TEN MOTHERS

All ten of my mothers are enclosed in a single garlic bulb. Garlic is medicine because it is full of amino acids, anti bacterial and antifungal agents, lowers blood pressure, strengthens heart and lungs, detoxifies the liver, balances the metabolism, and on and on. It is 100 mothers.

When I owned Sow Love Reap Joy Farm in Manorville, I planted garlic on Halloween. This was my way of stocking up the medicine cabinet. By the first frost, tiny sprouts peeked above the soil. Tiny roots set the process in motion. I mulched the plants with dried leaves and cast some soil on top of them to hold them down. Winter for garlic is waiting time.

Around March, the sprouts start getting bigger. The clove I planted last fall is feeding the seven garlic leaves that hard neck garlic develop during the spring and summer. Those seven leaves produce the “medicine” which travels down the stalk and build into seven cloves. Garlic cloves are heavy feeders. I had added compost and cow manure to the soil.

Around July 1, I noticed that the bottom two leaves have browned. They have dried up. This is a signal that the shutdown process has begun. When two more leaves have shriveled, I pull the stalks gently and lay them in a dry place to season. During this step, juices from the stalk and the remaining leaves drain into the bulb.

At Homecoming Farm, where Nancy and I shareholders, bunches of ten garlic plants are hung is the “garlic shed” to season. The bulbs are hung below the stalks assuring complete drainage. The entire shed smells of garlic.

I have processed hundreds of garlic plants at the farm. Using a clippers, I cut of the stalk leaving three inches on the bulb. I brush soil from the roots, cut off the roots and sort by size. With 10,000 garlic bulbs to process, it takes several share holders, interns and summer volunteers to get the job done.

Every week, we pick up our share on Tuesdays. Back home, I process the garlic and break it down into cloves. I peel the cloves, put them in a jar, add some olive oil and refrigerate. Having ready-to-use garlic cloves is a must. I crush or chop and add it to dishes and salads. One of my mothers urges me to chew a small clove. Without even peeling the coat, I pop it into my mouth and chew. I get an Instant burn, a hot stinging burn,  on my tongue. This is a delight.  I consider this my daily “supplement” This is like my mother table-spooning cod liver oil as a kid.

Don, the farmer, suggested using the scapes as a skewer for shiskabobs. This didn’t work because I didn’t “pre-drill the items to be barbequed. I had a hankering for kabobs for months before we got down to business..We loaded a bunch of skewers and mushrooms, pieces of squash, onion, pepper, potato, and eggplant. Oh yes… shrimp. I basted with butter, lime juice, and…you guessed it…garlic.