ABOUT US

We are an educational, not-for-profit, informal, unofficial, unrecognized association created in 1984 over our love of good garlic food and desire to find profitable crops and production for small and family farms.

No other vegetable/culinary herb has garnered anywhere near the attention that garlic has. For over 5,000 years it's been cultivated by Homo sapiens and used as food, flavoring, and medicine. The North American consumption of 3 pounds per person per year is well below the 50 pound per person ingested each year in cultures in the Far East.

While geneticists ponder why this plant has lost its sexuality, the botanists study garlic's origin and biological characteristics, the phytopharmacologists study the plant as a drug, and chemists and medical researchers examine sulphur and its effect on our bodies, the Foundation seeks to answer the questions: How do we grow and eat this stinky stuff?

Once we learned how to cultivate the garlic, we started looking at "varieties," soil nutrient requirements, machinery, and each of the many cultural practices it takes from planting to putting it on our pasta. Garlic is a high-value and labor-intensive crop requiring over 20 personal/human interventions.

We act as a clearinghouse of information and research data, and generally fill the void of unbiased information for the cook, gardener, and commercial producer. Our newsletter, The Garlic Press, is published about 4 times a year. We promote production, using appropriate and sustainable practices, and hearty consumption of regionally-grown garlic and all foods. We celebrate this herb by working with local members organizing festivals that combine good food, information, planting and eating material, and merriment.

David Stern, Director


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