Mitake - one of the new varieties for 2003

THE 2003 GARLIC STORE LINEUP
    Everyone has been waiting patiently for the harvest both here at Yucca Ridge and at the farms of our fellow growers. We now have a pretty good idea of what we will be offering, which is shown on the list of over 60 varieties below. There may also be a few surprises added later on, so check the web site from time to time. Note you can see at a glance exactly what varities are available and shipping by clicking on "2003 Garlic Availability" in the middle of our home page. www.TheGarlicStore.com web site is now open for advance ordering. Remember, some varieties sell out very early, and it's first come, first serve.

ELEPHANTS
Jumbo Roasting Bulbs
Giant Roasting Bulbs
Baby Elephant Bulbs
Elephant Garlic Cloves
Elephant Garlic Rounds

SOFTNECKS
Artichoke Varieties
Achatami
Acropolis Greek
California Early
Chet's Italian Red
French Mild
Guatemalan Ikeda
Inchelium Red
Kettle River Giant
Lorz Italian
Polish White
Red Italian
Red Toch
Shantung Purple
Siciliano
Simonetti
Sonoran
Susanville
Transylvanian
Silverskin Varieties
Nootka Rose
Silverwhite
Silverskin
Garlic Braids

HARDNECKS
Purple Striped Varieties
Bogatyr
Brown Tempest
Chesnok Red
French Germinador
Korean Red
Metechi
Mexican Red
Persian Star
Red Rezan
Siberian
Zetak
Porcelain Varieties
Georgia Crystal
Georgia Fire
German Hardy
German Porcelain
German White
Leah 99
Music
Romanian Red
Polish Hardneck
Romanian Red
Rosewood
Zemo
Rocambole Varieties
Carpathian
Colorado Black
French Rocambole
German Brown
German Red
GSF #65
Italian Purple Easy Peel
Killarney Red
Legacy
Morado Gigante
Russian Giant
Russian Red
Spanish Roja
Temptress
Asiatic/Turban
Asian Tempest
Maitake
Portuguese
Sonoran
Xian

BULBILS
Mixed Hardnecks
French Rocambole
Siberian
Spanish Roja (and more)

GIANT ALLIUM FLOWERS
Globemaster
Gladiator
Purple Sensation

GARLIC SIX PACKS
    Last month we saw a web site for a garlic festival that boasts of its garlic beer. Why not? Sounds at least as good as garlic ice cream. And it also provided us an inspiration. Last year our four-bulb sampler packs were a big hit. So this year, we will add six packs. These will be collections of some very interesting and exotic garlic varieties that are hard to find. Hope you enjoy them!

GARLIC IS LIFE EVENT REMINDER
You have already missed the Festivalul Usturoiului in Copalau, Romania. It was held back in June, and over 100,000 folks showed up in Dracula's homeland to celebrate garlic. Gilroy's homage to "factory farm" mass garlic culture (the beer tents are pretty good!) comes the last weekend of July. And the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, in Saugerties, NY, where people really do know their hardnecks, is scheduled for the last weekend of September, 2003. But the BIG meeting for real garli-philes is the Garlic Is Life Festival, Tulsa, OK, held Thursday through Saturday, October 30th through November 1, 2003. Check the website in a few weeks for the updated details (www.GarlicIsLife.com). Aside from a great garlic dinner and a fun Saturday garlic market, there are serious garlic talks from serious garlic people, as well as a day-long garlic growers symposium. This extraordinary event is held on the campus of Oklahoma State University, Tulsa. www.GarlicIsLife.com

The Garlic Grower’s Video/ DVD Makes a Great Gift:
We call it “A Garlic Gardener’s Guide.” This 32 minute production shows you the tricks of the trade for growing your own top flight garlic, and also provides some historical facts about the history of garlic, along with fun scenes from the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Available now as either VHS tape ($19.95 plus S&H) or DVD ($24.95 plus S&H)

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
You can always email TheGarlicStore.com with your garlic questions (TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com.) But if you would like your question answered in an upcoming issue of The Garlic Store Gazette, just let us know. We can publish your favorite garlic pictures too (just send them as an email attachment).

Published by: www.TheGarlicStore.com at Yucca Ridge Farm, 46050 Weld County Road 13, Fort Collins, CO 80524. A member of the Better Business Bureau Online. Email us at: TheChiefClove@TheGarlicStore.com.
© The Garlic Store/FMA, Inc., 2003

