On my recent field trip to Bairnsdale where I was asked to taste and test new varieties of salad ingredients that various seed companies were offering to growers, I caught up with Nicola Watts, Executive Officer from the East Gippsland Food Cluster Inc. I had sent my request trough for great tasting Australian garlic bulbs for me to grow. Most of the store bought garlic seems to come from abroad and I am never certain whether it has been sprayed or not. I’ve heard that some countries allow the spraying of a retarding agent, which prevents the garlic from sprouting. True or not, I don’t know, but I’m not inclined to take the risk of planting out the one crop for the year only to have it fail. Back to Nicola. She presented me with four Australian grown, unsprayed samples of garlic. A quick scan of the diary to check I wont be speaking in close quarters with anyone and I started my garlic tasting.

PRE-TASTING NOTE:
Two characteristics in particular jump at me when tasting garlic. First, an appealing garlicy sweetness, typical of the onion family, but particular to garlic. It’s retro nasal, meaning the flavour fills the mouth and then travels back through to the nose… Very nice. Second, there’s a bite. A sulphury, verging on mildly bitter, pungent bite. If you want an analogy in the food world, think of a surface ripened cheese, like Brie. As it ages, the surface becomes more pungent. Some like this, some don’t. The garlic bite isn’t a surface thing; it’s intrinsic in the clove. Personally I don’t mind it and I suppose it’s connected with the “strength “ of that particular variety. To me this is a mistake because I very much want the strength of the first characteristic to be at the fore; the appealing sweet garlicy flavour with the pungency bringing up the rear, contributing a firm promise of a night alone on the couch.

TASMANIAN PURPLE
Great, large, somewhat flattish cloves, all shiny and heavy. Not a small clove in the head, which, to me is a joy; nothing more frustrating than peeling 6 or so miniature cloves per head of garlic. The flatter cloves seem to fit more snuggly together in the head, which means they’re a little more difficult to prize apart.

FLAVOUR: A very good garlic in my opinion, however, the pungency slightly outweighed the garlic’s sweetness
7.5 out of 10

SILVERSKIN
Contained a few little cloves right up to some large ones in each head. There were a few cloves that were rotting, but the ones around it were heavy and full.

FLAVOUR: The Silverskin was the mildest and sweetest. Very pleasant to eat, but could use a little pungent kick
8 out of 10

WHITE CROOKNECK
These were large cloves of equal size that were easy to separate and with a space between cloves, making it easy to snap off a desired quantity.

FLAVOUR: This is a garlic of two halves. At first, nothing but the wonderful sweet garlicy flavour but finished with a lingering pungent bite.
9.5 out of 10

RED RACAMBOLE
Equal in size, around 12 cloves per head, these were also easy to separate.

FLAVOUR: Both sweet and pungent, however the pungent bite slightly outweighed the pleasant sweetness.
8.5 out of 10

WHAT I WANT FROM GARLIC

FLAVOUR
Must taste like garlic. That’s not as bleeding obvious as it sounds. When on panels for tasting olive oil over the years, our tasting charts required us to assess “oliveness”. So garlicness is big on my list. Also, there needs to be the absence of taint; mustiness, sulphur, dirt, for example. Another thing, strength and persistence of garlic flavour are important to me. Don’t fancy peeling a thousand cloves to make garlic bread for Harry’s mates.

SIZE
As stated above, not too many little cloves. Pure lazy Geoff writing this, but fair go, domestic cooks. We at GJ Farm have to cook for 250 special guests from time to time and although nothing will make me reach for a jar of garlic paste (rather cut out my own spleen), grant me the desire to peel as few as needed.

GROWABILITY
As with my other crops, selecting the best samples/specimens to be stored for growing next years genetically improved (hopefully) batch is front of mind for this little gardener cook. If you’re nervous about the term “genetically improved” don’t bundle me in with those who manipulate genes. I’m more like Gregor Mendel who selected the best samples to grow and hopefully promote their superior qualities.

It’s been a few years since we last had small groups of passionate food lovers attend Lessons from the Farm, my cooking School.  I loved hosting these intimate gatherings; all indulging our common passion, dare I say obsession.  With the farm in order thanks to collaboration between the hard work of my Family members and the professional pool of advisors instigated by Elders Bairnsdale, we were ready to open the Farm gate and welcome in fellow food worshipers.  A really big thank you to Noel, Colin and Gino from Elders Bairnsdale for providing the expert advice and moral support that encouraged me to get the farm back into top shape.

Standing sentry, like Cerberus at the portals of hells gates, was Jonny armed with Clipboard and instructions to keep an eye out for gate-crashers, masking as part of the list. It’s a modern day phenomenon and the techno curse of throwing a party. Word quickly is texted to anyone looking for an uninvited, impromptu time out. Here is Jonny dealing with such opportunists. There is a strong suspicion that the initiator of this unwanted gathering is Baba (Ganoush), our Labrador (inquest to follow). However, they were spotted and turned away, tail between legs. Only legitimate, true believers gained entry.

A big focus for the 2014 season is a gentle stroll through the farm and introduction to the growing styles.  This is planned to be the preamble to the 3 hours of cooking instruction, tastings and questions that will always be Lessons from the Farm. Wasn’t sure if this was appropriate; was I just showing off the garden?  Nevertheless, we kicked off with the tour du jardin, and it was a real success.

First step was to consider Urban Farming possibilities. Here around my balcony pots and solar powered, self-watering Elevated Garden, the group were astounded at the abundance that could be generated with even a small access to space and sunlight. Imagine the benefits when urbanites secure a place in our agricultural landscape; healthy fresh produce at the fingertips, connection with seasons and varieties, the ability to share and barter crops, more oxygen generated into the atmosphere, dollars saved… Shut up Geoff, everyone gets it.

At the mixed garden section, designed to represent the backyard farmer, the restaurant garden and the community garden, we absorbed the different rhythm and style required to generate fabulous produce.  For the past 28 years of farming I have mainly used an overhead watering system, allowing me to move easily between the rows, and attend to part sections of the garden without he hassle of being tangled amongst bed by bed hosing. This year, advised by Patrick O’Shannessey from Toro, I opted for a more efficient overhead system and was able to pass on the benefits to students contemplating such a garden.

The polytunnel was a big hit. Everybody was able to step into a warmer moister environment, which, believe me, helps heat- loving crops survive just that little bit longer through the arctic Bowral winters.

My Commercial crops were a source of huge interest. These are the crops that go into making my farm-made, small batch, high flavour range of products. Sorry to plug my own stuff, but properly made food products seem to be harder to find on the shelves these days. Anyway, the environmentally sustainable and break-down able Degricover plastics that covered the beds and the Toro drip watering lines underneath provided a weed free and water preserving environment for my Tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers, were all intriguing to the students. The heavy cropping was evidence of proper soil condition and wonderful organic pre-preparation of soil with the guidance of Neutrog.

As for the Orchard, well those of you who have seen my videos in the orchard section of my website will have seen orchard expert Geoff Brooke applying his 3 generational expertise to pruning and shaping my trees for cropping this year. Geoff attended this class and was the voice amongst the trees as he shared his knowledge with our group.  Geoff and Heather Brooke have become friends and I am so grateful to have their guidance and assistance with the farm. Naturally, apples were on the menu for this cooking class.