Garlic

After curing thirty garlic plants in our shed for two weeks (well, closer to three . . . I got busy), I spent the morning cleaning off the bulbs for storage.  I'm happy to report that very few of the bulbs had any mold or damage, so I feel like it's my first truly successful gardening experiment in New Mexico!  It was hard-won, too.  When we planted these in the fall I was six months pregnant, and even though I thought I was taking it slow, the activity sent me into early labor.  Fortunately the doctors were able to stop it, but as I said with the shallots, I am going to use the SHIT out of this garlic. We have a nice amount to share and maybe even a few to break up and replant come fall--- I don't know, though.  We do use a fair amount of the stuff on our own.

I plan on making pesto with some of this, along with basil from our garden, tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I will have enough basil leaves to make a big batch for freezing.

There was just something so nice and slow and meditative about sitting in the sun this morning with a dog next to me, peeling the papery skins away to reveal clean white bulbs, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my back and the smell of dirt and garlic on my hands while the baby napped.