Growing Garlic: a revolutionary act (and magic-making)

To my dear readers: I initially wrote this post about garlic on Instagram and then wondered why I didn’t share it with you, first. Now that I’m not using Instagram so much anymore, I thought I’d bring some of those stories back to my blog, where they belong.

Every so often you’ll read posts like this: general musings on things I enjoy. Gardening is one thing that really brings me fulfillment! This year, my garden was not so great, but my garlic harvest was amazing. 🙂

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The magic of garlic

Garlic is an exercise in patience. It’s also magic. And, it’s a revolutionary act. This I believe. ✨

It has been so fun to watch several people I follow on Instagram and elsewhere IRL (some farmers, some backyard gardeners) pull up their garlic harvests. There’s this general sense of awe and celebration around it. It’s amazing and I feel pretty proud to now be part of that group! This summer (2022) I pulled up my first garlic harvest and WOW…it was amazing! Like, really, really amazing.

Something else on my mind is that garlic seems quite easy to grow. Obviously, good soil is useful and there’s a bit of care to be taken: mulching the ground to keep the soil happy over winter, and watering of course. And, now that I know a bit more about it, I think the timing is essential: both for planting and for harvest.

But once all those pieces are in place, garlic is a set-it-and-forget-it sort of crop. I planted 18 cloves and all 18 popped up. Beginner’s luck? Perhaps. I will also acknowledge that my minuscule crop is nothing compared to the crops of my favourite farmers, who are planting hundreds, if not thousands of cloves. Mine was not the most labour-intensive of projects! Still. It feels pretty low-barrier to me as far as growing things is concerned.

From film to book to a garden bed

I was inspired to finally try planting garlic after reading Stanley Crawford’s book, ‘A Garlic Testament: Seasons on a small New Mexico farm,’ which is a beautiful personal account of his time growing the spicy allium. He wrote the book in seasons, beginning with ‘Autumn plantings,’ and ending with ‘Summer exchange.’ Some of the anecdotes are practical, others are his personal musings on life. But always, he connects his stories to garlic.

Truth be told, I only found out about Stanley and his farm through the Netflix docu-series, “Rotten.” The show brings viewers behind the scenes on our globalized food supply chains and shines a big, ole spotlight on the “unsavoury truths” of how it all works. Spoiler alert: by and large, it ain’t great! Hence the title, “Rotten.” I found the show incredibly eye-opening (it’s one of the reasons I have a hard time justifying eating avocados these days).

In Season 1, Episode 3, the filmmakers focus their spotlight on the garlic industry and it’s a stinky affair. Stanley is featured as a US garlic farmer whose business is impacted by imported products from other countries.

“The harvest heals. It gives a sense of that wealth that only a stack of garlic or a pile of firewood or manure can represent, or a pickup loaded with baskets of flowers or heaped high with gourds or pumpkins or winter squash. Such is the abundance that can be surprisingly produced by a few plans, some seeds, some work, some waiting This is wealth that has not yet been driven through the filters of abstraction and stripped of its sensual and material qualities.”

Stanley Crawford, A Garlic Testament

Supporting local growers (or DIY!)

After watching my garlic pop up in my garden, and after spending much more of my time fawning over gorgeous heads at the market, I’m left wondering: why is it that we continue to export garlic from other countries? Honestly, why? Why aren’t we all buying local garlic? Or (and?), why aren’t more of us planting garlic?! Do people know that it’s actually like making magic happen? 

But of course, these are all things I’ve thought about as I’ve watched my first harvest come to life. Perhaps a perspective shift is what’s required. Now, I know. And, I still buy it: it’s just from some amazing local farmers. So, maybe that’s where we start: we don’t all have to go out and plant our own, but we can all go out and find some local alliums.

This year, I’ve squirrelled away eight heads for planting: some of my own, but most from other farmers who have taken so much care to grow truly beautiful alliums. I can’t wait to see what pops up next summer!

What do you think? I’d love to know your garlic story!