Update on wild leek patch.
Ok, where did the patch go?
The leaves have yellowed and will soon brown and blend in to the forest floor leaving the flowers to set seed for next year’s leeks. If it weren’t for the yellow, the flower stalks would be hard to pick out.
Here they are. I’ll keep a close eye on these. I want to catch them opening! I’ll let you know.
Same thing is happening to the elephant garlic here. We pulled a small patch this week. It’s in the loft to dry now. As you can see, some of it is first year, some second year, some third. We pull what we think we’ll need and there is still plenty in the ground for next year. After a few years like that there is a continuous cycle. Permanent bed. The first year it will be a little yellow hard-shell seed-like thing. second it will be a single bulb like an onion. Sometimes it will last through the third depending on the time of year it was planted and the weather. Then in the 3rd (sometimes 4th) year it will divide into cloves.With enough rain and kudzu nitrogen it can get up to soft ball size. Great to roast. Not quite as strong as real garlic. Not sure how it compares to your wild leeks…Never had those…
Nice haul, BillyAlabama. I’ve never encountered wild garlic here in northern forests, but I’m going to research its range.
The wild leeks have a strong onion flavor, could be close to garlic, but not quite.
I’ll pull a few up and give them a look see for shape/size and taste them at this stage.
I think I’ll go back to the patch tomorrow and dig up a few leeks just to see what the bottoms are doing and how they taste. Probably store a few just to see what happens, dry a few to grind to powder to flavor soup/ stew, etc. I’ll post a pic of the diggings.
Ha, interasting. Our wild leaks taste noting like onions, strong garlic flavor and smell. Ill have to take a look at my patch too, planted them last years spring, they grow nicely.
I wonder if it grows around here. Elephant garlic is actually a leek. It is not native here. It is native to Southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor and parts of Russia. It grows “wild” around old home places where it has been left to divide freely. Often it is in a kudzu patch.
Here are a few pics of some of today’s pikins.
Found some wild chanterelles yesterday.
That is some nice looking vegetables. I am at that stage where you don’t dare weed because you can’t tell the tinny plants from weeds yet. But I can’t wait to have fresh vegetables from the garden again.
I dug up a leek and like every flowering onion the inside was getting real tough and the taste really strong. That’s it for size. Can’t wait for the flower buds to open. I’ll keep you posted. Note that the yellow leaves have browned and hidden the patch on the forest floor.
Pepe
Those remind me of what we call “wild onions” around here. Some call it “wild garlic”. It grows in the yard all over the place. Maybe yours are a bit more elongated.and a bit bigger.
No, thats a different plant. Wild leaks have wide leafs, about 3"x5" size. The leafs are edible, and what a treat too!
need to see if they grow around here. For now I think we are heading out to the woods to look for mushrooms. It has rained a bit and the chanterelles are popping up here and there. The oyster mushrooms should be out too. I pushed it a little hard in the heat today milling lumber so I’m a little slow to head out again…
I thought I’d throw in this surprise plant, the Spider Lily. Its pods spring open, hah, try and catch it! Well, I set up my camera and let it run, cleared the memory every 41 minutes and finally caught it. It’s at 1min 56 sec on the fourth memory run. All the rest of the vid is non action so forget it.
Tomatoes are dying, corn washed away, beans are about to be too mature to use. I guess we’ll just eat mushrooms this year. They sure are growing. haha
We didn’t get our 20 gallons like we hoped. only 17. here they are spread out in the summer kitchen to dry out a little bit.
Edit: Naomi and Jesse just came in while I was posting this with another 2.5 gallon bucket full. Lol. They’re everywhere.
Ah, the innocence of a little smiling face, priceless.
Here are a couple more. Along with a pile of beans. We picked “some” of the bean patch this morning. Finally got a break in the rain. It started again about 6 pm. Couldn’t pick them all. Way over loaded. More than we need. We are calling in the neighbors to pick now.
It looks like you’ve got the corner on green beans. That’s a goodly amount for part of one picking. Darn, I like them right off the vine or plant. I usually grow Kentucky Wonder pole beans for fresh and freezing. I’m also trying the Kentucky Wonder bush bean this year.
Jade bush bean is the only thing we grow anymore. Nothing better
I seem to recall as a young un that at end of season we would let the last bunch of green beans dry on the plant and then shell them and store in jars for later use.
if you want to sell beans here you need “rattlesnake” beans. people love to buy them but they’re not really that good. I think it’s nostalgia their buying…Old timers grew them cause they were tough and would always grow. Often growing them in the corn, using the corn stalks as a trellis. Then when they are mature and leathery you can leave them to dry or collect them and sew them together with fishing line and hang to dry or shell for dry bean storage. I’ve rarely done it as beans are some of the cheapest things you can get…
I grow blue lake beans and yellow beens here. Blue lakes seem to do well with our short growing season. You can’t beat canned beans if you ask me. That looks like a big pile of yummy to me.
