We are excited about our garlic crop this year; it is growing beautifully! Last year, most Minnesota garlic growers lost approximately 30% of our crop due to weather, but this year it looks like over 95% of the garlic we planted last fall is growing!
We pushed away some of the straw to uncover the garlic shoots in late April. Last weekend we walked each row, searching for shoots that hadn’t come up yet. Occasionally, a shoot was trying to push its way through a dense clump of straw without success, so we dug around in the straw to find and uncover the shoots that needed a little assistance. Personally, I always whispered a word of encouragement to the shoot, and I’m pretty sure that helped them grow.
Weeds haven’t started emerging in the fields much yet, so we can focus our attention on cleaning up the farm, working on the outbuildings, and organizing decades of tools and equipment. It’s relaxing yet challenging work!
We look forward to weekends on the farm all summer: monitoring the garlic, tending to the land, working on the equipment, and continuing the legacy of our family.