5 Reasons to Grow Your Own Garlic Posted on 29 Jun 10:36 , 0 comments
We grow as much of our own organic food as we have the resources to produce and it still isn't 100%. What we do not grow we try to find locally and organic. Organic Garlic is our most recent crop harvest and IT IS AMAZING! I've cooked with it almost daily and I know we'll run out eventually so we savor every bit.
5 Reasons to Grow Your Own Garlic
1. TASTE
When you grow your own organic garlic, you know exactly how it was grown and when it was harvested. Fresh, unadulterated Garlic is amazing. It's robust smell and flavor are a welcome addition to our kitchen.
Last month I used store bought garlic with a simple recipe:
1 zucchini, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Saute all ingredients and serve hot
The recipe was good. THIS MONTH I made the same recipe with homegrown garlic and it was SPECTACULAR!!!! I have shared some of my garlic with friends and family and they all agree that homegrown is so much more flavorful.
2. FRESHNESS
Store-bought foods travel an average of 1,500 miles to reach your plate. There's no telling how long those items sit on store shelves before you purchase them. Fresh is best! Once Organic Garlic is harvested, curing takes approx 3 weeks. You can skip the curing process if you want to consume right away. Curing can extend the shelf life of your garlic.
**If you store garlic in the refrigerator, it will sprout quickly. Store garlic in a cool, dry place (not in the fridge) and it will last longer**
3. IT'S EASY!
Growing Organic Garlic is easy. Garlic is one of the most low maintenance crops to grow if you plan ahead. After preparing our 4 ft X 8 ft beds, it took approx 10 minutes to plant our organic garlic. I used food grade DE once on the bed to keep bugs from eating our cloves. After that, I watered every 3-4 days when it wasn't raining. I watered with organic kelp tea twice during the 7 months of growth. THAT'S IT!!! We had no pest issues and harvested almost 10 pounds of garlic when we planted 1 pound of Organic Garlic Cloves.
If you are looking for an easy crop, Organic Garlic is a great choice!
4. Avoiding Filth and Contamination
In case you missed my latest article, Are your Eating Toxic Garlic
Chinese Garlic accounts for over 75% of the world's garlic supply.
Garlic can be whitened by using chlorine or with a mixture of sulphur and wood ash. Whitening garlic helps to make it look healthier and more attractive to consumers. In fact this obsession with white foods has lead to the bleaching of many food products (flour, salt, sugar) using chlorine dioxide or benzoyl peroxide.
Growth inhibitors are used to stop garlic from sprouting and can be made from hormones or chemicals. When garlic begins to sprout, the garlic clove loses much of its potency. Growth inhibitors together with gamma irradiation extend the shelf life of garlic.
Gamma radiation is also used to sterilize many products, and in Australia, this treatment is not accepted for foodstuffs. This does not prevent food treated by gamma radiation to enter the country."
Many of China’s farms and food processors are situated in heavily industrialized regions where water, air, and soil are contaminated by industrial effluents and vehicle exhaust
5. Organic Garlic is Good for your Health
From Authority Nutrition,
-Garlic can Combat Sickness
-The active compounds in Garlic can Reduce Blood Pressure
-Garlic Improves cholesterol, which may lower the risk of heart disease
-Garlic contains anti-oxidants
-Garlic can help detoxify heavy metals in the body
**Keep in mind that consuming organic garlic is your best option. Consuming pesticide-laden garlic may have adverse affects on your health**
I hope you have enjoyed another educational article. if you have additional questions, please leave a comment below or send an email to mary@marysheirloomseeds.com
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