The Minnesota Garlic Festival returns to Hutchinson, Minnesota this Saturday, August 13! And that's got us thinking about seed garlic and planning ahead for the fall planting. Please enjoy this delightful conversation with two seasoned garlic growers, and consider joining us on Saturday for garlic food, fun, and conversations with farmers.
Originally released September 16, 2020.
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“Minnesotans don’t like that garlic. They don’t eat that spicy stuff, dontcha know?” Jerry and Sunny and their sold-out-by-August harvest beg to differ!
Jerry Ford and Sunny Ruthchild are longtime friends in Minnesota garlic and organic farming. Sunny runs Merryweather Gardens near Walnut Grove, raising garlic, poultry, vegetables, and pigs who are happy to be the clean-up crew for her orchard. Jerry raises replacement dairy heifers, grass-fed beef, and garlic with his family at Living Song Farm near Howard Lake.
Before they get back out there to plant next year’s garlic crop, they’re taking some time to compare notes and philosophies as they prepare for the next season and climate unknowns. They get into:
Garlic is a high-value, premium crop here in Minnesota. As Sunny says, “the truth is, Minnesota can grow garlic. And the other truth is, people in Minnesota love good garlic, don’t let anybody tell you anything else.”
Jerry Ford - Living Song Farm, SFA Network Coordinator
Sunny Ruthchild - Merryweather Farm
Katie Feterl - SFA Communications Director
The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.
Resources:
Minnesota Premium Garlic Project
Minnesota Garlic Festival & Virtual Directory
Dirt Rich Episode 6: Harvesting Minnesota Garlic
SFA Garlic Videos
72: Farm Marketing & Mindset with Charlotte Smith
71: Shifting Agriculture with Dan Kittredge
70: Building Your Dream Team and Farm with Derek Schmitz
69: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS
68: Dealing with Drought Roundtable
67: What is Farm Profitability?
66: From Farm to SFA and Back
65: The Emerging Farmers Office
64: Grazing Tech - PaddockTrac
63: Business Management at Cedar Crate Farm
62: From Planting to Pack Shed at Cedar Crate Farm
61: What’s on your mind?
60: Consults & Conferences
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59: Enchanted Meadows - In Transition
58: Old Farm, New Visions
Revisited: AMPed for Grazing
57: Fundamentals of Adaptive Grazing
56: Get to Know Jonathan Kilpatrick
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