victory!

chamomile and green garlic shoots

wee strawberries

arugula, not doing so well

green garlic bounty

Green garlic grown in your yard, pot, or window is a delightful late spring ingredient. Keep a close eye and you can pull your green garlic out of the dirt to suit desired flavors. Pull early for more tender, less pungent green garlic, and wait a while for a spicier, more robust garlic flavor. You can even wait until an entire new bulb has formed, although this will take several months. I pulled the plants pictured above just as the top leaves bent over, after 5-6 weeks. The flavor is mild and buttery, something to be used in abundance sauteed or grilled, on sandwiches or pizzas, in sauces, bread salads, spring soups, or diced into a salsa verde.

Green garlic is exceedingly forgiving and easy to grow–a resilient addition to your victory garden, urban or otherwise. Simply purchase two bulbs fresh and firm garlic and break off several cloves. Be sure to keep the papery skin on. Place the garlic flat side down (or pointy side up) into roughly 4″ of dirt. Keep the soil moist and make sure it gets sunlight. After a little more than a month you will have green garlic. I suggest succession planting for a regular supply.