WE'RE BACK!!

Our first market with garlic is tomorrow August 17th!

We're very excited to be back and will have a good selection of eating garlic, variety bags, and bargain bags. Come see us at the Boulder Farmer's Market.

Our first market with garlic will be

August 17th!

We look forward to seeing you then!!

We have lots of good garlic to sell for eating, and will be at the Boulder Farmers Market on Saturdays until October.

We will not be selling garlic for planting this year due to finding disease in the field we harvested from.

 

(See July 26th Post below for more details)

Disease update for WeeBee Farms.

 
Skin Blotch disease
This year we found a lot of abnormal looking garlic in our field and had it tested at Cornell University. The main disease they found is called Skin Blotch. Apparently our moist conditions during the Winter and Spring accelerated the growth of this fungus, which we have had in small amounts in our soil in past years. It is mostly a cosmetic issue on the outside papers and doesn’t affect the eating quality. However we have had to take of more of the outside papers than usual, so our garlic probably won’t store as long as usual.

Here is a link to more info about skin blotch disease:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/page/edit/5695443834704379401/63715374088994246

Or 

                                         https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/problems-stored-garlic

 

Garlic Nematodes
The other disease we have present to a smaller degree is garlic stem bloat nematodes. These can cause deformed garlic and other issues. Generally we can see which bulbs are severely infected and have thrown those out. However the garlic we’re selling this year should not be used for seed planting.

Here is a link to more information about the nematode issue https://www.mofga.org/resources/garlic/garlic-bloat-nematode/

 

 

 

 

The good news about the garlic that was tested this year is that Cornell found NO evidence of White Rot, which we have had a problem with in the past. 

Garlic Update 7/5/24

WeeBee Farms will not be selling any planting garlic this year. We have found significant disease in the field we harvested from, and the garlic is not suitable for planting. We recommend you get your planting garlic from Toohey Farms at the Boulder Farmer's Market or purchase it online.
We will be selling good garlic for eating in August/September at the Boulder Farmer's Market.

Stay tuned for more information.

Garlic Planting- almost finished

 Garlic Planting at WeeBee Farms

We are almost finished with the garlic planting now and the weather made it smooth and easy (with the exception of the 10/29 snow and 5º temperature.

Now it’s time to get them all watered in for the winter. This year we’re watering about 4 hours per area with the overhead oscillating sprinkler.
Wishing the garlics a peaceful winter with no giant temperature fluctuations!

See you next season!!

Last of WeeBee Farms Garlic for the Season!

September 30th will be our last big day!

We'll have a good selection of garlic including our longest storing, our best cooking garlic and some of our larger garlics for eating or planting.

We'll have a limited selection of garlic left to sell on October 7th.

On the 30th the CU home game starts at 10am, so we recommend coming after 10 when the fans are all in their seats and traffic has died down. Free parking will probably be available at the RTD station at 14th & Walnut as well as under the Chase bank at 13th & Canyon.

GARLIC UPDATE-  Predicted Sell-Out by end of September!
Garlic sales have been really strong so far, and we are predicting to be sold out by September 23rd or 30th, with the selection starting to decrease as of next week.

Come Early or after 10! (CU Game)
We will be at market tomorrow September 9th with a good selection of garlic. Because the CU Home game starts at 10am, the best time to come is early at 8am or between 10 and 12:30.
Parking may be available in the RTD garage (1400 Walnut St)

Or, try parking at the underground garage under the Chase Bank, 1301 Canyon. (Turn North on 13th st, then East into the entrance)

Planting Garlic, 3-Pack

 Here is the list of garlics that will be available tomorrow in the regular bins:

 • Chesnok Red- Excellent-tasting hard neck, originally from the Republic of Georgia. Earthy lingering flavor with a unique zesty bite. One of the best garlics for roasting and sautéing. Stores to December. Highly Medicinal.        PINK

• Korean Red Hot-  A treasure from Asia. Eaten raw, robust flavor will wake up your mouth! A superb cooking garlic. Spicy and mellow at first, then with building heat. Will keep until November.                      ORANGE

 

• German Extra Hardy- Great sliced raw, addictive garlic taste, with full flavor. Big, easy to peel cloves are perfect for pesto! Excellent in tomato sauce: put in at end of heating. Loses flavor if cooked too long. Will keep to November.          BLUE

 

• Romanian Red - Brought from Romania 100 years ago.  Spicy and hot! Big, easy to peel cloves. Use in BBQ sauce, pickles, fresh salsa, marinades. Stores to November.  YELLOW

 

• Inchelium Red- Softneck excellent for roasting.  Discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington. One of the best-tasting softnecks with a mild, lingering flavor. Stores til January      RED

 

• Persian Star- Versatile for cooking or raw dishes. Spicy, exotic and very flavorful. Try on salads, in dips or in pesto. Great with green beans and veggies! Originally from Uzbekistan.  Stores to December.    GREEN 

 

We'll also have a few variety bags, and some Jumbo garlic for planting.

