Chasing Sweet Garlic Success

Naomi and Abby recently shared their experience with the New Hampshire Agriculture Innovation Program, administered by the North Country and Southern New Hampshire resources conservation and development councils. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service supports the program.

For a year, they worked with a team to develop a business plan for Two Sisters Garlic. “When we first started, we split [responsibilities] right down the middle,” Naomi says. “It worked out rather well because if my crop failed, then chances were Abby’s garlic was fine. [Abby] then discovered she really didn’t like gardening at all! So I’ve become the grower, and she runs the kitchen where we make the jellies.”

At first, the sisters made jellies using small garlic not fit to sell fresh. But the jellies generated revenue year-round. Last season, they made roughly 2,500 regular-sized jars of jellies.

“This past Garlic Day [held in September], we had 400-plus pounds of garlic. In two days we sold all but 20 pounds,” notes Naomi. “Garlic Day has been great because we have it right at the end of curing.” The garlic is harvested in July and cleaned. “We hang it and increase storage life.”

The business plan is working. Two Sisters Garlic never seems to be at a loss for customers. That’s why Naomi expanded the garlic plot to a half acre this year. She hopes to stay small enough “so I don’t have to hire help. But if I can’t manage half an acre, then I’ll need to decide whether to go bigger, say plant 2 acres, and hire help. We do all of our planting and harvesting by hand, so half an acre may be stretching us.”

Personal customer contact is one reason for their business growth. Naomi and Abby do most of their marketing through a mailing list to which they send out periodic newsletters. “Most people just come over and pick up their garlic,” explains Naomi. “It’s a pretty ride, and you never know what’s going on here.

“One time a lady showed up and said, ‘I’m here to buy some garlic,’ and I said, ‘Well, I need to deliver this goat.’ So she helped me load it, and off we went!”

Mulch weed control

Keeping weeds in check is the biggest labor they face. This growing year will be a determining one due to the increased field size. Last year, Naomi tried mulching straw between garlic rows. This year, she put down leaves on a few rows as trial mulch.

“I had the most gorgeous crop of weeds last year,” she recalls with a grin. “So I’m really working on different ways of mulching. We’re also trying new techniques to suppress weeds without using herbicides and to increase organic matter with a grant from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.”