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| Fresh From the Field! |
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| Almost Finished Cleaning and Trimming! |
Although it's a lot of work, this is one of my favorite harvests! We love, love, love garlic here at Aagaard Farms; our home-grown garlic is soooo superior to what's in the store! It's a winner at our Farmers Markets, too - anyone who likes garlic and has tried it comes back for more! Farmer Man has dug a row of our reliable, hardneck garlic called Music. We've been taking little bits the last few weeks, for CSA and to sell by the head. Now comes the time to harvest and cure for winter storage. The huge pile, fresh from the field, has been reduced to a a partial table of heads. We've cut the foliage off, then we trim the 'tassel' of roots, hand rub any dirt and any dry layers of the papery covering. Then the heads will be left to sun dry for a few days, then we'll move it to a fresh, clean table while hand rubbing any more dry, papery husks and dirt. A few more days in the sun and it should be ready to bag, to sell in larger quantities. The curing is very important to ensure long-term storage. The heads of garlic can contain soil-born bacteria and fungi that can cause rot in less-than-perfect storage conditions. Sun drying or even just air drying (which takes longer) kills off any such pathogens, so the garlic will store all winter - if it lasts that long! The forecasted weather conditions are perfect for curing for the next five days so off we go! Are you growing garlic?
I actually had a pretty good haul of garlic this year. I pulled it all last weekend but have been less than good about getting it cleaned. Thanks for reminding me I need to get on that so I don't have problems with storage.
ReplyDeleteI was at the Farmer's Market in St. Norbert a couple of weeks ago and came across a table where the woman was selling these huge braids of garlic. The asking price for a bulb at the market is two to three dollars depending on the size. I figure that the garlic I grew saved me about $130.
ReplyDeleteWow, that seems like a lot per head. Either they're too expensive or I'm too cheap! We sell ours for $1 per head or $5 per pound.
ReplyDeleteI would go with the too expensive. Price differences between tables selling the same thing can be as much as a dollar different. It really pays to circulate the market before we buy.
ReplyDeleteWe are growing garlic, Music, I believe. We bought 2 lbs last September at the market and set aside some bulbs for spring planting. This is the first year we've tried it, so I was really keen to read this post. Once we're in for a stretch of sun, I'll follow your lead and let them sundry. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, uncanny; we always Fall plant garlic, we get it from Vesey's. It is 'Music', I think I said 'Magic'. We left them in a little long - some heads are a little woody at the bottom, still usable but we'll keep those for ourselves as they may need trimming!
ReplyDelete$5/pound is not enough for good quality garlic that stores well, Norah. Do your cost of production and you'll find that out. The going rate is $9/lb and up. These guys http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/ sell for US$18/lb! I'm selling mine for $9/lb and at that rate so far I've made $8.72/hr. Hardly a great wage! Next year I'll add on another 50cents to see if that helps, and also try to be more efficient. ~Sheri
ReplyDeleteGood info, Sheri! Here in Brandon, there's a little bit of an issue with what the market will bear......I've already taken a wee bit of abuse for a $5 bag.....
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