First Garlic sales this Saturday, August 5th.

We have a few special garlics, and our regular favorites.

The featured garlic is a rare one that was unusually productive this year: Guatemalan

 It's my very favorite one for eating on crackers, in hummus and guacamole because it's not hot, but has an abundance of garlic flavor.

 

Here's a list of what we'll have this Saturday, with the color codes:

• Chesnok Red- Excellent-tasting hard neck, originally from the Republic of Georgia. Earthy lingering flavor with a unique zesty bite. One of the best garlics for roasting and sautéing. Stores to December. Highly Medicinal.               PINK

 

•  Guatemalan – This rare garlic is the favorite of WeeBee Farms for its superior raw flavor for veggies, hummus and bruschetta.  6-8 gorgeous burgundy cloves. Easy to peel. Stores to October.  GREEN

 

•  German Extra Hardy- Great sliced raw, addictive garlic taste, with full flavor. Big, easy to peel cloves are perfect for pesto! Excellent in tomato sauce: put in at end of heating. Loses flavor if cooked too long. Will keep to November.       BLUE

 

•  Inchelium Red- Softneck excellent for roasting.  Discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington. One of the best-tasting softnecks with a mild, lingering flavor. Stores til January        RED

 

•  Amethyst- Gorgeous purple garlic!. A great choice for guacamole and pesto. Slightly spicy flavor mellows just a bit when cooked. Stores through December.           PURPLE

 

•  Tzan - (Also called “Mexican Red”). Superb Taste & EASY to Peel! Tangy & flavorful with pasta and for Asian cooking. A delicious raw garlic. Stays firm through November, but sprouts early.   NO COLOR

Garlic Harvest 2023

Harvest started at WeeBee Farms on July 1st and was interupted by rain for a few days.

 

The very early garlic (Turbans like Tzan, Shantung Purple and Uzbek) were tiny and sparse due to the -21º temp in late December, but all the rest came out fabulous and big because of the wonderful Spring rains.

We look forward to seeing you at the  Boulder Farmers Market on Saturdays in August to October!

Harvesting was easier than usual with the moist soil.

 

 

 "Mr. WeeBee" harvesting garlic

 We cure our garlic for 3 weeks before selling for better flavor and long-storage.

Planting garlic from WeeBee Farms

Can I plant the garlic from WeeBee Farms?  Yes- for home gardeners the Garlic that we sell can be used for planting if you do a hot-water soak before you plant. We've been growing garlic since 1996 and have selected the 20 best varieties that grow well at our farm in Boulder County. If you have a sunny spot (directly in the ground) with good water access you will probably succeed.

Read the directions here https://weebeefarms.blogspot.com/p/how-to-plant-garlic.html  or click on the Info pages link on the right.

What is "Planting Garlic" vs "Eating Garlic?"- the only difference is size. You want to use the larger cloves from the larger bulbs for planting so that you can grow larger bulbs. Of course you should start with local garlic that is organic and hasn't been treated with anti-sprouting agents or bleached (as grocery store garlic may be).

What is the Garlic Disease at WeeBee Farms?
Over the years we have found a few diseased bulbs in our garlic plots (two diseases: White Rot, and garlic nematodes). Although the diseased bulbs have been thrown out, there is a chance that a trace could be present on the garlic we are selling. These could infect your garden soil (affecting only garlic, onions and other alliums). This doesn’t affect the quality, flavor, health benefits or storage life of the garlic we are selling.

We recommend that you don’t plant garlic from our farm if you grow on a large scale, or plan to sell your garlic. If you do plant it for your home garden you should do a hot-water soak before planting per our instructions. This should eliminate 95% of the disease spores. This hot water soak should actually be done for any garlic that's not grown on your property. After you do this one year, you can replant garlic from your own garden without doing the soak. If you acquire the white rot disease it may take a few years to see noticeable symptoms so it's best to not take the chance and keep your soil clean.

We are working on trying to eliminate or reduce the disease using organic methods, and have had good success in keeping symptoms to a minimum by using the hot-water soak and dipping the cloves in a special fungal powder and mycorrhizae at planting time. In 2019 through 2022 we had no garlic with obvious symptoms of white rot. That doesn't mean it is gone, since the spores persist in the soil for up to 20 years, and symptoms aren't always apparent.  We still find some bulbs with garlic nematodes, which isn't as serious, but is definitely something to avoid.

Why plant your own?
It's very fun and satisfying to grow your own garlic! And the garlic tastes WAY better than any you can buy in a store. Once you start growing you will have your own "seed stock" every year so it's very economical. And when you grow your own you'll eat a lot more garlic and enjoy all the health benefits that garlic can bring...