Bloosqualls Garlic Farm

We here at Bloosqualls Garlic Farm take great pride in growing the nicest bulbs possible for people who enjoy growing good garlic.

   Waitsburg already has great soil so it's easy to add a few amendments to make it even better thus an ideal location for growing garlic. We plant in the fall, try to get them in by October 15th. The winters here are cold enough to slow down top growth while the clove is making it's root system. Spring time the plant rockets upward as the soil gets warmer. Spring and early summer is an exciting time around here.

NEW ITEM. I've been Dehydrating some Music bulbs that weren't pretty enough to sell as top quality seed. We have 3oz bottles with sifter lids for sale. The price is $10.00 a bottle.  This may sound expensive but this bottle of pure garlic powder will last you months and months...just a dab will do ya. It's very potent stuff.

Travis Weedman
415 Preston Ave
Waitsburg WA 99361

Some of you may want to call me..not a problem.

509-337-6066 

Travis@bloosquallsgarlicfarm.com

Hey, don't blame me..I voted for Sarah !!!

Q. How long does it take for garlic to grow ?  

A. Planted in the fall, garlic is in the ground for 9 months.                      

Q. How deep do you plant a clove
A. About 1.5" to 2" deep is good, now is what I mean by that is I like to have at least 1.5" of soil on top of the clove when it's in the ground.

Q. What is the best variety ?

A. I like the Silver Skins the best. The rocambole Spanish Roja has been a favorite of a lot of people for a long time and is very popular...there seems to be a "buzz" about that one so that's what people think they should have. Music is also very popular because they have heard of it, grows well and gets good size. Sometimes I enjoy the German Red or Chesnok. Metechi(purple stripe) Rosewood (porcelain) seems to be the big thing lately. I've been munching on a lot of Khabar since harvest, it's pretty hot though. It's hard to say what the best garlic bulb is, it depends on if you enjoy a hot strong garlic or a mild one.

I recently spoke with a man who said he must have a hotter garlic because his taste buds are burned out..lol  OK, So the Porcelains would be the ones for him.  I personally think the purples stripes, asiatics, Rocs and silverskins are the most flavorful

Q. what about storage ability ?

A. The smaller bulbs will store longer than the huge monsters. a couple years ago I had a big 3" rocambole bulb in November and was cutting it up to add to some sauce. it had a musty smell and was punky inside the cloves. I tossed it and found a smaller one which was great. So, the biggies don't have the shelf life that the smaller bulbs do.

Here is what I have learned so far the Rocs have the shortest life span, the Silver Skins have the longest. Artichokes are pretty decent too. I've had them eight months after harvest and still be in good shape

Q. why does it cost so much ?

A. Each clove is planted by hand pointy end up, the rows of garlic plants are weeded by hand most times daily.  The bulbs are dug out either with a shovel or a tractor mounted blade that goes underneath the plant and gently pushes them up. once the plant is out of the field the bulb gets it's first cleaning...then they get hung to cure.

After the curing process each one is taken down and cleaned again, here the roots get cut and the plant part is removed from the bulb. I have a special pair of goat hoof clippers I use for doing all that. The garlic is then sorted by size and quality...any garlic that has a defect gets culled. They get put away in special shallow mesh bottomed  drawers on a shelf until it's time to ship them out to you.  Each bulb is handled at least 4 times from the time it gets harvested til it's sent out.  In short...it's a lot of work to grow a perfect garlic bulb.