Farm Happenings: Welcome Michelle!

Appalachia Star's second intern Michelle has arrived and it's wonderful to have another set of hands on the farm! Michelle has done trail maitenance in New Mexico and Colarado, and organized a trip from her college to a local farm on Saturdays this past year.

Today we harvested some garlic scapes:::







Explanation of the garlic scape from the Washington Post:

Garlic and its relatives in the allium family, (leeks, chives, onions) grows underground, where the bulb begins its journey, soft and onion-like. As the bulb gets harder (and more like the garlic we know), a shoot pokes its way through the ground. Chlorophyll- green like a scallion (maybe even greener), the shoot is long and thin and pliable enough to curl into gorgeous tendrils.

This stage of growth is the garlic scape, folks. If left unattended, the scape will harden and transform from green to the familiar opaque white/beige color of garlic peel. Keeping the shoot attached will also curtail further growth of the bulb. So, in an effort to allow the garlic to keep growing, the farmer is getting a two-fer with this edible delectable that cooks are just beginning to discover.

Also figured it was time for an update on the ducks. Remember these guys?



Because they're huge now:::



And a preview of the apples and plums to come: