Hope Blooms Farm

05/22/2026

One of our farm cats, Stella, relaxing on the back porch on this rainy Friday afternoon.

05/22/2026

Curing is coming along.

05/07/2026

Zinnias are coming along well in the high tunnel. The good thing about growing them in the high tunnel instead of outside is the ability to control wind exposure. This helps greatly, especially when Zinnias grow tall. We grow our best varieties in the high tunnel.

05/03/2026

Garlic spotlight: Siberian Red. As the name indicates, this particular variety of garlic hails from Siberia.

Siberian garlic is best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as baking, frying, roasting, and sautéing. It can be consumed raw, chopped into small pieces and cooked, or roasted in bulbs to bring out the creamy, sweet flavor. Siberian garlic is less pungent than other garlic and can add just enough flavor without overwhelming other ingredients.

It can be used as a spread on toast and added to stews, soups, dips, mashed potatoes, beans, sauces, and marinades. It can also be mixed into pasta dishes, curries, or stir-fries. Siberian garlic pairs well with spinach, potatoes, meats such as poultry, beef, pork, turkey, and fish, tomatoes, bell pepper, broccoli, asparagus, Brussel sprouts, and grains such as quinoa, barley, and farro.

Siberian garlic contains vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese. It also contains a very high amount of allicin, which is an antimicrobial compound that helps support the body’s cholesterol levels and immune system.

On top of that, our garlic is organically grown, and grown with great care and attention, which makes eating this variety of garlic even more of a bonus.

Interesting facts: In Russia, Siberian garlic has remained a staple in local cooking, and up until the 18th century, Siberian villagers could pay their taxes in garlic. Today, garlic remains an important part of the Siberian cuisine, featured in dishes like wild garlic salads or bear paws. Siberian garlic is popularly smoked with ferns and herbs to flavor meat and is served with cowberries, cranberries, and potatoes. It is also mixed in the filling for pelmeni, which is a dumpling with pork, beef, or game, onions, and milk and is typically served with bone broth and liver.

It is theorized that Siberian garlic came from Siberia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Siberian garlic is said to have been brought to America in the 19th century when Alaskan fishermen traded with farmers in Siberia.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. And thank goodness we finally got some much needed rain!

---Johnsie and Ryan

04/19/2026

We want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy National Garlic Day!

Some years ago, Johnsie and I decided to take the plunge and begin growing this wonderful "stinking rose," as it is known throughout the world. We started off with a little patch on the side of our house. We did not know much about garlic at the time, other than we knew we loved the taste of it, and knew it came with wonderful health benefits.

We researched a lot in those early years (and still do as there is always something to learn about growing garlic). And we went through many ups and downs trying to find the variety that best grew in our area.

We did all this while also fighting Mother Nature on what seemed at times to be on a daily basis--whether it was bouts with horrible weather, diseases, or pests. One year, we fought them all! Through it all, though, we remained steadfast in the belief that somehow, some way, things would work out if we just did not give up and held on.

Truth be told, garlic is not easy to grow on a mass scale with just us and the kids. And it is not easy to grow in the southern region of the U.S. That is why you see very few people growing it here to sell, and when you do see it, they only grow a bed or two and then toss the garlic bulbs in a plastic tub between a case of squash and tomatoes, which to us is unconscionable! As for us, garlic, which is celebrated world-wide, deserves center stage in its own play.

Growing garlic, something that we are so passionate about, has been a deeply satisfying and rewarding experience for us. We take great pride in growing exceptional quality garlic to sell. Our goal is simple: to make sure our customers walk away very satisfied with our product. And to achieve this goal, our business philosophy is simple: Be exceptional at one particular endeavor instead of acceptable at several.

We chose to focus on one particular vegetable to grow and sell because we love it. And in choosing one particular vegetable, we felt we could best maximize our focus and pour everything we had into it. The main downside to this approach, however, is that if it does not work out, then it is a one-swing and your out type of situation, not three strikes and you are out.

