Sentimental Garlic
Reposting this photo and writing from a few years back in honor of my dad who would have been 96 this week. We lost him in January but this week he will be with us as we will still be harvesting his garlic….
Yesterday I was out in the barn getting it ready for our big garlic harvest on Wednesday when I got a text from my sister with the above photo attached. She and my mom had just found it in some papers they were cleaning out (a near constant process at my parent’s house where they have lived and saved things since the 1960s).
This is Anthony Gallo who came to the United States from Sicily. He settled in my hometown of Scottsville, NY, worked in the local gypsum mines and raised vegetables which he sold at the public market on the side. He was famous for his tomatoes and his garlic. The story is that he brought the garlic from Sicily in his suitcase. In the 1960’s he gave some garlic to my dad who grew it every year until he reached his 90'‘s a few years ago. I have inherited my dad’s garlic seed and we now grow exclusively Gallo Garlic - big, flavorful and easy to peel. Garlic is grown from cloves saved from the prior year’s harvest and as we pull this year’s crop I will be thinking of both Anthony and my Dad - all those years of growing, harvesting, drying, selecting the biggest best cloves and then planting again - a clove by clove and year by year- connection to the past that also looks towards the future season.
A few weeks after writing this back in 2024 I got an email from Anthony’s grandson, Brian, who is still growing garlic and going to the public market. The family had suffered a total loss of the family garlic a few years back and thought they had lost the strain forever. One of the great grandkids had found my blog post on the internet. The next time I went to visit my folks I delivered several pounds of cloves from our harvest the the Gallo Family booth at the public market. Happy to report that the Gallo family is back to growing thier hierloom garlic.
The Cookeville Market will be stocked with arugula, lettuce mix, kale, rainbow chard, broccolini, cukes, summer squashes, scallions, carrots , snap peas, radishes and new potatoes!
As always, we have a full selection of our pastured meats and eggs, local milk, yogurt and cheeses plus goodies galore from Marilyn's Kitchen. Freshly baked bread is available on Friday afternoons. You can also pick up bread on Saturday mornings.
PIZZA NIGHT Music this week features the retun of The Sled Wrenches, a crew of talented local folks with a fresh new sound. They had the whole place dancing last year and we are excited to welcome them back!
To make a reservation call the farm at the number below or email Margaret with PIZZA NIGHT in the subject line.
This Week’s Farm to Take Out Menu
Grown or Raised on our Farm and Cooked with Love
Chicken Souvlaki or Falafel with Pita Tzatziki, Hummus and Garden Veggies
Cold Sesame Noodles
Our Farm-Raised Breakfast and Lunch Sandwiches are always on the menu!