Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like taking time to relax and enjoy the preparation of a good tasting and good looking meal. If there is a flavour missing, it is more than likely garlic. Across cultures garlic use is second only to salt in terms of flavouring, and in this crosspollination of food culture, those cultures with low garlic use are picking up the garlic habit, not the other way around. Garlic is the world's first choice as a nutraceutical food. (Nutrition that promotes health)

North America’s garlic growing agribusiness is drowning in the deluge of dumped Chinese garlic imports. However in spite of this being true, with the consumption of garlic increasing common sense is now showing that regional farmers, gardeners and consumers can enjoying the benefits of local or "homespun" garlic as Gandhi would say. No matter what the arguments are for economy of scale, regional solutions keep surfacing as common sense.

An interesting tidbit from a conversation with an executive in the pharmaceutical industry about garlic. To paraphrase him, "We know by eating 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic a day, that the sulphur compounds then present in the blood being pumped through the lungs will knock back almost any virus or bacteria present." So everybody knows!

And everbody misses their garlic: After the Jews left Egypt one of “the mumblings in the tents” was Numbers 11 verse 5: "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the..... garlic" . Anecdotally after eating garlic for such a contiguous period of time, my body now metabolizes it at such rate that the stink has gone off the bloom of my "stinking roseness".

Three of my favourite vistas are; the spears of garlic sticking out of the ground before anything else in the spring, next scape heads dancing in the wind like snakes striking the sky, and lastly harvest with the hub of the crew, their kids and bushel, after bushel of fresh garlic ready for market or to go back to the ground (my horn of plenty). The amount of hand interventions is legion (i.e. work), but it is comforting to know this "Food is delicious Medicine", and that it inspires real passion in so many people.

We have been witness to such a variety of reactions about garlic over the last 18 years. I've come to cherish the raised eyebrows with regards to this vocation, the absolute bipolar range of opinions and reactions from people when offered a food sample with garlic in it, and the stories about people putting garlic in “places” you wouldn't believe to cure only they know what. (too much info)

So welcome to an attempt at a little garlic & Saskatoon berry erudition. If we can help you with some Saskatoon berries, or garlic for seed, or garlic to eat, please check out "garlic varieties", & growing tips, and A Not so Grimm Garlic Story.