But we still remained steadfast in our belief that growing garlic to sell would be a great business model. We are not going to pretend, we were extremely nervous that first year we started selling. We did not know how much interest our garlic operation would drum up. We just hoped and prayed that it would all work out.

We were blown away by the interest in our garlic we received from everyone. We felt so greatful that so many people, both in NC and out-of-state, showed so much interest in our garlic operation. And we continue to feel so blessed to be able to provide our customers with something that they love as much as we do.

Thank you, each and every one of you, for allowing us to continue to do what we love, that is, to organically grow wonderful tasting garlic.

Your garlic farmers,

Ryan and Johnsie

04/19/2026

Hi everyone. We hope you are enjoying your weekend! We thought it would be nice to share with you a brief video clip of where one of our garlic varieties, Aglio Rosso di Sulmona, originates from.

Aglio Rosso di Sulmona, a prized Italian heirloom variety, is grown in the Peligna Valley in Abruzzo, Italy. It has a protected status, often holding a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) to distinguish it from fraudulent varieties. It is recognized by the Italian Ministry for its quality, is listed in the "Ark of Taste" by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, and is world-renowned for its excellent taste.

Unfortunately, we do not plan to sell this variety this year, as we have decided to hold it back to build inventory. But as they say, good things come to those who wait, and trust us, this garlic variety is worth waiting for. Have a good evening everyone!

--Ryan and Johnsie.

4 likes. "Aglio Rosso di Sulmona - Azienda Agricola Vittorio D'Alessandro"

04/13/2026

Below is a link to a very educational video explaining the various health reasons to buy local garlic as opposed to what is being offered in the grocery store. When you get the chance, we highly recommend viewing it. It is a must-see watch. Have a great evening everyone.

Less than 10 years ago, all the garlic we bought was from the USA. Now, over 60% is from China, and that's an issue because it's bad for our farmers and our ...

04/12/2026

One bed of zinnias down in the hoop house, and working on the second bed now. We can't wait to share them with everyone!

04/12/2026

Got some more flower beds ready for prepping, and watching the garlic field! So far, the garlic has been growing well with all of this sun. Garlic loves the sun, but also needs about an inch of water per week when in a drought setting.

Given that this coming week is going to be in the 90's without a chance for rain, we will have to manually provide water. This is definitely new to us since this time of year, we typically would have seen a decent amount of April showers by now, at least in our area.

04/11/2026

Hi everyone. Hope you have had a wonderful week and will have a wonderful weekend with this nice weather (although we could use some rain around here on the farm!).

We are currently in maximum flower transplant growing and flower bed prep mode, doing farm chores, watching and waiting for peonies to be ready for harvesting and then sale, and carefully watching over and maintaining the garlic field given the current drought conditions.

We also are prepping for the first time ever: sharing our flowers with you. In the past, we have sold our flowers in a pop-up fashion a few times per year. This year, however, our goal is to offer them on more of a consistent, scheduled basis at the farm.

Our intention is to offer our flowers at very, reasonable prices, because we believe that flowers should be an accessible daily joy, rather than just a rare or expensive gift. We will keep you up-to-date on the progress of this new endeavor as it further develops.

In the meantime, during all this "organized chaos" 😊, we were able to secure another interesting garlic variety for next year's crop with the hope it will be compatible with our growing environment: Aglio viola di veneto.

This garlic variety, a highly prized heirloom variety brought over to America from Northern Italy near the Italian Alps over 100 years ago, is celebrated for its striking visual appearance, robust flavor profile, easy-to-peel nature, and excellent versatility in the kitchen.

It is known for a sweet, delicate, yet complex flavor that is excellent raw, roasted, or in Mediterranean dishes. It is popular among chefs for pasta, stews, and roasted meats. It also offers superior health benefits due to its high allicin content.

That's all for now. Take care, everyone. Ryan and Johnsie.