Garlic Scapes
If you grow hard neck garlic you also get a bonus harvest of scapes.
Since garlic reproduces asexually, it has no flower and no true seed pod. It does however have something similar to a seed pod called a scape. The scape does not contain true seeds, but rather bulbils. These can be planted and will produce more garlic plants, but they will be small. It takes several generations of replanting to get plants of the same size as the original, and for this reason most garlic growers prefer to grow garlic from the cloves rather than the bulbils.
If left to mature on the plant, the scapes will consume a lot of the plant’s resources, and result in smaller garlic bulbs, so for this reason are best harvested from the plant shortly after they appear.
Garlic scapes are delicious. They do have a distinctive garlicky taste, but they are not very strong. They have a texture like, and are cooked similar to, green beans. You can eat the whole stalk together with the scape, so be sure to harvest it as close to the plant as possible so you don’t miss any. They can be fried or steamed, and eaten by themselves. When cooked in something like a stirfry, they give the whole dish a wonderful garlicky taste. They are best not eaten raw, because the flavor is too strong.
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18 Responses to “Garlic Scapes”
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How are there no cats in this picture?
Yes, I forgot to mention the cats. It must be the long pointy ends, or maybe the smell, but our cats love them too.
I confirm… taste LOVELY!
Thanks for dinner!
L x
I never knew that you could eat that part of the garlic, I’ve been throwing that part away for a couple of years now. Thanks for your info, really nice to know that this part of the garlic is edible. I grow catnip for my cat and that is his plant, and he knows it, he leaves my garden alone.
I live in town and we have this groundhog that won’t leave. Very stubborn creature, was munching on lettice while I was standing two feet from him, not shy at all. He will eventually come and munch on my garden so I want to get rid of him. Any groundhog tips?
Hi Lisa,
I have moles in my garden that eat my Garlic. I don’t know what to do about them, but at least they don’t eat all my garlic. I just plant a bit extra for them…
I’ve never seen a groundhog before, and I have no idea what you can do about them. If you figure something out, let us know!
Ah, so they’re called snapes! I grew stiff-necked garlic for the first time this year, and wondered what they were. Delighted to learn we can eat them too – thank you.
I just harvested my garlic, had to let them cure for a month. We surely don’t wish you to experience ground-hogs, they are about 100 times the size of moles.
Lisa
[...] beets (we got the beets!), bok choi, chard, scallions and garlic scapes. I’m intrigued by the garlic scapes, which are shoots that grow up from the garlic [...]
You can also pickle the scapes or put them in vinegars!! Long live Garlic!!
[...] and distinct flavors, is easy to peel, and has generally bigger cloves. These also produce edible garlic scapes at the beginning of the summer. These are my favorite, but they generally don’t store for [...]
[...] and distinct flavors, is easy to peel, and has generally bigger cloves. These also produce edible garlic scapes at the beginning of the summer. These are my favorite, but they generally don’t store for [...]
I let my garlic scapes “go to seed” and I now have many little “bulbils” as mentioned above. These look, smell and taste like small round garlic cloves. Can these be eaten? I don’t intend on planting them, and I’d hate for them to go to waste.
Hi Jodie,
Yes they can be eaten. I have not tried them myself, but they probably taste a lot like tiny cloves of garlic.
Every part of the garlic plant is edible, as are most alliums (onions, garlic and related). It all only comes down to if it tastes nice. I have heard of people eating garlic bulbils, so I think some people find them nice.
[...] had it. It is especially good chopped up raw and eaten in our salads. We have also received some garlic snapes, which have been heavenly. I had never had these either before the CSA box experiment, but I will be [...]
[...] flower heads grew and burst, putting forth masses of little bulbils—this plant’s answer to seeds. At first I was slightly annoyed with myself for not having eaten the scapes sooner. But then I [...]
[...] flower heads grew and burst, putting forth masses of little bulbils—this plant’s answer to seeds. At first I was slightly annoyed with myself for not having eaten the scapes sooner. But then I [...]
Last year I harvested enough small bulbs, planted from a store-bought garlic bulb to last until the end of March 2011. In spite of size, they were nice and firm and great tasting. This year ventured into the hard neck, and have just harvested about 35 scapes. Plants look great so I’m anxious to see the heads when they are dug up. About woodchucks – try doing some raised beds (4×8), wood sides with chicken wire all around. That deters but doesn’t get rid of moles, voles, but it does keep rabbits out also. Good luck
Thanks for visiting and leaving the comment Eileen. Good luck with your garlic this year, as well as woodchucks, moles, voles and whatever else you have going on in your garden!