Garlic Grown in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest
Interested in MN Garlic Fest garlic for purchase? Learn about our featured growers.
“the sulfurous bulb that has permeated the history of mankind” - Garlic, An Edible Biography (2014)
What makes this garlic stand out?
See the the Festival’s 2023 Featured Garlic Growers HERE.
Photo courtesy of Plum Creek Garlic
Nutrition & Flavor
Minnesota garlic growers will have the first of their fresh gourmet garlic crop at the festival, and it can keep in your kitchen, if stored properly, for months. More than 70 varieties of the country's finest garlic are grown here, all planted in October, harvested in July, and cured to perfection just in time for the festival. Other than the great taste, it is well documented that garlic is one of the healthiest foods you can eat!
Nutrient Density Tip: Garlic is among the oldest known horticultural crops and this allium continues to retain most of its wild nutrients.* For the maximum medicinal benefit of garlic, use a garlic press and then let the garlic rest for 10-15 minutes before adding to your dish.
When garlic is chopped or pressed, an amino acid called alliin and the alliinase have an opportunity to intermarry and produce allicin.
*Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robbinson (2014)
Quality Seed
The featured growers at the Minnesota Garlic Festival bring the very best of their fresh harvest, and gardeners from across the region jump at the opportunity for high quality seed that can be planted in their own gardens.
Garlic is propagated by planting the cloves - the same part of the plant that you eat. See a webinar for gardeners on growing great garlic in Minnesota HERE and a public television program on the topic HERE.
All the featured growers at the festival are required to test for Garlic Bloat Nematode (GBN), a devastating disease that can be brought in on infected seed stock.
Photo courtesy of Plum Creek Garlic
Photo courtesy of Big Stone Garlic
Local Sustainability
We all know that buying locally from farmers helps to support our rural communities, and there’s a second reason to get garlic for your garden locally: Garlic adapts over time to its environment, and if you get your seed from a local farmer, it’s already adapted to our conditions.
According to Barbara Kingsolver, if every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.
For our Minnesota garlic farmers, sustainability is an important topic – implemented and considered each day in the garlic growing process. And it’s a big part of our Garlic Festival too!