170(+)
a small green house, possibly partly underground to utilize the earth’s heat $80 – $10,000(+)
self propelled gas tiller (Depending on model) $450 – $1,000(+)

We will be discussing the how and when to start a vegetable garden in future blog posts.

What vegetables do you desire to grow this year?

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