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FOR GARDENERS AND FARMERS
Gardeners who enjoy producing food for their families grow
a wide range of alliums for fresh use and storage. For market
gardeners or truck farmers, garlic is easy to adapt to row
crop or bed production with two primary time blocks: planting
in the fall, harvest in June-July (depending on latitude).
For many years the market in the U.S. was supplied by the
large California farms but starting twenty years ago, regional
garlic appreciation and recognition began to grow. In 1985
US garlic consumption was .5# /person/year. Today we witness:
- the decline of the California industry,
- the dominance of the cheap Chinese imported garlic (clones
of California), and
- consumption at 3+#/person/year.
Garlic grows in most soils under most conditions but requires
attention and maintenance to reach its potential. For most
of us, it requires 25-30 hand operations from planting to
the harvest. It keeps you active!
It's a rewarding crop: Bursting from the earth after
a dormant period, following the sun, promising a graceful
flower stalk and then a flavorful bulb. As a medicine and
as a culinary herb, it tastes good and is good for you. It
roars with sulfur compounds and has had a historical relationship
with man for thousands of years.
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