Blooms, Garlic & Plantin'

I have talked on here before about briars. They are called multi flora roses around here. They grow up everywhere and they are hard to get rid of. They are very similar to berry bushes. They catch a hold of your clothing and hold on. They are in bloom right now. They smell really good and are beautiful to look at. Think of all the things in life that are beautiful to look at and smell oh so good, yet underneath they are just waiting for you to come close enough to snag. Then they hang on to you for dear life. You usually end up tearing skin or clothes to get loose. A lot of sin is just like these bushes and that is how we get drawn in. They sure look good, but...

I was going to say that I am impatient gardener, but then I realized my friend, Ginny takes that title. =) I will let her explain that if she wishes. When it comes to tomatoes, I hardly wait for the first ripe one. Oh, I LONG for that first bite of fresh from the garden tomato. So, every year, I buy what I call a "cheater" tomato plant. It is one that someone started much earlier than most. When I buy it there are usually already blooms on it and the plant is quite tall. Here is that first tomato I am watching.... Oh, I can hardly wait!!

We still don't have all of our garden in. We planted corn, beets and beans this weekend. We also got some more tomato plants in the ground. I am hoping to get some done in the morning hours this week. This is the only part of our garden that we tilled. Once the plants start coming up, we want to heavily mulch around them as well.

Our garlic plants are doing well. The ends of some of the leaves are turning yellow. It is still a bit early for that. The scapes have just started showing up. You can see them in the next two pictures below.

We cut these off. If you leave them grow, they form a sort of seed pod. The plant puts a lot of effort into forming them and not as much effort in the bulb at the root end. These have a great garlic flavor. We stir fry them in with meat and other veggies. I know that Herrick Kimball, The Deliberate Agrarian, makes pickled garlic scapes. If you have never checked out his blog do so. He also wrote a book by the title of The Deliberate Agrarian. I highly recommend it.