Garlic

Last week we planted our garlic for the 2022 season using garlic that we grew at the farm this year. We are currently taking stock of what remains after planting. We have two really solid varieties of garlic that we have been growing and developing for years. The first variety is called “Mom’s” because we were given some seed heads from my Mom who had been growing this variety for many years after receiving seeds from a little old lady who patronized the local meat market where she worked. This variety is the best tasting garlic we have tried, with a super balanced flavor profile that doesn’t come on too strong even when eaten raw such as in pesto.This variety is a cold hardy hard neck rocambole type. When comparing it to named garlic varieties, “German Red” is the variety that it most closely resembles. We have been growing and selecting this variety since 2011.
The second variety that we grow was originally gifted to us by our friend Ken as a wedding gift in the fall of 2014. While we call this variety, “Ken’s,” it is actually called “Armenian.” When Ken gave us this garlic it typically produced 3-4 very large cloves per bulb. We have selected it to consistently produce 5-7 medium to large cloves. The flavor profile of this variety is a close second to “Mom’s”, and it has the added benefit of having larger cloves which most people prefer. 
In addition to our two solid varieties, since 2019 we have been developing and growing a third variety which is called “Chesnok Red.” We have not yet been able to hand out this variety because we are still working on selecting for larger bulb size. This variety has pretty darn good flavor, though not as good as the first two varieties. It has ALOT of cloves in each bulb -- an outer ring of larger cloves and an inner ring of smaller cloves. It has a really pretty pink color skin when properly cleaned. These are a couple of reasons we are developing a 3rd vareity:

1. Chesnok Red reputedly stores longer than the other two varieties. We are interested in the possibility of a longer storing variety so that we could have garlic in our spring shares.
   
2. The beautiful pink color and symmetrical shape of the bulbs would look really nice in a garlic braid which our farm may launch as a new product in 2022.
   
3. Variety is the spice of life!
   

 Because the Chesnok Red garlic is still in the process of being selected for size, we have not handed it out in shares as eating garlic. We do however have about 150 pounds of this variety and we have decided to offer it in 2 pound bags for sale as a special add-on item.