DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM

 

Tim bunching some just picked garlic in the field.

 

The trailer getting filled with garlic bunches to be transported back to the drying shed and out of the sun.

Piles of garlic bunches awaiting their spot on the hanging rack!

  

Fresh 2009 garlic just hung for drying and curing, Glenlyon dirt intact. 

 

First lot of garlic stems cleaned for plaiting. 

 

Let the plaiting begin...plait-meister Cheryl in action (not just another hand model!). Cheryl is our dear friend and occasional farm hand. A lady of many talents, a fellow garlic and fine food groupie with the biggest heart who is my plaiting guru/buddy. She also brings a large dollop of love to our mix in Angelicanian creations!

 

Plait-o-rama well under way (...and already 'sold out' online!) .

  

Then last week we were blessed with the French and Italian 'Connection' for a day to help kick off the garlic bulb cleaning festival! Our mates Don and Sue from Timber Benders shared their  WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) with us for the day, which was a great help and good fun. 

Billy got spoilt with loads of extra love and cuddles! Unfortunately my dream of taking him out for dinner in Paris was dashed when the guys broke the news that it wasn't likely to be able to happen in reality- oh pooh! 

We got our first lot of online garlic orders posted out the other day and all has reached its destination in good shape and with fabulous feedback coming in- thank you :)

And back on the 'ranch' the garlic bulb cleaning continues in earnest....

The Daylesford (1st sat.) and then Collingwood Children's Farm farmers' markets have been fantastic the past couple of Saturdays (sorry no pics!). It's great to be back in the f.m. 'saddle' for the new season.

Please come and visit us this coming Saturday at the Hawthorn Boroondara Farmers' Markets (8am-1pm) or the Daylesford Christmas Twilight Farmer's Market (4pm-8pm) and maybe pick up a gorgeous garlic braid as a Christmas present to-boot?! :)

      

Well, the garlic is going 'gang busters' and is looking plump and juicy and nearing time for harvest in the next few weeks...we are sooo excited! There's anticipation for the garlic's arrival building from many corners...The other day a friend told me she is giving her highly reputed basil pesto to some close friends as an engagement gift BUT they will have to wait until the new season's Angelica Organic Farm gorgeous gourmet garlic is available because she said "it's not worth using anything else!" - thank you darling we appreciate your loyalty and spruiking very much :)

  

As rocambole garlic nears harvest time, it shoots up flower heads, known as scapes, which quickly become tightly coiled 1-3 times round (not just curved or arched). Most garlic growers cut these stalks off  once they've curled, to prevent the garlic bulbs from being deprived of precious nutrients and energy needed to maximise bulb growth and therefore clove size. The rationale is that if the scapes are left intact they receive the nutrients for growth and rob the garlic bulbs. We will soon be 'popping the tops' of our rocambole garlic. Not all garlic growers agree there is a need to do this but from our experience so far it works for us and from our research it seems what works best for individual farms is varied and may largely depend on specific climatic factors effected by different land elevations and field aspects for example. We are always carrying out little experiments though to test for better ways of doing anything on the farm...

  

Tim just finished setting up the irrigation system for the beloved garlic. Towards the end of the garlic growing season we can't count on continuing rainfall and one of the worst things you can let happen to garlic is to let it dry out too rapidly before it's nearly time to harvest, stunting it's bulb growth, causing premature harvesting and poor storage capacity after harvest. However, you never want to water-log the soil, which reduces air as well as leeching out nutrients and around harvest time can generate diseases, moulds, rotting and prevent proper curing of the garlic. Neither waterlogged or dry soils are conducive to the beneficial micro-organisms and you just need the right balance of air and water in the soil to activate important chemical and physical processes.   We use drip irrigation at this time of the year because it enables us to maintain adequate soil moisture where it's needed, in the root zone, without water-logging the topsoil, reducing the aforementioned risks. Our last irrigation is a week or so out from harvesting, depending on the local climate and/or rainfall.

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone again at the markets, customers and fellow stallholders.

Hope to see you there soon!