Exeter Park Produce and Garlic
Exeter Park is proud of our fantastic German White garlic. We chose German White over other varieties because of its unique flavor - robust, yet not overpowering, and perfect for cooking all types of dishes. Our garlic is unique because of its size and perfect genetics. Each clove is large and perfectly proportioned. They are easy to peel and the large cloves make mincing and slicing a breeze. These garlic bulbs are perfect for roasting because of the size and uniformity of the cloves. Of the thousands of bulbs we grow per year, nearly all develop into what we call our Premium or large garlic, with 5-6 cloves per bulb. We guarantee you'll be so blown away by our garlic that you'll want to take a picture of it before you use it!
Beyond being a tasty seasoning for all types of food, garlic also has some incredible health benefits. Garlic is rich in dietary minerals such as zinc, and calcium, and also serves up a quanitity of B Vitamins. A diet that includes regular servings of garlic is believed to aid in cardiovascular health, lowers cholesterol, and can also help you fight off the common cold.
We plant our garlic in October and watch it peek through the snow in early spring. In April, we pull back the mulch. By May, we can side dress with natural fertilizer. June will bring on the garlic scapes, which are the seed chutes which grow straight up from the plants. When they start to curl on the end, we clip the scape by hand. Scapes are a delicious addition to green salads, and can be added to your favorite dishes for a mild garlic flavor. They store and freeze well, so be sure to stock up on our garlic scapes!
By mid-July, the leaves of the garlic plants will show tinges of brown. This signals the time to start the harvest. We individually dig each bulb to ensure no damage. The bulbs will be cleaned and bundled in fives and tens and hung in the barn to dry. Some bundles will be sold as "fresh" or "green" garlic. Others will be braided. Those that were sent to the barn to dry will be ready in three to four weeks. Stalks will be cut off and bulbs will be inspected, sized, and bagged for sale. Weekends throughout September are filled with Garlic Festivals where we "show off" our spectacular product, and sell it for seed garlic as well as for culinary purposes. Our customers will use it until next June.