garlic abounds at Newmarket farm

Start by grabbing a stalk and pulling the bulb from its row with a satisfying, almost crunching sound as the roots break beneath the surface. Pile up an armload in the field, carry it to the shade and commence peeling back the first green leaf, revealing a virginal white, glistening layer of pungency tightly wrapping a cluster of cloves. Trim the roots and carry them to the barn, then hang the stalks in bunches of about 12 with reused baling twine slung over penny nails in the beams. Repeat 11,000 times. The garlic harvest has begun.

The good news is that you get to take home more than a handful of this ancient, healing, magical and delicious food. The better news: all of the above is done in the company of smart, kind and interesting people who care about their community and pursue their curiosity about the natural world. The environmentally friendly boost: a drive to Newmarket pales your carbon footprint more than a few shades compared to buying garlic shipped from China. The icing on the cake: it’s fun!

Last week, New Roots Farm in Newmarket, owned and operated by Jeff and Renee Cantara on 70 acres of land conserved through an easement with the town, hosted its second annual Garlic Harvest Party. Last year, they planted 7,500 cloves and sold out of the bulbs they produced. This year, Jeff and Renee saw their own ante and raised it by almost 50 percent, planting 11,000 cloves of 12 different varieties. They will sell the garlic at the Portsmouth and Hampton farmers’ markets, as well as during their two-day appearance this September at the 12th Annual Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival in Bennington.
“I like to handle every bulb,” Renee said, explaining that she can maintain closer quality assurance without mechanization. But, even for dedicated young farmers like her and her husband, who put in 12- to 14-hour days six or seven days a week, 11,000 bulbs of garlic are not going to be picked, cleaned, trimmed and hung in one week’s time by two pairs of hands, alone. That’s where community comes in. 

Jeff and Renee operate a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Roughly 40 families and individuals buy a “share” of New Roots Farm, paying up front in the springtime for their share of the season’s harvest, which they pick up each week. The model offers farmers much-needed financial capital at a crucial time of year when there would otherwise be little or no income; shareholders benefit from the advance payment, but more so from close interaction with the people who grow their food, along with more intimate knowledge of their local growing season and the factors that affect it. A bonus pick-your-own garden (and garlic every week) adds to the list of perks at New Roots. Seventy names adorn their waiting list.
It’s common for CSAs to offer discounts to shareholders in exchange for a few hours of labor, but this year New Roots required four hours from all members and has pushed the garlic harvest as the work party not to be missed. It started on July 15 and continued through last Sunday. A handful of people showed up daily for a few hours at a time, but the week culminated with a big push to finish—and fire up the grill—on Sunday afternoon. While they had only invited close friends and CSA members in the past, this year the circle expanded to friends and co-workers of their friends and shareholders. Sitting in the shade on an upturned five-gallon bucket, stripping dirt-clumped outer leaves from stalk after stalk of garlic, Jeff confessed a bit of nervousness about the size of the affair. “I don’t know what they’re expecting,” he said, “but all they’re really going to get is me sitting on a five-gallon bucket.”

Jeff is loquacious and smart (he is a wildlife ecologist and GIS professional, while Renee holds degrees in wildlife biology and forestry), but also passionate about farming and his business, which clearly hinges on its potential to create community. As Saturday wore on and we sat in the shade with other harvesters, chatting around growing mounds of cleaned garlic bulbs, Jeff was nearly gleeful every time we realized a connection. “Oh, I know Wendy and Asher!” “You must know Marjke and Mark.” “Ah, so you know Jen Jarvis, then.” “Mill Valley is where I started farming.” On and on, our six degrees of separation dwindled—much to Jeff’s satisfaction.

“This is great,” he would say with a grin every time. And, apparently, the experience was not unique. All week long, Jeff said, people who came to New Roots as strangers realized they had common interests, friends and histories.

I’d wager that they all left with a little knowledge in their pockets, too. For instance: 1) While garlic comes out of the ground white (well, underneath the dirt), the outer layers blush as the bulb dries, turning a lovely purple due to oxygen interaction. 2) Although there are beneficial bacteria in the soil that help garlic grow, it’s essential to clean the dirt from the bulb because those same organisms can create mold while the garlic is drying. 3) One reason not to grow crops in the same field year after year is that each crop attracts specific pests; keeping them on the move is better than encouraging them to settle in. 4) Perhaps most importantly, it is crucial to realize that, after harvesting garlic, everything you eat for at least one day will taste like it. Everything.

This is a good thing, according to Jeff and Renee. They grow all the usual vegetables, as well as some more exotic offerings like kohlrabi and pac choi, and they are proud of their signature heirloom tomato crops. But anyone who plants 11,000 cloves of garlic by hand clearly has a thing for the stuff.

There are logistical advantages to growing garlic, Renee said, explaining that it just grows in the background for much of the year and doesn’t require a lot of care between its planting in October and harvesting in July. Some mulch to help it maintain insulation in case the snow melts during the winter. Some weeding, of course, but not much other than that. But there are also more basic advantages.

“I don’t know, it’s just tasty!” Renee said. Fair enough.

New Roots Farm can be found, along with dozens of other local farms, food vendors and craftspeople, at the Seacoast Growers’ Association’s farmers’ markets in Portsmouth (Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the City Hall parking lot on Junkins Avenue) and Hampton (Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Sacred Heart Church parking lot on Route 1). They are also on the Web at www.newrootsfarm.com.