Monday, July 7, 2008

Garlic Harvest Help Needed!



Hello all!
I realize I may be pushing it to ask for help TWICE in the span of one week, but it really must be done. We are now on the cusp of the GARLIC HARVEST. The rain, although desperately needed for new seeds and seedlings, was poorly timed in relation to the garlic harvest. You see, there's a very narrow window for garlic harvesting, as I understand it. Bill wanted to start harvesting it today, but the rain meant it would be too muddy. (And you don't want thousands of heads of muddy/dirty-cloddy garlic hanging in the garage.) So after waiting a couple of days for it to dry, the garlic all has to come out at once or else two things will start to happen: 1) the thin, papery garlic covering will start to deteriorate (which leads to earlier rotting) and 2) the stalks will dry out and will tend to snap off while harvesting (which is awful).
Thus, we need to harvest the garlic THIS WEEK on THURSDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY! Would you like to help? You don't need any prior experience, and we don't require letters of reference! It's not all backbreaking, sunny work either. Some of the time is spent in the field pulling garlic, and some of the time is spent in the shade bunching the garlic to be hung in the garage. I'm attaching pictures to inspire you! It's really quite a lot of fun, and you'd get to see how some of the season's more important harvesting happens.
You wouldn't have to commit a ton of time, either. Just come out for an hour or two -- many hands make light work, it takes a village, make hay while the sun shines, etc.!! Pick whichever aphorism seems most appropriate.
Let me know if you're interested. This is a kid-tolerable activity for kids 4 and older. We have our 4 and 5 year olds who will be helping and/or who will be available for playing with other kids.
Thanks for helping to run our farm!
Mercy

2 comments:

Christie L. said...

Oh Mercy, You're so good at asking for help! Bravo! Both times you've asked, I've wanted to drop everything and come help. :-) You must have studied Tom Sawyer to get tips on the best way to make work look like an enviable task.
Alas, my own work keeps me from being able to come join the fun on the farm this weekend. But I wish you well, and will look for you at the Farmer's Market in Bloomington every chance I get.
Christie

Kevin Suess said...

That looks like so much fun!

-Kevin