GROeat Farm Newsletter - 2026

We are truly amazed by our 2026 hardneck garlic crop at GROeat Farm. The bulbs grew big, plump, and packed with rich, bold flavor that stands out in every way.

 

After a challenging winter and a late but welcome spring, our hardneck plants delivered an outstanding harvest that exceeded our hopes. We finished digging the last of the garlic in late July, and now the bulbs are curing for about a month so they can develop their full strength and long-lasting quality. Once cured, this beautiful garlic will be ready to ship straight to you. Each plump clove promises deep, complex taste that elevates everyday meals and special dishes alike. Folks who try our hardneck garlic come back for more because it is fresh, flavorful, and grown with care at 5,400 feet (above sea level) in organically rich soil. We cannot wait to share this exceptional crop with our friends and all the amazing garlic lovers everywhere.

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In the autumn of 2025, we prepared our soil with exceptional care so our garlic plants would thrive in 2026. We mixed in sheep wool pellets from Montana, which slowly release nitrogen, hold moisture like a sponge, and deter pests while improving soil structure over many months. We poured on generous amounts of fish and seaweed emulsion, a living blend that feeds beneficial microbes, supplies a full range of nutrients, and helps roots grow strong and resilient. To that we added Azomite mineral from Utah for its rich spectrum of trace elements that plants need in tiny but vital amounts. Organic chicken fertilizer—feather meal, bone meal, and blood meal—delivered steady nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron to build healthy bulbs. We layered in compost from our own production and rich horse manure from our neighbors to boost organic matter and beneficial life in the soil. Finally, we finished with a special organic nitrogen blend (15-1-1) that gives the garlic an early, steady supply of nitrogen without excess salts. Together these amendments created a fertile, living foundation ready to support vigorous garlic growth in the 2026 growing season.

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Despite our careful preparations, the 2025 season brought real challenges that tested our resolve. Stubborn weeds pushed back hard, demanding constant attention and extra effort to keep the beds clean. Our tractor-based hydrostatic tiller sprang a serious leak, forcing us to completely disassemble the machine and weld the hydraulic oil reservoir—a long, dirty job that cost us valuable time. Not long after, a sharp turn snapped a tie rod, stopping us cold until the welder once again saved the day with a solid repair. Even the road held surprises: while heading into town that autumn to mail garlic orders, a mature buck whitetail deer slammed into the side of our vehicle, a sudden reminder that farming rarely goes exactly as planned. Through every setback, we adapted, repaired, and pressed forward, proving that determination and skill can overcome even the toughest obstacles.

 

The winter of 2025-2026 at GROeat Farm, here in Bozeman, Montana,  brought unusual conditions for our hardneck garlic. Very little snow fell, precipitation stayed scarce, and temperatures ran warmer than average. This worried us at first. In recent years the mercury had plunged nearly to -45°F, and hardneck garlic normally needs a solid stretch of cold to develop strong, large bulbs. We planted with care and hoped for the best.

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Spring arrived, and the rains came late. Still, they arrived just in time. The moisture gave the hardneck garlic exactly what it needed to push new growth and fill out. By the time summer settled in, the 2026 crop looked excellent. Many of the bulbs grew plump and large. We felt genuine excitement as the plants matured.

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In the sun-kissed rows of hardneck garlic at GroEat Farm this mid-June, those whimsical, corkscrew scapes aren’t just nature’s curly fries—they’re liquid report cards on plant health. By snapping a scape and squeezing a drop or two of its sap onto a refractometer, we’re measuring Brix (°Bx), the concentration of dissolved solids (mostly sugars, plus minerals, amino acids, and other goodies) that the plant has cooked up through photosynthesis. One degree Brix roughly equals 1% sugar by weight, and our recent reading clocked in around a robust 42—meaning nearly half the juice is pure plant energy! Higher Brix signals happier, more resilient garlic: thicker flavors, stronger pest defenses, better storage, and fatter bulbs once we redirect that sugar highway underground. It’s equal parts mad science and farm detective work—proving that even a humble scape can tell us how well our Montana soil, sun, and microbes are teaming up to grow something truly exceptional.

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Harvest in July tested every last ounce of patience we had. The thermometer climbed to 100°F on more than one brutal day, and still we woke at 5 a.m., chaco sandals put on -  before the first bird sang, so we could begin digging at 5:30 while the air still held a trace of coolness. What a beautiful, almost heartbreaking time of day it was—the sun just peeking over the eastern Hyalite foothills, painting the sky soft gold, pink and orange -  while we bent over the rows.

 

Each bulb was lifted by hand. We worked a broadfork and a special pitchfork carefully around every plant, loosened the soil, then eased the garlic free, brushing away as much dirt as our tired fingers could manage. The tops were trimmed with an electronic clipping tool, the bulbs with stems laid gently into the hand wagon, and that wagon was pulled—slowly, steadily—back to the shop for curing. Row and Sen stepped up without complaint, working the early mornings and late evenings when the heat finally backed off. Their quiet grit made the harvest possible. And somehow, after all the sweat and sore backs and dirt under every fingernail, we still looked at one another covered head to toe in soil and laughed until our sides hurt, because only farmers would call this beautiful.

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