Whiterock Garlic
Garry Kelsey
5706 Tatlock Rd. RR1
Clayton, ON K0A 1P0
613.256.7041
Email: gkelsey@worldline.ca
Website: www.tatlockcentral.bravehost.com
What he sells: garlic scapes, garlic, seed garlic (call now to order)
Where he sells: Perth Farmers Market (August-Thanksgiving), farmgate, Foodsmiths (Perth)
Garlic - Allium Sativum- is one of the oldest known horticultural crops in the world. Perhaps because it originates from the steppes of south central Asia, and was used by many early immigrant populations to Canada, garlic used to be considered exotic. According to Canadian culinary guru Julia Child, if not suspiciously foreign, garlic was certainly very "lower-class". Well, times have changed and now, next to salt and pepper, garlic is perhaps the dearest essential in any North American kitchen, and it has even become the darling of our most famous chefs.
Garlic has been cultivated for thousands of years for culinary and medicinal purposes. This pungent member of the Allium family is alleged to be able to repel vampires, restore virility, cure leprosy, give courage, fight infection, aid digestion, and deter scorpions! Garlic has been mentioned in the earliest medical records of each major civilization.
And now, also in Lanark County! Right now, garlic is really in season. August is the month for garlic festivals such as the Perth Garlic Festival (date??), and is the time for you to stock up on fresh bulbs, and braids at markets around the county. For those ‘in the know’, garlic has actually been in season for several weeks now, as producers have been harvesting and selling the ‘scapes’. Scapes, which are the flower stem of the plant, used to be discarded but have now become recognized as something of a delicacy! They are delicious just simply fried with olive oil and salt but now, as you can see from the numerous recipes on Garry Kelsey’s website (www.tatlockcentral.bravehost.com), people are developing a host of recipes that use scapes in inventive ways.
Garry Kelsey is the owner/producer of Whiterock Garlic. I visited his farm near Clayton last month just before the harvest began. Garry grew up in Lanark County at a time when garlic was pretty much unheard of. It wasn’t until much later that his interest in garlic was piqued - after his wife, who worked in a restaurant, got him to use some in a recipe. Around the same time, Garry happened to pass by a farm that was selling garlic. He hadn’t realized it was possible to grow here. He decided to try his hand at growing some himself and found it grew quite easily even with very little attention. After a few years, Garry’s crop of a few bulbs had grown to 30,000! This was a bit too much as he does everything himself, by hand, (except for breaking ground and tilling). Now he grows 15-20,000 bulbs of two varieties – ‘Russian Red’ and ‘Music’. Both are hardneck varieties – so named because of the hard, pencil-like stem that rises from the center of the bulb. Hardneck garlic has three main types – Porcelains (ie. Music), Rocomboles (ie. Russian Red), and Purple Stripe. Softneck garlic is what is typically found in the supermarket because these varieties are more amenable to mechanized planting and harvesting. They are also more suited than hardnecks to warmer climates like California and China – the two main places our supermarket variety of garlic comes from.
13 years ago, after retiring from work at the National Archives in Ottawa, Garry and his wife Debbie moved to their farm. Garry thought producing garlic might be a good way to supplement his pension. Over the last 10 years he has carved out four large patches of heavy loam in which to grow his garlic. He amends the soil with lots of manure, and gives the plants a shot of fish emulsion throughout the growing season. He plants and weeds by hand and uses no chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.
Planting and harvesting 20,000 bulbs of garlic is laborious – particularly for a one-man operation. Planting begins in September and lasts a few weeks. The bulbs then need to be mulched in November before the snow. Similarly, harvesting scapes, and then the bulbs, takes many more weeks of intensive labour.
Once out of the ground the garlic is sorted. The biggest bulbs are saved as seed for next year’s crop (@20% of the crop). Garry has been selecting his own seed for years now and by doing this he has effectively adapted ‘Music’ and ‘Red Russian’ to suit the conditions at his farm. Interestingly, the ‘Music’ bulbs did quite poorly in the first planting year. Now it is his best crop.
Finally, garlic needs to be ‘cured’ or dried properly in order for it to keep well into the winter. This process takes 2- 3 weeks depending on weather conditions. Garry hangs his garlic in sheds he built with good air circulation. Once dried, the stems are trimmed and it is ready for sale.
Despite the intervals of intense activity throughout the growing season, a visit to Garry’s website (www. Tatlockcentral.bravehost.com) indicates just how many other interests he manages to entertain! From playing and collecting old-time country music, to woodworking, milling wood, brewing beer and wine, and doing genealogical research into his family, this man keeps himself occupied! You will find him at the Perth Farmers Market on Saturdays, August through to Thanksgiving.
Garlic Tips:
Order or buy garlic seed now
Plant in September/October before frost.
Add a layer of well composted manure after planting.
Mulch with a couple of inches of straw before snow/ground freezes (end Novermber).
Garlic needs a good watering every two weeks until the beginning of July.
The bulbs begin to form after the longest day (‘daylight determinant’)
Cut scapes off in June
Harvest when the bottom 3-4 leaves have turned brown
Dry for 2-3 weeks in dry, well ventilated area
Trim stalks and store in a cool, dry place
Recipe: Scapes & Green Beans
While the red pepper adds color, the beans & scapes are look-alikes that fill this dish with taste surprises!
Serve with sautééed or grilled poultry or meat.
8 ounces green beans
6 ounces garlic scapes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red pepper, diced salt, & freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1. Top& tail green beans.
2. Boil a large pot of salted water; add beans& blanch for 2 –– 3 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Drain & refresh with cold water until beans are cold.
4. Trim garlic scapes & remove any seed pods.
5. Cut into pieces about the same length as the beans.
6. Blanch for 1 –– 2 minutes; drain& refresh with cold water.
7. Heat oil in skillet on medium heat; add scapes& saute for 2 minutes.
8. Add beans & red peppers.
9. Toss together, cover skillet & cook for 2 minutes longer or until scapes are crisp-tender.
10. Uncover & season with salt, pepper & balsamic vinegar.