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BIG NEWS FOR GARLIC |
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S.A.R.E. Funds Garlic Research Visit: www.bignewsforgarlic.com On March 22nd we received the official word that our research proposal "Increased Profits for Sustainably Produced Garlic" was funded by the Northeast Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (S.A.R.E.). This research will take garlic cultivars identified by Dr Gayle Volk (Garlic Press #44), Fall 2004) and grow each of these varieties in 5 locations in the northeast. Samples of each will be sent to Ft. Collins, CO, for analysis, along with additional information (soil/garlic chemistry; plant physiology; nutrient contents; effect of altitude, latitude and longitude; etc.). We congratulate Dr. Volk, who wrote the grant (with a little help from her friends) requesting 50,000 and was given an extra $15,000 because she had to work with knucklehead garlic growers! This is very exciting research because now that the DNA identification has defined the cultivars, we can compare apples to apples. The GSF, and many of you, has conducted "research", but in reality, we didn't know what garlic we head, so 95% of us were comparing apples to pineapples. The 5 sites selected are Maine, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and the next Press we'll share growers and locations. A web site: www.bignewsforgarlic.com will also be created to share the grant, site locations, photos, and all data as they become available. The web site will stay active until the final report, after which it will be available here on www.garlicseedgfoundation.info. Dr Volk will publish the findings in horticultural journals. We will publicize the findings to our farming community in the Ag-Press, in brochures, at conferences, and to anyone who asks the question" "What's the best garlic for me to grow?" This grant was first created and submitted to the national S.A.R.E. office for national funding for sites all over North America, but it was rejected as unworthy. However, with the help of the GSF and 6 wonderful, generous growers, we're going to piggyback the national data with the Northeast data. The GSF will fund the laboratory analysis of the garlic, soil, etc., and the growers are donating their labor (at least for not). While the northeast samples will show regional comparisons, the national trials are really going to answer a lot of questions. The 6 national locations are in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Colorado, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Again, we'll publish all this in the next Press. All information is public and will be shared with everyone. We are asking that all research growers share their findings and let other producers see their results at field days, fairs or markets. Each Press will also be reporting information/results. Congratulations to everyone!
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