Marsh walk

Grow Great Garlic - part 2

by Kathy Galantine
The garlic bulbs will begin to ripen in early summer. This is the time to discontinue watering them (a little rain won't hurt) in order to retard the stem and the leaf growth, and to let the bulbs finish maturing. Pinch off any flowers that form on the garlic plants. Harvest the bulbs when about 25 percent of the leaves on the garlic plant have turned yellow.

Hang them up or lay them out in the shade or indoors where there is good ventilation.
When the garlic bulbs are properly dried and cured, the sheaths surrounding the cloves will be dry and, papery. The sheath protects the cloves, slows their drying process and consequently their loss of flavor. Brush away any dirt that clings to the bulbs and they are ready to be stored in a variety of ways.

If the stems are still pliable, you can braid them to form an attractive hanging garlic braid. Another way is to trim the roots and use twine to tie the stems together to hang as small bundles.

Or you can cut the stems off, place the garlic bulbs in a net bag and hang it. If you hang your garlic in a cool but not freezing, dry place that is well-ventilated it can last for nine months or longer. In the kitchen, you can store small amounts of garlic for a month-or so in specially designed garlic pots that have holes in them. Never store fresh, unpeeled garlic in plastic bags in the refrigerator. It will rot.

Garlic is rich in sulfur, which contributes to its pungent flavor and also causes it to stink when it rots. To preserve garlic for up to three months, peel the cloves and place them in a jar of olive oil in the refrigerator. For longer storage, peel then thinly slice each clove. Dry the slices in a food dryer or on a metal tray in the sun. After they're completely dry, they can be pulverized in the blender to make garlic powder.

Grow Great Garlic - part 1

This posting was written in 1997 by my friend who died last year. She was a fabulous gardener, the best cook ever, an excellent writer, and a wonderful friend. When I met her when we were 19 and 20, I noticed how she effortlessly and skillfully moved from one task to the next in her kitchen to make delicious meals that she urged me to share whenever I came over. She had learned to cook and care for everyone from her dear Portuguese grandmother. I want to honor her generous spirit and friendship by sharing this informative and down-to-earth piece. - Michelle
Grow Great Garlic
By Kathy Galantine
Purchase your garlic bulbs at a gardening center or at your local grocery store. A half pound of garlic will plant a 100-foot row. Choose large garlic bulbs with firm cloves. Don't plant any of the small cloves. Small cloves beget small-cloved bulbs of garlic.

Plant your garlic in garden soil to which you have added compost or other organic material. Our Central Oregon moon dust won't produce those lovely large cloves of garlic without a little help. Plant each garlic clove root-side down, 1-1 ½ inches deep and two inches apart. Water them well, and then water them whenever the bed dries out.

The garlic cloves that you have planted in the early fall will quickly send up shoots similar to green onions. These edible shoots are milder in flavor than raw garlic cloves. They go well on baked potatoes or in salads or other late fall recipes.

Keep in mind, however, that cutting the young shoots robs the new cloves that are forming so it would be wise to keep a separate group for your main crop of bulbs. Many organic gardeners believe in the value of garlic as a pest repellent and often plant their "extra" garlic around the perimeter of the vegetable garden as a deterrent against bug invasions.

Canadian Geese Winter Comfortably in Eugene

My dad’s apartment in a retirement residence overlooks the river. He also has a great view of a flock (gaggle?) of Canadian geese that has wintered over in Eugene. The residence is located near a wildlife preserve that is home to all sorts of water fowl and creatures. The geese gather on the lawns around the apartments feeding on the insects and whatever they find in the grass. Residents of the apartments particularly enjoy watching the lives of the geese unfold in their front yards.

Soon goslings will join their parents and waddle after them across the lawn. It’s easy to see the mated pairs even in the crowd. Canada Geese mate for life and the goslings stay with their parents for a year after they are born. This particular flock has had a domestic “nanny” goose who looks after the goslings while their parents feed. The grey goose, nicknamed Martha sticks out among darker, more dramatically marked Canadian geese. Besides Martha, one bird always stands lookout for predators while the others comfortably amble through their meals.

The nutria in a nearby pond coexist peacefully with the geese. Their lush fur drenched, they sit in pairs feeding on vegetation. Nutria were imported from the South in the 1920s to be raised for their fur. When the market for nutria fur didn’t develop, the rodents were set loose in an environment with few predators. They live in marshy areas and are mistaken for beaver until their rat-like tails are visible. They are a bit aggressive so it’s best to give them a wide berth if you see them. -Michelle

Heron on the Roof

Last year I heard a loud, strange bird call and peeked out my back door towards my neighbor’s house. I saw a heron standing on the roof eyeing the fish pond in my neighbors' backyard. Apparently the large bird had been dining regularly on their fish. Since losing the fish, my neighbors put more plants in the pond to give their new fish places to hide from predators. The heron was much larger than the typical flocks of finches, nuthatches, and flickers that frequent our yards and he seemed oversized for the roof.

One resource I read indicates that the heron teaches us to be self-reliant and to progress and evolve. Herons follow their own hearts rather than allow themselves to be guided by the crowd.

I got a lot of photos before the tall fellow disappeared over the ridge of the roof and flew off. The next day I saw him on a roof across the street. After that I didn't see him again. I imagine he followed his heart to a neighborhood with better fishing. - Michelle

Connecting with nature in bits and pieces

Recently, I've become more adept at finding moments to connect and enjoy nature during my day.

• Before sunrise, I climb into the loft above my kitchen and watch daylight break from the large windows that look over my garden and my neighbor's orchard.
  
• On my way to work, I drive past a wildlife refuge and watch a gaggle of geese resting on the seasonal lake that borders the road.


• At work, I face a large window and watch the weather - sun followed by hail followed by rain and then sun again.


• On the way home from work, I drive West and watch large, billowing clouds blowing over the Coast Range into the Willamette Valley.


• At home at night, I close my eyes and listen to the sound of rain blown hard against my roof and windows.

I carry the quietness and calm from these moments with me constantly. - Pat

South Wind

The wind is coming from the south today. How do I know? The planes are coming in very low above my house. When the wind comes from the south, the airport reroutes incoming planes to come from the north so they can land on an alternate runway. Maggie and I are a little rattled by the noise and head out for a walk. When I moved here 17 years ago, the occasional overhead flight path was a shock. After all, jet engines have one of the highest levels of noise in our environment at 140 decibels. Your car has around an 80 decibel level of noise and a typical home has a 50 decibel noise level - without overhead planes. Now I live with it the way I’m sure that people living near railroad tracks live with the trains. Certainly the planes don’t fly over as often as trains follow a track, but I have as much control over where the planes come in as someone would have rearranging rails.

Today Maggie and I make our way through windblown streets as I compose this in my head. Is that another plane coming? No, the wind just kicked up and blew through a tall fir. It pummels the flexible branches like a can can dancer grabs her skirts and shakes them and the air is filled with a rumbling rush of wind. Minutes later a much louder burst of noise and another plane comes over the trees, all but grazing the rooftops.

Working on how to describe the noise is another chance for me to see how keeping a mindful perspective inwardly helps me manage my perceptions of external circumstances. In turn my inner experience is calmer. Years ago my young friend Amelia and I were walking over the highway walkway to meet her mother coming from the transit center on the other side of the freeway. As we neared the overpass and the cars rushed outside our view, three year old Amelia said, “I can hear the ocean!” It reminded me of all the times I held to my ear the conch shell that my dad brought from Miami as I imagined the worlds within a magic shell. The ocean I heard and my feelings about the ocean were all in my mind. - Michelle