Winter is Coming

So it's time to get the garlic in the ground!

Garlic does best in our zone (3B) when planted in September or early October. And one of the first things people say when explaining the process (and we've done a LOT of garlic talk in the past few weeks) is:

"I didn't know you planted in the fall"

Well, I'm here to share the garlic information you didn't know you needed.

The reason we plant in the fall is because we have chosen a hardneck variety. They do best in our harsh prairie winters compared to the soft neck variety you typically find in a grocery store. Hardneck garlic requires prolonged exposure to cold to allow the process of vernalization to occur.

Vernala...what?

ver·nal·i·za·tion "the cooling of seed during germination in order to accelerate flowering when it is planted."

The cold temperatures allow the garlic to sprout and begin forming a bulb. For those that live in warm climates they often need to refrigerate their garlic weeks before planting as this process would not occur naturally. Luckily for us, here in Saskatchewan we have no shortage of cold.

Separating cloves - this was a process!

So, getting the garlic in the ground before a hard frost is ideal. We need time for the roots to established as they become dormant over the winter. To help ease our planting process we decided to purchase a two-row planter, which was a fantastic decision as it easily streamlined our process. A few tweaks to the machine and we were crusin'.

After a lot of counting and sorting that is!

We managed to get quite a few rows planted with the amount of seed garlic we acquired which is going to keep us quite busy come Spring next year. But we aren't complaining! The whole process of discovering and learning as we grow a business has been great. There will be some trial and error (hopefully more trials) as we learn what works best.

Planting with efficiency - This was a lot of fun!

Once everything is planted you want to make sure it's nice and cozy. So, we insulated with at least 3" of straw which will protect our seeds from frost throughout the winter.

And that's really it. Now, we let the magic of soil do the work!

Depending on our germination rate. (keep your fingers crossed for us) Our next winter will be busy drying/sorting and coming up with different garlic products that suit our customer's needs.

I'll be back in Spring to share more behind the scenes of what goes on as our crop matures and to share ALL the garlic information you didn't know you needed! Until then tell with us your favourite way to use garlic and what products you wish to see. We already have some ideas brewing!

Let us know in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!

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Written by Jessica Grant

(Co-owner, email/social media coordinator)

All images provided by @JG Photography