We grow our own garlic so that we have garlic scapes in the late spring to enjoy. The garlic bulbs are of course enjoyed throughout the year, but is the scapes that we enjoy the most. The garlic scape is the stalk that forms at the top of the hard neck garlic when the plant is getting closer to maturity. The scape is what contains the flower for the garlic if it is left on the plant. They will start to come up straight on the plant, curl over, and then begin to straighten out prior to getting larger and flowering. We harvest garlic scapes when they are still curled but just about to start straightening out.
Our favorite recipes using garlic scapes include a simple garlic scape pasta, garlic scapes in scrambled eggs, and roasted or grilled garlic scapes by themselves or with other vegetables.
We grow our garlic in a wooden raised bed instead of directly in the ground. This helps keep them safe from our animals and our little boy running around during the late fall and winter. Garlic is in the ground for a long time so by placing them in a raised bed we get a wonderful crop every year.
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