Buried Treasure in Your Garden
Unlike regular garlic or onions,
elephant garlic produces little
"seeds" underground, near the
bulbs. Sifting for them, and then
selling them, is a way that kids can
earn a little pocket money.
One bulb of elephant garlic can grow up to a pound in size!
flower
bud
shoot
leaves
A reference grid helps you know what
size the things in a picture really are.
These lines are half an inch apart.
bulb
roots
Scientific nam e:
Allium am peloprasum
Sometimes it forms bulbs like an onion. That's a m outhful, even for an elephant!
Sometimes it grows cloves like a garlic.
And, sometimes it hides from drought
inside a hard shell that resembles a snail! RECIPE!
Elephant garlic is actually a kind of leek. It is less ELEPHANT GARLIC
bitter and more sweet than regular garlic. It was brought CHIP OR VEGGIE DIP
to Texas by the first German settlers, and is still grown
in gardens here today. It's a true heirloom crop! 1 pint fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup fine-chopped elephant
The leaves are 20 inches tall, and grow in a fan shape. garlic or onion
With enough water, it will grow a single stalk with a flower (or 3 teaspoons dried onion)
shaped like a pompom. Before they flower, these stalks 2 tablespoons soy sauce
are called shoots, and they are edible, too. They can be
added to stir-fry, soups, or sauteed like asparagus. Serve with cucumber spears, carrot
sticks, celery sticks, or potato chips.
It survives partly because elephant garlic produces hard
underground clove pods, round with a sharp point, that
An even more ancient heritage:
can survive drought and flood. It's a self-seeding crop. Another name for this plant is "Levant Garlic".
"The Levant" is the region east of the Mediterranean
Sea. The word comes from French "levant", which
They are usually planted in fall here, but really, anytime means, to rise. "Levant" is a cousin of Spanish
from November to April will do. They prefer well-drained "levantar" (to stand up) and English "leavening"
(something that makes bread rise). When the Old
soil that is crumbly, not packed-down. (The process of Testament of the Bible says "onion", they are
hunting through the dirt for the hard seed pods is good for probably referring to elephant garlic.
the soil.)
A "maze" is a puzzle to confuse you
but a "labyrinth" is a path to enjoy.
The Farmers' Market is held on land
that belongs to United Methodist.
Pflugerville United Methodist
Church has a labyrinth made of
stones, with a gravel path. It's open
to the public anytime.
It's a "classical 7 circuit" design, the
oldest and most popular traditional
labyrinth. That means it's made by
laying down seven circles, one
inside the other.
Generally, a labyrinth has a spot in the middle that
you'll reach. The beauty of the design is that you
For some people, it is for prayer, and will travel every bit of this path once going in and
for others it is simply a meditation. once coming back out again.
Labyrinths are good for practicing
walking while making as little sound as There are many other labyrinths open to the public.
you can, taking deep breaths, and Labyrinth fans like to travel all over the world just to
walk on them!
seeing things you hadn't seen before.
If you can't get out to walk on one,
the next best thing is to take a pen and
trace one, trying not to touch the
edges. Take your time, and remember
to breathe deep.
For more information:
http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/
SOUR
CREAM
If you trace the same path each
time, visiting every aisle once, at
the grocery store, that's a form
of labyrinth.
Don't forget
the sour cream!