Raising Garlic

Hope to see you at the Hudson Valley Garlic Fest 2026 in Saugerties NY on September 26 & 27. Forty thousand people can't be wrong about something this good. 50 garlic farmers, arts & crafts, live music, plenty of food and lots of stinkin' garlic. Come down and visit us in Booth 19. This is a new location for us near the information booth and just off the center of the universe for this fair. https://www.hvgf.org/

Come one, come all to the 30th annual Garlic Town USA 2026. Born from a humble farmers market and rooted in over 30 years of tradition, Garlic Town USA has grown into one of Vermont’s signature celebrations, where the streets of Bennington come alive each Labor Day weekend in a vibrant, garlic-scented gathering of farmers, makers, music, and community. This is the one-stinkin' garlic festival experience and a time honored tradition in New England.

The mighty, mighty harvesting bar One of the biggest productivity tools for us has been this harvesting bar developed by our friends at Two Bad Cats LLC. This tool dramatically improves the backbreaking aspects of harvesting garlic, and aids in prepping new ground as well. All-in-all one of our best acquisitions!

Two in the hand...... We expect Garlic harvest time to begin sometime next week. The two plump specimens here are from our Russian Red varietal. The individual cloves are starting to show through the thick skins.

Basket of Scapes Mr. Musk has nothing on us when we have got Scape X. Our exploration for scapes will be done this week with just the German Red stems left to harvest. Looking forward to harvest in about five weeks.

Adolf Brix, Mathematician and Brix scale creator The Brix scale was invented by the mathematician Albert Brix. His process gained wide popularity in the wine industry. It's usefulness extends to other crops as well for determining the sugar content, and healthiness, of a plants sap. We tested our remaining Chesnok Red from last July's harvest. The Brix score of 45 was huge for cloves that are now almost a year from their harvest date!

Garlic rising in the field The garlic is rising in the field and progressing nicely. Right now the scapes are just starting to emerge. Won't be long before we start pulling the scapes to help fattening the cloves.

Spring 2026 Although not a favorite activity, it is always satisfying once the Spring garlic weeding effort is complete.

Check out how our garlic is doing as it continues to grow

The garlic has awoken from its slumber, ready to embrace the recent Spring weather.

From all our friends in the field..... Happy, Happy Garlic Day 2026

It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. Come visit us in Booth B10 if you plan to attend!!

Purple Stripe garlic living up to the name

Refractormeter A recent purchase is the refractometer shown here. This measures the soluble solids content of a liquid, and approximates the sugar content and general health of a sample. The "Brix score" of garlic is generally between 12 and 18. The higher the score the sweeter the garlic and the more intense the flavor. We are pleased to report our readings have been between 40 and 43. We attribute this to our nutrient rich soils and proper pH conditions.

Harvest time at Vermont Roots Farm

The countdown to garlic harvest is now happening as our garlic growth heads towards its full glory! 🍽️ From bottom to top: garlic bulb at time of scape harvest, garlic bulb one week later, garlic bulb after two weeks. Garlic growth

Rows of Spring Garlic in a sunlit field

Spring garlic rising in the field

Spring emergent young garlic sprout Springtime in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) brings a much-anticipated shift in the landscape. One exciting sign for us is the garlic awakening from its winter slumber!! This year it arrives a full two weeks earlier than last, just in time for the latest snow storm.

Come on down to Booth B10 on September 28/29 at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. Vermont Roots Farm at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival