Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) has been certifying organic farmers since 1972 and is one of the country’s oldest organic certifiers. We are proud to be a MOFGA-certified and USDA organic farm. In order to achieve this certification, we follow organic standards and requirements specific to growing our crops.
As a certified organic farm, our consumers can be confident that our products are produced in accordance with organic standards. Our farm goes through thorough inspections yearly to ensure our plans comply with standards.
We believe that by following organic farming practices we become a key piece of the larger organic farming movement. We also believe in transparency for our farm and our consumers and being certified organic allows us to do that. Our farming practices are not only better for the environment and our consumers, but they allow us to educate others on the importance of organic farming.
After trying out a few different varieties of garlic, we fell in love with German Extra Hardy garlic for its flavor and size. We focus all of our energy on this one variety and grow it very well. Out of the thousands of pounds of garlic bulbs we harvest, we select only the biggest for planting stock which will go back out in the field each fall for the following years crop.
We also believe that the soil needs to have the proper PH, between 6 and 7, and the ideal soil fertility. Each year, our soil is tested and amended as needed.
Garlic is in the ground for about nine months. July 30th begins the start of harvesting.
Planting garlic cloves is made easy with the seed bed roller with snap-in dibbles. By using interchangeable dibbles, spacing is perfect and can be adjusted as needed. The process is made even easier with two people pulling the roller down the row.
To begin, garlic cloves are first separated from the bulbs. This process is done the day or night before planting.
Garlic cloves are then placed in the planting hole with the root end down and the pointy end up.
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Garlic Harvest 2021 from BlueHour Photo Ventures on Vimeo.
Summer garlic harvest begins by the garlic being pulled out of the ground by hand, usually using both hands and pulling with all your might on your knees. The garlic is placed in bunches of 8-12 plants. In this photo, you can also see drip irrigation. We irrigate if there is a dry spell with well water.
Someone then follows with string to wrap around each bunch in preparation for hanging to dry in the drying facility.
Bunches of garlic are then ready to be loaded onto the trailer.
The bunches of garlic are then gently loaded onto the trailer, being careful not to bruise the bulbs.
The string around each bunch can be seen draped down the outside of the stacked garlic. String will be used to hang up garlic in the greenhouse.
Then we are off the drying facility loaded with fresh tasty garlic!
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The drying facility is this green house. We started with clear plastic covered with shade cloth, but the temperatures were higher than we wanted. We then went to this black plastic covering which kept the temperature where we wanted, but it was so dark that it was hard to see. We now have a white plastic covering that really brightens up our day and keeps the temperature right where we need it. The green house is also equipped with two large fans that kick on when it gets to 90 degrees and shuts back off when temps get down to 70 degrees. Garlic is hung up upside down from the rafters with the string that was applied during harvest. The green house is now so full that we have added extra support from the ground to the upper rafters to support all the weight as a precaution.
Garlic hangs for three or four weeks then itʼs taken down and prepped for market. The cleaning process involves an assembly line of people. Removing the tops, cutting the roots, and removing the first outer layer of covering, if need be.
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