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  • From: "Beth Spaugh" <lists AT rhomestead.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Soft neck garlic for NY
  • Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:29:05 -0500

Rivka - what softnecks do you grow?


Beth Spaugh
Rehoboth Homestead, Peru, NY
Farm Fresh Food Club CSA - http://rhomestead.com
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Garden fresh vegetables, organically grown, and pastured chicken, duck, and
geese

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." -
Wendell Berry

"Without power over our food, any notion of democracy is empty." - Frances
Moore Lappe

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Road's End
Farm
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 3:53 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] storing garlic


On Feb 23, 2010, at 2:14 PM, Marty Kraft wrote:

> How do you cure garlic? How long should it hold? Mine from last
> summer is mostly rotten by now.
>
> Marty Kraft
> Kansas City

Hang in small bunches, or spread out in shallow trays, out of direct
sunlight but with good air circulation, for two weeks or longer.

Then you can clean it (remove roots, and enough outer layers from the
bulb to remove the dirt with them, but not enough to expose individual
cloves). You can cut the tops off at that point; or leave the tops on
and braid it, if it's softneck; or tie it up in something vaguely
resembling a braid if it's hardneck; depending mostly on how you want
to market it. We sell most of our softneck as braids, and most of the
hardneck as individual bulbs or as topped bulbs by the pound.

Store it anywhere with good air circulation that's out of direct sun;
cool room temperature is fine. It will probably actually keep longest
at just above freezing -- but if it's been held for a while at that
temperature, it may either sprout or break down very fast once it
comes out of cold storage; so unless your customers will use it
immediately it may be better not to keep it that cold.

What keeps longest for us is usually softneck in braids, which most
years will keep well until March, sometimes till May, and often is at
least semi-usable till the next crop comes in; then loose hardneck,
which keeps till somewhere between February and April generally; then
loose softneck, usually around February or March. The weather at
harvest and during curing is a factor -- if we were too wet during
that period it won't keep as long. We don't have humidity-controlled
storage for the curing and have to rely on opening and closing the
barn doors.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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