— Liz Kammeyer, High Rocks AmeriCorps Member, Hillsboro, WV

Greetings from the mountain!  Since our last post, we started and finished an amazing New Beginnings camp in which we and our stellar young people laughed, learned, and got our hands dirty in the gardens.

Among the lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, zucchini, and more, garlic is one of our favorite parts of the High Rocks gardens.  We grow a variety of hardneck garlic that has been grown in Pocahontas County for 15+ years, which we affectionately label “High Rocks Hardneck”. Planted and mulched in the fall with the help of AmeriCorps members, Grow Appalachia participants, and college students, it keeps itself cozy over the winter and spring until we’re ready to harvest in the summer.

 

But first come the scapes!  Our wonderful Junior Counselors lent a hand in harvesting the flavorful scapes which soon after made their debut on our salad bar.

 

Then the really fun part!  Deb and Natalie use a digging fork to unearth any plants that no longer have more than five healthy green leaves.

 

Those are passed off to our crew of smiley summer interns that shuck the outer layer to make them nice and pearly!

 

Then bundled with twine before…

 

…beautifully decorating the loft of our picnic shelter!

 

They will stay here drying until September when we cut them all down, braid them, and sell them at the Roadkill Cookoff festival in Marlinton.  Swing by the famed High Rocks garlic stand and say hi if you’re in town!