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WELCOME TO THE GARLIC PATCH!
My role as the "Key Project Leader" is primarily to work
with each of the cooperating
farmers who are growing-out the trial garlics. I shall
also update these "Notes from the Field" four times a year
to keep you abreast of what each producer is doing during
that season. Producers have been asked to add the trial garlic
to their field and grow the garlic using the same cultural
practices they normally use. Representative samples shall
be sent to Dr.
Gayle Volk who will post her "Notes
from the Lab". This is a public grant and this web
site is part of our educational objective. Results and information
from each season shall be posted here and maintained until
January 2008 and then made available through the Garlic
Seed Foundation (www.garlicseedfoundation.info).
It was exciting to open the package, and then each bag
containing each of the 10 garlic types. The grant purchased
these from select suppliers from different geographic areas.
To see them side-by-side: different shapes, color, sizes,
was interesting and more so when they were cracked which
revealed more skin colors and clove shapes. Each trial location
has three sites of sixteen cloves of each of the 10 garlic
types, or 480 cloves (3x16x10) with our garlic fields.
We have large producers and small across the U.S. in eleven
sites (please view participating
growers). One of the small complexities of this grant
is our geographic spread from Nevada to Washington to Arkansas
to Maine, thus the garlic will go in and come out of the ground
at very different times. Each site has taken soil samples,
which has been sent to a common laboratory for analysis. Each
producer has filled out a rather lengthy survey on their farm
and farmer history, soil fertility, and weed control program
and post harvest handling. Any input: irrigation, fertilization,
compost, amendments, etc. will be sampled.
And each garlic from each site will be sent to Gayle for
analysis. Are color, flavor, and chemical composition from
the soil? Or cultivar? Or geographic location? What grows
best where? And do we know why? Throughout the season we'll
be taking field notes and photos at different stages of growth.
We think that it would be very difficult to describe "plant
structure" or "scape curl" so we are going to photograph the
varieties at specific and common stages. We'll do the same
with the flower/bulbil and root morphology (the study of form
and structure). To start-off we've asked each grower to photograph
their field on January 21, 2006 where we can see some garlic
growing and some fast asleep. I've also asked each grower
to consider how they will make the collection of ten garlic
types available to their neighbors for public
access and review, and this will be posted for those who
are interested.
Thanks for visiting our site. We hope you'll visit with us
each season.
- David
Stern
Archives: Winter 2005 | Spring
2006
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