About Us
We are John & Peggy Zimmer, a retired couple who can’t seem to retire. John has a background in finance and Peggy is a retired math teacher and now a master gardener. With a passion for good tasting food & a long standing and well-researched dream, we began with a small “proof of concept” garden at our home in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The dream now includes a barn & tractor.
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We believe in the concept of sustainable farming using prescribed organic methods. Our green manure consists of harry vetch, snow peas, buckwheat and winter rye mixes. We rotate the crop each year to a new lot to sustain the health of the land and the garlic.
Meet our Garlic
We grow several varietals of hardneck garlic you can use in the garden and/or kitchen. We prefer hardneck because it's well-proven for over-wintering as well as growing in the fertile soils and cooler summer climate found in Vermont. Although not as readily available as its softneck cousin, hardneck produces more impressive bulbs with larger cloves and a broader diversity of heat and flavors.
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Garlic is a member of the Allium genus which also includes onions, shallots, leeks and chives among its members. It has been used in cooking for thousands of years tracing back to the ancient Egyptians and is considered one of the first plants used as a spice. Allicin, the sulfur compound that distinguishes garlic’s flavoring, has high therapeutic value as well (more on this in our FAQs).
The two subspecies of garlic are “hardneck” and “softneck”. Softneck garlic, although not the focus here, is the predominant type, accounting for roughly 90% of the global market. Eighty percent of the world’s garlic supply comes from China. The predominant growing region in the US is California.
All of these leaves considerable room for hardneck garlic to continue growing in its popularity….. if you can find it!
The hardnecks we carry come from three cultivars:
Porcelains - are an impressively tall plant with broad leaves and sturdy stems that produces an equally impressive bulb as well. The bulbs are large and generally all white from which the name is derived. The four to six cloves are all arranged around the stem that extends down the middle of the bulb. This makes them easy to peel, and their high allicin content gives them a hot and pungent flavoring and a high therapeutic benefit. You will want to use this cultivar for cooking when seeking a direct aggressive garlic character in your food. The Porcelains at our farm include German Extra Hardy and Music.
Rocamboles - are some of the most widely grown hardnecks and generally considered one of the finer tasting varieties. This comes from a complex flavor that is sweeter than other cultivars and has a depth of character that is more than just the allicin talking. The bulbs have easily peeled skins which is why they may not store as long as other hardnecks. We offer the German Red cultivar which is one of the hotter tasting Rocamboles.
Purple Stripes - are generally considered as closest to the origins of their species. They are noted for their vivid purple striping on the bulb wrappers and cloves skins. They are highly regarded as a cooking garlic for their strong, complex and richly garlic flavoring without having as strong a sulfurous taste. They are considered a great choice for roasting. We are currently offering Chesnok Red as our Purple Stripe cultivar.