The First Crop At Heritage Hill Farm

It is official... we have a farm name and the first crop has been planted.

Heritage Hill Farms came to be, because Adam and I wanted to simply honor the agricultural heritage. We purchased this land from a farm family who has been farming in the area for five generations. As you probably know, I'm also very passionate about heirloom vegetables because of their unique tastes and flavors, plus the stories and folklore that accompanies the varieties. I find it remarkable that gardeners have worked hard generation after generation, to preserve and maintain these varieties that are typically not found in grocery stores because they don't have the shelf life and other commercial attributes. There is also a small hill on the property, where the house will eventually be built.

This Fall, we planted the first farm crop: garlic.

I ordered 3 cultivars of heirloom garlic: Music, Purple Glazer, and Armenian Porcelain. There are two categories: hardneck and softneck. Hardnecks typically have more complex flavors and have a higher perishability, and grow the best in more Northern climates. Softnecks are usually found in the grocery stores because of their longer shelf life.

Music garlic- a wonderful hardneck cultivar

In Iowa, we plant garlic in the Fall. This has been a challenge in the community gardens because the season begins in the Spring. We marked off a small area that was spared from Fall disking, and manually cleared a patch in the cornstalks. We tilled in some sand (because of the heavy clay) and made four and a half rows. Elizabeth and I separated the garlic into cloves and planted several inches apart and approximately 1'' deep. The rows were covered up and mulched. They should be nice and cozy, tucked in for the winter!

We planted approximately 450 cloves of garlic- I hope it's enough!

After they appear in the Spring, we will uncover them and use the mulch as a weed suppressant/ in between the rows. In the Summer, the foliage will dry down and that is the cue for harvesting!

I'm already looking forward to cooking with these great garlics, as well as having others enjoy them! I have lots of fresh dishes and canned pizza sauces that will be just wonderful with the garlic- I just need to be patient- something that I'm not good with.