Growing Garlic for Flavor, Wellness, and Resilience

Garlic is a familiar flavor, loved by many ages and used often in homestead cooking and home wellness. Whether it is minced and tossed into a stir-fry, added to roasted meats, or used in traditional home remedies during cold and flu season, garlic is an invaluable tool to have access to.

And yet, many people are unaware that a large portion of the garlic sold in the United States is imported from farms across China, South America, and other parts of the world. A global market and economy can be a great thing, but it can also be a fragile system if something disrupts those supply chains.

As homesteaders, we think about these things. We consider the choices we make and how they can help create local supply chains, strengthen our local economy, and build more sustainable and resilient communities.

Although this is a shopping website, I found the introduction to be helpful in explaining garlic supply chains and why they matter. 

Garlic is also known for its many traditional wellness uses. Over the years, there have been many studies looking at garlic and its antibacterial properties. This study, available through the National Library of Medicine, specifically looks at the antibacterial properties of Allium sativum L. against emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria, as well as its potential synergy with synthetic antibiotics. 

The article also does a great job of citing several other scientific studies on garlic, showing that this is not the first time researchers have studied these properties. You can click on the other studies referenced throughout the article if you would like to read more.

With that being said, why not grow some garlic this fall?

Plant it in the fall, harvest it in June, and enjoy a local, sustainable, nutritious source of flavor and traditional home wellness from your own backyard.