YAY for hidden treasures!

Well, we can officially claim to be a farming family now. Today, we started working on the last section of our field to be cleared out. We saw these plants that looked like really tall grass, but stronger blades. I asked Honey to not mow them or weed whack them until we found out what they were.

As we were raking, one of the kids accidentally pulled one up. It's wild garlic!!! And we have a TON of it! It's growing all up and down that fence line. I got so excited when we realized what it was. I love garlic, but Honey rarely buys it fresh for me.

I did do some research on the wild variety and discovered it's considered a weed. WHAT??? It's garlic! Garlic isn't a weed, it's an edible yummy plant! The bulbs themselves take three years to mature, and they are smaller than store bought garlic. It doesn't really clove the way store bought does. It's also supposedly milder in taste.

The websites I saw said to not dig the bulbs up, but to harvest the leaves instead. The leaves have a mild garlic taste to them and can be used instead of the bulb. This way, you keep the bulb. This plant does well in winter and early spring, so we'll need to harvest all of the leaves soon. I'm thinking we'll try to dry them out and use them as an herb all year long. Plus, we have enough of these plants (at least 50 if not more) to be able to grab a bulb here or there.

I swear, my poor husband must think that I am nuts. Here I am excited over something as simple as garlic.

We decided that we're going to get a huge tree pot, and plant the onion we have growing under the microwave in that and keep it inside instead of planting it outside. I let Honey and the kids try a bit of the treen onion, and they were really surprised. Heck, I'm surprised that conditions in the house were favorable to onions growing! Pie wants to plant some of the potatoes outside also to see what happens. rofl

Between that, and the hanging baskets I'm going to buy for tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers, we'll be all set come harvest time. :D I'm so excited. I can't wait until fall when it's time to plant fruit trees too! :D

Here's to a happy spring for everyone. May everything you sow bring you a wonderful harvest, no matter what grows in your "garden" of life!