We plant, weed and harvest our garlic by hand. This takes extra human labour, and supports other peoples livelihoods that help us on our farm. We grow our garlic organically, using SA Composters Certified Organic Compost, Organic fertilizer, and organic liquid fertilizers.
We weed our garlic by hand, usually every 1-2 weeks from planting time (April/May) to harvest time (November/December). We rotate where we plant our garlic in a different patch each year and plant other crops such as flowers, brassicas and green manures when we are not growing garlic in those beds. We have a movable chicken system that we put over the areas before we plant the garlic to help weed and fertilise the beds.
We save our own seed, and it gets better each year adapting to our environment and systems. We have seen the soil improve hugely in soil life, structure and water holding capacity over the 5 years we have been growing here @Cockatoo Creek Farm, and look forward to seeing it improve further.
You will taste the difference.
Early Harvest:
Pink Turban (SOLD OUT)
Purple tinged skin, large cloves, easy to peel, medium strength, great flavour. We sauté it, rub it on our toast and use it in salad dressings and fresh pesto-like dips.
Medium storage, approx 6 months, use first before your creoles.
Available from December onward.
Crazy Betty
Plant April/May. Harvest. Nov/December.
The name says it, it’s a bit of a crazy looking garlic. It can also get an Glazed Purple Stripe, depending on growing conditions.
It’s a good vigorous grower. It is likely to get some secondary shooting. Cloves are a mix of large and small.
Flavour: Rich, earthy and complex garlic flavour (unique to Glazed Purple Stripes) Moderate to Hot
Available from January 2nd onward.
Late Harvest / Long Storage:
Pink Galah (Pink Spanish Creole)
Stunning looking garlic having white shiny skin on the outer bulb and then a vibrant pink skin on the cloves within. Strong complex flavour with a spicy kick. This beauty has smaller cloves but stores for up to 12 months when kept out of direct sunlight. This is our top pick if you love a strong and complex garlic flavour. Fantastic for stir fry, sauté, pasta, fresh dips and rubbed on toast with a drizzle of our olive oil and fresh tomatoes.
Available from January 2nd onward.
French Red Creole (Harriette)
Red skin, full flavoured garlic with a rich creamy flavour. The cloves are smaller than some of our other varieties, but it makes up for it with long storage life of up to 12 months. We use this as an all rounder but particularly with meals that have a creamy base.
Available from January 2nd onward.
Giant Russian Garlic
Giant garlic, massive cloves, easy peel, mild flavour. Great for those who like a mild garlic flavour and don’t like peeling smaller garlic cloves. Officially a leek. We use it as you would any garlic/ onions/leeks. Good storage.
Available from January 2nd onward.
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