Garlic Goodness

Garlic Goodness We grow 5 varieties of hardneck garlic on our farm just West of Innisfail - planted in rich soil and harvested by hand.

We are open by appointment only please - email [email protected] or text Lorraine at 403-506-2129

We can't wait but will have to wait for garlic :D We dug up a bulb growing in the potato patch hoping we could sauté it ...
06/22/2026

We can't wait but will have to wait for garlic :D
We dug up a bulb growing in the potato patch hoping we could sauté it for a pot of butter chicken, but it really is too small - we used it but added dehydrated garlic for great flavour. We're looking forward to big bulbs!
It's summer now - we're getting 17 hours of daylight now so hopefully it won't be too long until we can enjoy and share the wonderful taste of fresh garlic!!
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We're growing 5 varieties of garlic this year with 4 of them grown in abundance. They are Chesnok Red: lots of smaller c...
06/16/2026

We're growing 5 varieties of garlic this year with 4 of them grown in abundance. They are Chesnok Red: lots of smaller cloves (7-9 per bulb) and a beautiful mild/medium flavour. Purple Stripe variety high in allicin (the healthy thing that all garlic contains). One of our longest storing varieties; German Red: medium cloves with a lovely complex flavour. Usually has 6 cloves per bulb. Rocambole type; Music: beautiful big bulbs with a complex strong taste in a big bulb with 4-8 cloves. A porcelain type; Russian Red: large cloves (3-6 per bulb) with a robust, spicy flavour - the strongest one – a rocambole.
Music and Russian Red look quite similar with Russian Red being a stronger variety.
Most years garlic can be dug up and eaten by the end of July. It’s delicious and crisp in the Summer but usually isn’t ready to be dried and stored long-term until the middle of August. That’s typically when we start our harvest. Three or four weeks following that the garlic will be fully dried/cured and ready for pick-up, delivery or shipping by Canada Post.
The farm (where we live) is just West of Innisfail on the Innisfail side of the Red Deer River at 35540 Range Road 12. We're usually around but we don't have regular hours - we make sure to be available when people are expected.

A great horned owl was really annoying the crows today! It looked a bit miffed to have an audience but we didn't stay ar...
06/14/2026

A great horned owl was really annoying the crows today! It looked a bit miffed to have an audience but we didn't stay around long :)
Bees are the most charming little creatures - busy and they sure seem happy about it. Baneberry and honeysuckle are in full flower and isn't the horsetail sweet with drops of water on each stem?
Garlic is thriving - email us at [email protected] for information on pre-ordering :)
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Gorgeous columbine, tall meadowrue and rosebuds are flowering in the woods while a mountain bluebird perches on a fence ...
06/09/2026

Gorgeous columbine, tall meadowrue and rosebuds are flowering in the woods while a mountain bluebird perches on a fence line. We wondered if there would be poplar fuzz this year since it's so late but here it comes :D Garlic is coming on strong also - have you placed a pre-order? Let us know if you have any questions or would like to place an order at [email protected]
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The garden and woods are lush after the recent rain. In flower are dogwood, wild roses, silver willow and p***y toes. Th...
06/06/2026

The garden and woods are lush after the recent rain. In flower are dogwood, wild roses, silver willow and p***y toes. The maple continues to captivate us as did a garter snake! The dogs saw the movement so we saw the snake - it stays so still that the dogs then couldn't find it again :D How charming is the spot on the back of the head? Even the rose gall looked sweet this morning.
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Cows, like we are, very happy to have rain! Typically for Alberta we'll have 2 days of 30° weather then 2 days of 8° wea...
05/31/2026

Cows, like we are, very happy to have rain! Typically for Alberta we'll have 2 days of 30° weather then 2 days of 8° weather so an average of 19° :) which sounds lovely haha. Onions are also soaking in the rain - there's something special about rainfall. Garlic also! Chokecherry blossoms are gorgeous. The frog pond has some snails - delicious probably for ducks? Pine grosbeak have been filling the woods with their beautiful song. A gall looked like a jewel and the maple continues to captivate us - the seeds are drying out and the leaves are iconic of spring green -- will they be red in the Fall? We usually avoid the part of the walking trail they're in once it turns colder so that there's a place for the wildlife that we don't go, but we'll have to check it out this year :)
Thanks to everyone who has given us their pre-order and we encourage you to email if you haven't yet :)
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It's an important time for moisture in the woods - lots of berry-producing plants are in flower - saskatoons, strawberri...
05/28/2026

It's an important time for moisture in the woods - lots of berry-producing plants are in flower - saskatoons, strawberries, chokecherries, elderberries and more which will have bigger berries and more of them if they get good rainfall soon. So many birds and other wildlife feast on berries through the summer. Chokecherries and rosehips last well into winter.
We finished laying out drip tape today so the garlic is getting a good drink now.
This is the last of our onions from last season - can't wait for fresh ones!
And our cucumber experiment is going so far so good - the seeds have germinated and the plants are enjoying some heat now.
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Hello! We've started transplanting onions :) Along with the longtime favourite Ruby Ring we're trying a couple of new re...
05/24/2026

Hello! We've started transplanting onions :) Along with the longtime favourite Ruby Ring we're trying a couple of new red varieties: Blush and Cabernet from Westcoast Seeds. We've seen some interesting recipes for pickled red onions and for red onion chutney which we're looking forward to trying. The onions are grown here from seed and planted and grown without any sprays in our natural soil. We have sweet Walla Wallas and sharp Trekker hybrid (yellow) onions also this year.
Last year we made some onion braids but found that they didn't make much difference in storage! Nets, baskets and boxes all work well for long-term storage as long as the space is dark and cool. This year we have a handful of last year's crop left and they're still very good - we take out the centre bit that's starting to sprout but the outer layers are still crisp and lovely.

We were amazed to see there's a Manitoba maple in the woods! Its shape is similar to diamond willows or big alders so we...
05/20/2026

We were amazed to see there's a Manitoba maple in the woods! Its shape is similar to diamond willows or big alders so we hadn't noticed it before - doh- but it has distinctive 'flowers' so there's no mistaking it (thanks to Trees and Shrubs of Alberta by Kathleen Wilkinson). Pictured are female flowers.
We hope to start transplanting onions soon - we had frost a couple of nights ago and we may have frost tonight! We're almost out of last year's crop - just a handful left. The garlic is coming along, but slowly. Probably it'll take off once we get some heat. While we wait we've been preparing raised beds and containers and adding rich compost from our cattle manure. We love it!
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Here's part 2 of the amazing spring growth in the woods: aspen, rose, chokecherry, birch, willow, alder, saskatoon, popl...
05/11/2026

Here's part 2 of the amazing spring growth in the woods: aspen, rose, chokecherry, birch, willow, alder, saskatoon, poplar, silver willow and cottoneaster. Garlic is also very thankful for a good soak!
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Address

35540 Range Road 12
Red Deer County, AB
T4G0M9

Telephone

+14035062129

Website

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