We specialize in naturally grown premium hardneck garlic. It is well suited for our climate (zone 4b). Cooks prefer the robust flavor of hardneck garlic over other types of garlic. Hardneck garlic sets an edible scape in early summer. We trim each scape by hand to allow the bulb to size up, otherwise the plant will put it's energy into having that scape flower. We sell garlic as seed to other farmers and growers and as culinary garlic for eating. Each bulb is hand planted, harvested by hand and personally inspected prior to shipping. Garlic orders begins shipping around late-August, after curing has been completed, in the order in which they were received. 

Our garlic has tested negative for Garlic Bloat Nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci).

Sizing

Typically, the larger sized bulbs are used for planting and the smaller sizes are used for culinary purposes.  

We use the following classifications to size our garlic:

• Small      1.51"-1.75"   15-18 bulbs/pound
• Medium   1.76"-2"   11-13 bulbs/pound
• Large      2.1"-2.25"     8-10 bulbs/pound
• Jumbo    2.26"-2.5"    5-8 bulbs/pound
• Colossal  2.51"-2.75"    4-6 bulbs/pound
• Goliath    2.76"+         approximately 3 bulbs/pound

"Rustic"

In 2021, we added the option to choose "rustic" garlic bulbs. The "rustic" option will be listed under the size of each variety of garlic on the Products Page. 

Each garlic bulb is protected by layers of paper-like wrappers. These help protect the bulb from drying out. Typically, garlic is sold after the first layer or two of wrappers have been removed. While this gives the bulbs a cleaner appearance, there is a greater chance of loss of moisture from the cloves. For longer storage, it is best to choose the "rustic" option.  

Here is an example of two large sized bulbs. The one on the left is "rustic" and the one on the right is what is traditionally seen with the first few layers of wrappers removed.  

Buy From Local Farmers

You may notice that our garlic looks different from the bulk garlic you can buy at the grocery store. Our wrappers are tight because our product is fresh. The cloves shouldn't fall apart as soon as you pick up a head of garlic. Our outer wrappers will not be perfectly white. If you see perfectly white wrappers in the grocery store, it is likely that your garlic was bleached.  Yes, bleached!  The majority of garlic in the grocery stores is imported from China and they bleach the garlic before shipping it to the US. Another way to tell if garlic has been imported from China is to look for roots. If the roots have all been scooped off of the bulb, it was likely imported. Garlic grown in the United States will have trimmed roots at the bottom of the bulb like in the picture at the top of this page.

How To Grow Garlic

Plant hardneck garlic in the fall about 6 weeks prior to freeze.  We typically plant in mid October in central Minnesota.

Close to the time of planting, separate the cloves from each bulb.  We try to do this the night before planting.  

Plant garlic into prepared soil 2-3" deep in rows with 6-9" spacing.  Rows should be at least 1 foot apart.  Plant with the point of the clove up and the root side down.  Cover the tip of the clove with soil.

Heavily mulch the rows of garlic after the ground freezes.  

Wait until spring and weed your garlic bed.

When the scape appears, cut them off.  The scapes typically appear in June in central Minnesota.  Save the scapes to eat- they are delicious! This is an important step to help grow big bulbs of garlic.  

Harvest the garlic about a month after cutting the scapes.  We harvest when there are 3 dead leaves from the bottom (or when you have 4-5 green leaves from the top).

Hang garlic to cure in an area that is out of the sun and has good air flow for about 3 weeks.  When the stems are dry, trim and store in a cool, dry place that has good air flow (not in the refrigerator).