Order online at www.TheGarlicStore.com

SUMMER GARLIC GARDENING TIPS
   By now, almost all garlics around the U.S. of A should have been harvested. The best harvesting rule we have found is: wait no longer than the point where the lower third to half of the leaves have turned brown. If you dig too late, the bulb wrappers may split in the ground, which leads to dirty bulbs and shortened shelf life. Since most bulb growth occurs in the last few weeks, you don't want to harvest too early either. If the plants are still largely green (save for some brown leaf tips, especially on the older leaves), then growth is still occurring. Most varieties mature approximately within ten days of each other.
   But before you can enjoy the fruits of your harvest, it is essential to properly "cure" or dry the garlic. This process takes two to four weeks, depending on how warm and humid your climate may be. The entire plant should be harvested. Most people bundle them in bunches of about ten and hang them from hooks, rafters, screens, or wherever they can get good air circulation to promote the drying. It is essential to keep the garlic out of the rain and the direct sun (to prevent sun scald). We use a three-sided pole barn which is perfect out here in Colorado. We just place the curing plants in open mesh plastic laundry baskets, which allows the high plains winds to breeze through the plants. Once the wrappers are very dry to the touch and the stalks have largely browned, trim the roots and the stalk. Discard any bulbs that show signs of mold or are soft or mushy to the touch. Failure to properly cure bulbs can lead to a nasty outbreak of mold and fungus when the bulbs are in storage. Store bulbs in a cooler room, such as a root cellar, if you have one. A good environment is 55°F and 55% relative humidity. Do NOT store in the refrigerator. That will cause the plant to break dormancy and try to start growing, greatly shortening its shelf life. After September, especially if you are in a dry climate, keep your bulbs in a paper bag to help slow down desiccation.


June planted garlic just after July 4th.

SUMMER PLANTING OF GREEN GARLIC
    One of the joys of spring is harvesting green garlic. When the plants have reached about 12 inches, it resembles a scallion but has a wonderful garlic taste. It can be used in salads, stir fries, soups, and a whole host of recipes (see our recipe section). But the harvest window is short, typically three or four weeks. So why not just keep planting cloves at one month intervals during spring and summer? Why not indeed. So we tried it, as part of our ongoing Specialty Crop Grower's Research Program with Colorado State University's Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. The preliminary results: it works! We planted in April, June and July and quickly found ourselves with nice tender garlic shoots heading for twelve inches and beyond after 4 to 6 weeks. While the plants were a little thinner than their fall-planted compatriots, they looked and tasted just great.

THE HERB OF THE YEAR
   The International Herb Association has named garlic the "Herb of the Year" for 2004. What took them so long? The Egyptians were extolling its virtues some 4000 years ago during their pyramid building phase. But better late than never. As far as we are concerned, garlic is the herb of the year, every year. Allium Sativum in Aeternum!

A NEW USE FOR GARLIC
    James Sills purchased some garlic planting stock from us last year. But when he planted it in the fall of 2002, he had more than just a garden crop in mind. He made a point to plant the cloves as a project with his two year old daughter and four year old son. As a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves, he knew there was a growing chance that he would be called up to fight, with all the uncertainties that entails. So the garlic was really an exercise in bonding, providing the children something to hold onto and remind them of Dad if he had to leave. Well, so far, he has not been mobilized, but the garden has been a great success, and "the whole garden experience has been a joy for us all."


Dr. Gayle Volk, USDA, Ft. Collins and assistant Chanté Floreani make measurements at Yucca Ridge Farm as part of our CSU Specialty Crop Grower's Research project.

"RESTAURANT" REVIEWS
    Baseball fans in San Francisco can order sushi. Milwaukee Brewers fans can rustle up some bratwurst (assuming a player hasn't pounded them to pieces). And now, at our favorite ballpark, Denver's Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, they have come up with - steaming hot GARLIC fries The garlic really makes the taters tasty, especially with some salt and ketchup added. I was munching on a pungent garlic fry last week while sitting along the left field line when Todd Helton (baseball's best natural hitter in our humble opinion) blasted a home run to right. Life just doesn't get any better than that.

NEW IN THE GARLIC STORE
   Aside from presenting over a dozen new garlic varieties this season, we have some new, fun food items. These include 20-Pepper Pickled Garlic, a tasty aioli (garlic mayonnaise) from our favorite San Francisco restaurant, LuLu, a garlic chutney, dried organic garlic flakes, and pickled garlic spears.

NEW SEARCH FEATURE ADDED
    So how do you find these new items on our big web site? Search for it….with our new site Search feature. Just type in what you are looking for, and a list of links to pages on our web site will appear. Hopefully what you want will be among the first few choices. Google it ain't, but it seems to work pretty well and addresses a long standing request from a number of visitors. Search away. Your comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

CHESTER AARON ON THE AIR
    Chester Aaron, of Occidental, CA is one of our very favorite people. He has probably done more to popularize delicious varietal garlics than any other single person. His wonderful books on garlic and its culture (see our book store) are a delight. He was also the inspiration for that wonderful garlic poster that has popped up all over during the last few years. And now he is a radio star. After brief appearances on National Public Radio's "Weekend All Things Considered" over the past few years, he is now scheduled to do a series of vignettes during late summer and fall on garlic, garlic growing and whatever else comes into his fertile imagination. After almost 80 years, he has accumulated a lot of wisdom and knowledge, and it is a delight to hear him sharing it with a national audience. Hope you catch the show.

RECIPES
Don't forget, www.TheGarlicStore.com publishes a new garlic recipe each month. We have built up quite a collection.

Garlic Scape Soup
(This soup enhances the delicate garlic-asparagus flavor of the scapes. You may use the flower as well.)
3 cups garlic spears, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the garlic spears and the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until vegetables are soft. Add the thyme at the end. In food processor, pureé the vegetables and add chicken stock as needed to make a smooth paste. In saucepan, heat the vegetable mixture and add the remaining chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and add the cream. Adjust the seasoning. Serves 4.