Scape Sacrifice.  Garlic is a crop that has 2 harvests.  In June to early July, the plant will send up a curling stem that is called a garlic scape –  this is edible.  If the scape is left on the plant it will flower and produce seed (which look like baby garlic cloves).   Ideally you should remove the stem once it has one or 2 curls, it snaps off easily just above the leaves.  Doing this will let the plant energy go to making a bigger garlic bulb rather than producing seed.

Once the scape is removed you can look forward to a garlic harvest in another month or so…….two harvests for the effort of one.

How to Eat: The scape can be used any way that garlic can, it is edible including the flower tip.  I make garlic scape butter by blending the scapes with butter.  This can then be divided and frozen to use later anywhere you want garlic butter.  They can be sautéed, roasted, pickled, the sky is the limit with this versatile first crop of the garlic plant.