From the field: Garlic is a wonder crop
Hannah Alden, Reporter, The Record-Review If you’ve never pulled fresh garlic from the ground, let’s just say the experience lingers with you.
Without gloves on, your hands may end up smelling like garlic for days afterwards. While I love the pungent aroma of this particular allium, I can see why some snouts could find it offensive.
I remember when we pulled garlic the first summer I worked on a farm. It was hot and humid, much like this week’s forecast, and the smell remained in my nose and under my nails for days after. Eventually I got used to it, but at first it made me a little queasy. However, I’d much prefer that strong scent over the vile odor of a rotting potato or onion. Much to my dismay, I’ve unsuspectingly squeezed many rotten potatoes and onions while sorting through bins of winter-stored produce.
About a week ago, I pulled the 400 garlic plants that had been in the ground on the farm since last October. The process went pretty quick, considering I had been used to helping harvest thousands of bulbs at the farm I used to work for. The garlic spent some time in our high tunnel drying under cover to protect it from the sun and this week will move into our cooler and darker garage to finish curing.
I truly love harvesting garlic and thinking about the amazing life cycle it has. Traditionally in this part of the country, garlic gets planted in the fall to be harvested the following summer, so it spends nine to 10 months in the ground. The cloves lie nestled under the soil and straw mulch for the winter then sprout as the days begin to warm in the spring. It’s stunning to me what they can withstand.
I will sell some of the garlic and keep the rest to plant for next year’s crop. That’s another wonderful thing about garlic — you can perpetually have seed as long as you save some from the harvest each year. I hope to plant more for 2024 and add some additional varieties in future years.
If you’ve never cooked with farmers market garlic, I highly recommend it. Much of any garlic you get from a large grocer has traveled many miles and sat around for a long time before you get around to buying it, making it more likely to sprout on your counter or taste bland. The documentary series “Rotten” on Netflix has an episode about the top suppliers of the crop that is eye-opening. As always, fresh and local is usually better — better for quality, better for the environment and better for a small community’s economy.
