GROeat Farm Newsletter of 2018

Cloves, Chaos & Childhood: Raising Hardneck Garlic at Groeat Farm

It’s been a truly beautiful year in Bozeman, Montana, with crisp mornings and sunny afternoons—perfect for curing garlic! Our little helpers, Rowan and Seneca (just little ones, wearing diapers), are loving the farm life. While they're not quite ready to help with the 10,000-clove planting task (yet!), they are incredible at one thing: carrot consumption! We hope to see their little hands helping plant next season's crop, but for now, we'll keep them supplied with their favorite orange treats.

Life on Groeat Farm in 2018 is a sweet, beautiful kind of chaos. Between changing endless diapers, rescuing runaway Tonka trucks from the freshly tilled soil, and wiping muddy smudges off two pairs of glowing twin cheeks, there is an overwhelming amount of love overflowing in these fields. Raising twin boys while coaxing thousands of hardneck garlic bulbs out of the rich Montana earth teaches you a lot about patience, resilience, and the sheer magic of watching small things grow big and strong.

If you are a new grower taking your very first steps into the world of garlic, welcome! Growing large, robust hardneck garlic in cold climates like Bozeman is deeply rewarding, provided you listen to what the soil and the seasons are telling you.

Give them the winter cold they crave. Unlike softneck varieties, hardneck garlic thrives in regions with true, biting winters. In fact, hardneck cloves require a prolonged cold period—a process called vernalization—to trigger proper bulb formation in the spring. Bozeman winters deliver this cold in spades, locking the ground in deep freeze while your cloves rest safely below.

Plant at the right time and depth. Aim to plant in mid-to-late autumn, roughly four to six weeks before the ground freezes solid. Plant individual cloves pointy-side up, about two to three inches deep and four to six inches apart. Planting pointy-side up ensures the shoot grows straight to the light while roots push deep into the earth.

Feed the soil. Garlic is a heavy feeder that loves full sun and loose, well-draining soil rich in organic matter. Work in plenty of compost before planting, and ensure your soil doesn't pool water, as soggy roots will lead to rot before spring ever arrives.

Be sure to get a soil test done for the soil in your garlic plot. This is important. Let the soil scientist let you know what you need to amend to your soil.

Harvest when the leaves tell the story. As summer peaks, your garlic plants will form curly edible flower stems called scapes. Snip these off so the plant channels all its energy back into growing huge bulbs. When the bottom three or four leaves turn brown and dry while the top leaves remain green, it’s time to carefully dig up your prize. Gently brush off the dirt, hang them in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot for two to three weeks to cure, and you'll have farm-fresh garlic that lasts for months, maybe a full year.

Out here under the big sky, amidst the hum of farm chores and the delighted laughs of two precious little boys driving yellow toy trucks through the dirt, every single clove planted is an act of hope.

To press your bare palms into the cold, damp soil alongside a child's tiny fingers is to remember what it means to be human in a world that moves far too fast. Every mistake—too much nitrogen, a row planted too deep — is just the earth teaching us to slow down, listen, and begin again.

There is a sacred, heartbreaking beauty in knowing that these fleeting autumn days with two small boys running through the rows will pass like a breath, yet the rhythm of the soil remains, quietly promising that whatever we bury in love will always find its way back to the light.

Thank you!

Jere Folgert

www.GROeat.com