Market Farming

[Alliums <garlicgrower AT snip.net>]

Joan wrote:

> Was hoping to "pull" not dig - but I dug, even after
>all the rain we've had.  I just kept thinking as I pull out these huge heads
>that they'd have been really huge if the soil had been better.  Are we just
>never happy?

Ha, ha, ha -- I'm convinced Ron Engeland is the only one who can actually
"pull" garlic.  I end up digging up every head because the clay soil is way
too heavy to take it out any other way.  Supposedly, there is equipment that
will slice the roots off under the head and THEN you can pull the garlic,
but being small-scale/hand tools, I don't have such things.  My digging fork
and I are very close at this time of year! ;-D

I'm going to start harvesting tomorrow and will probably finish in mid-July
-- the joys of growing many different varieties that come in at different
times.  I *still* like GERMAN EXTRA-HARDY and PURPLE ITALIAN EASY PEEL the
best -- they are late varieties, so unless the heat wave gets really bad,
they won't be ready until mid-July.

I started cutting scapes last week and will finish before harvesting a
specific variety.  I harvest in the morning into marked buckets (so I know
what variety is what), then stand up the types on newspaper in the living
room, blow the fan through them for a day, then let it dry down for 2 to 4
weeks, depending on the humidity.  I make pickles/medicinal syrup/whatever
out of the culls.  Once everyone is dry, they get trimmed and the trimmings
get put in a cardboard box to the composted separately (diseased material
goes to the trash) so that I don't spread fulsarium.

Since there's a demand, I've also started selling (nicked in processing,
etc.) heads that won't keep as "culinary grade" warning folks that they need
to use the garlic up quickly.  This has actually worked out well with folks
who cook a lot as they'd rather buy the stuff when they are about to use it.
"Green garlic" and the "seed quality" are a lot more expensive, but they
have "keeping quality" which, of course, has traditionally been important
for folks who buy garlic.  Selling a "culinary grade" cheaply gets the stuff
out of my hair and into the hands of folks who would have eaten it that day,
anyway.  So, it seems to be working. . .

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of 
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA  19460