They simply could have just had overstock. Stores, garden centers, even nursieries don't always sell things because it is the proper time to plant them. I know greenhouse owners who started out refusing to sell anything if it wasn't the right time to plant it out. But what happens is that customers who ask for those items want them anyway and they'll go somewhere else to buy them, never to return to that same greenhouse. Therefore, in order to stay in business, they give in and sell things twice. >Same sort of deal for garlic. A neighbor recently gave me an elephant garlic (or so he called it) plant that had lots of little bulbs attached to the main big one. Do I plant those now or do I wait until the fall and if I wait until the fall, how do I store them? How much sun does garlic need to grow well? Elephant garlic isn't really garlic. It's in the leek family. "October is the very best month for planting garlic, but again, garlic is very forgiving. In areas where the ground doesn't freeze, you can plant garlic any time from September to March. If you have cold winters, plant either in September or October or as early in the spring as you can work the soil. The plant is extremely frost-hardy, but it needs time to grow some roots before the soil freezes, so try to get them in the ground six to eight weeks in advance of a deep freeze." am interested in trying mineral oil to keep the pesky worms out of my ears of corn. The easiest way is to cut off the ends of panty hose and wrap the ends around the end of the corn and secure with a rubber band. If you still want the mineral oil, look in the near the pharmacy sections of the stores. It will say food grade mineral oil and won't be packaged at baby oil. Don't be shy about asking someone who works there either. Here is a link that might be useful: Elephant Garlic

Hello, Joanfreed. Last november I had the same experience. Although not in exactly the same circumstances. I had simply chopped garlic loves, put them in a small jar and poured olive-oil on top till the garlic was submerged. No previous soaking in vinegar. Yet, after roughly 48 hours, the whole lot turned in a kind of bluish green. We preferred to stay on the safe side and so, we threw it in the dustbin. I haven't a clue what was going on. The garlic was a rocambole cultivar, a leftover from planting garlic which I had ordered a few weeks earlier. I don't think there was something wrong with the garlic. I rather tend to believe there must have been a kind of reaction with acid components in the olive-oil. I also thought of a colouring which might have been caused by the green shoots which had developed in the garlic cloves. On the other hand, since then, I have prepared several batches of minced garlic in olive-oil and the phenomenon has not repeated itself. The mystery is still there.

It is the garlic solids. Without testing there's no way to determine whether roasted garlic is safe or not, but my guess is not because you'd have to be 100% certain there was no water activity left in the garlic whatsoever. That's why infusing oil with dried garlic flakes or dried peppers isn't a problem. My inclination is not to take any risks with botulism. If you wish to keep the roasted garlic in the oil, again, freezing is the safest option for long-term storage. Given that it's oil, it's not going to take long to thaw. It's similar to what many Italian restaurants do. They often store chopped garlic in oil in the freezer, scooping out what they need as demand requires. Carol

km, one good and easy way to use the oil with potatoes is to lightly oil and roast them. Start with about 4 pounds of any kind of potato. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Meanwhile, rinse the potatoes and rub them under running water to remove any grime, but leave the skins on. Dry them thoroughly with paper towels (kitchen paper) and cut them into irregular shaped pieces about ½" to 1" in size. Place them in a mixing bowl, drizzle with ¼ cup of oil, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and mix thoroughly so that all the potato pieces are lightly coated. Transfer to a baking pan or roasting dish, spread them out evenly over the bottom and place the pan in the middle of the oven. Roast, stirring occasionally, for about an hour, or until they taste done (not crunchy and not burnt). Another nice thing you can do with your oil is to use it as a marinade for lamb chops or roast lamb! For example, start with 4 one-inch thick loin lamb chops and 2 tablespoons of oil. Remove them from the fridge, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels, and rub them on all sides with oil. Let stand, at room temperature, in a stainless steel or ceramic bowl for about an hour. Heat a large skillet (frying pan) on medium-low heat for two minutes; add 3 tablespoons of oil, rotate the pan to coat evenly, and add the lamb chops. Brown on both sides, about 90 seconds per side. Turn the heat down to low (not too low; you should still hear them sizzle) and cook for about 12 minutes per side, or until the centers of the chops are light pink. If you time it right, you can have the lamb chops and the roast potatoes ready at the same time! Serve with a tossed salad (your oil would make a lovely dressing with red wine vinegar, but that might be overusing it on a single meal) and invite over your Gardenweb mates!