Garlic Popped!

My little garlic cloves have sprouted! Aren't they cute?

I love to grow garlic ~ it's one of my favorite edibles to grow!  I plant it in the Fall, see it pop up sweet little leaves in the spring, harvest the scapes in May/June to make the best pesto EVER, and then harvest in July to eat right away and to store for later.  Each point of transition makes me feel happy and excited (I'm a food/garden nerd). 

About a month ago (when it was still really cold here in New England) some of the garlic bulbs had actually come out of the ground.  The soil was still too frozen to put back the cloves into the ground.  So I just left the bulbs on top of the soil until it was warmer...hoping that they would still sprout and thrive at some point.

Today, I was pleasantly surprised when I went out to check on the garden.  The soil was warmer and pliable AND the garlic bulbs had sprouted even without being in the ground!  Crazy!  So I pushed those little guys back into the ground and marveled at how they sprouted even thought they weren't in the "perfect" condition.

Little garlic clove that landed on top of the soil but still sprouted!

Seeing the bulbs out of the ground also allowed me to see what happens underground.  Did you know that the garlic "sheds" it's skin?  Well, maybe you did...but I didn't.  I imagined the garlic taking its winter coat off as it moved into Spring.   

Garlic shedding its winter coat.

This is just the beginning of Spring surprises.  I love that gardening is a constant learning and discovery journey.