Planting Minnesota Garlic on Dirt Rich
“Minnesotans don’t like that garlic. They don’t eat that spicy stuff, dontcha know?” Jerry and Sunny and their sold-out-by-August harvest beg to differ! It’s just about time to get next year’s crop in the ground. Our resident garlic guru, Jerry Ford, takes some time to compare notes and philosophies with fellow organic garlic grower Sunny Ruthchild as they prepare for the next season and climate unknowns. Their farms have dramatically different soils and topographies, and they both make it work for garlic. In their conversation, they get into:
- Site Selection
- Soil Prep
- Timing of planting
- Seed garlic and varietal selection
- Advice for first-time growers & gardeners
- Dip treatments
- Their agriculture philosophies
- Mulching
- Being adaptable to change in markets and climate
Garlic is a high-value, premium crop here in Minnesota. As Sunny says, “the truth is, Minnesota can grow garlic. And the other truth is, people in Minnesota love good garlic, don’t let anybody tell you anything else.” Tune into this latest episode of Dirt Rich for in-depth coverage on their planting process.
Dirt Rich episodes are available to listen on your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, and Google Play. You can also listen on the SFA website. Share with your friends, subscribe, rate and review to help us bring more people into the farmer-to-farmer network!
For more garlic information, visit the Minnesota Premium Garlic Project, the Minnesota Garlic Festival & Virtual Directory, and a playlist of SFA Garlic Videos.