CURRENT NEWS
SMALL BULB CLEARANCE STARTS 20/04/12 : 1 Kilo box of our smaller bulbs (avg size: 50 cent coin+) for Eating or Growing = $12.50 per kilo + Registered post
GARLIC FARM - WHAT WE DO.
When it comes to growing garlic on our farm we deliberately do things slowly and stick with traditional methods.
That means we plant, grow and hand-harvest 4 ton of garlic. Then we dry it naturally in a barn, ensuring every bulb is the absolute best it can be.
OUR PRODUCT RANGE – GARLIC VARIETIES
SOLD IN PACKS
BULBS: 10 Plump XXL Bulbs.
WEIGHS: approx 700gm - 1 kilo
GROWING: growers can expect to harvest 130 – 150 garlic bulbs from each pack)
POSTAGE: Every order is sent registered mail. You can buy as much as you like at a great postage rate.
FREE: Plus our comprehensive step by step professional growing guide (growing guide is $10 if purchased separately).
HOW TO PAY: We offer credit card and paypal. Press the ADD TO CART button and it will automatically and safely guide you through your purchase.
PRICING: We are approximately one third of the price of your nursery etc, we have rare varieties that sell out. We value our customers and allow pre-ordering.
(10 BULBS IS $30)
QUALITY: Our garlic is twice as good 
Bottom left clockwise Rose Du Var, Mexican Purple Stripe, Italian white, Oriental Purple, Californian late, Unidentified turbin garlic, Spanish white. Rojo De Castro in centre PS garlic bulbs vary greatly in appearance and may not appear as above. Soil types and climate create wide variations.
GARLIC VARIETIES
Mexican Purple Stripe SORRY SOLD OUT UNTIL NEXT SEASON
This is a medium to large bulb with big easy to use cloves, it often has a distinctive light purple outside with subtle white stripes but not always. It often has a cone shape to it. A pleasant taste that is mid range strength. Growers tip: big bulbs, defined purple stripes – looks great on the table as a show piece, flavour is good too.
Californian Late ‘USA’
A garlic lover’s best mate. USA has a very hot, strong taste. This one will grow practically anywhere. USA has a distinct purple splash especially when grown in cool climates. These bulbs will last for at least 6 months after harvest. Growers note: “…it’s a pretty ugly bulb, but the intense flavour will blow you away. I defy anyone to eat this raw without tears welling in your eyes…” Give it a go… 
Printinor (a white mandarin-like bulb) SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
This is the preferred garlic of quality chef’s. It is easy to peel, has big cloves, smooth skin and has a nice strong garlic flavour. It looks good and grows easily. It is great for all garlic uses.
Oriental Purple SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
A smallish bulb, nice medium strength flavour. Asian origins. Used in Asian cooking. Grows well in australia.
Rose Du Var ‘French’ SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
This variety was introduced to Australia via France. The Rose du Var name is believed to be associated with its attractive silverskin and rose to red coloured cloves. The depth of colour depends upon the growing conditions. This garlic produces a medium to small bulb with a punchy taste that is strong and hot. Growers tip: Foodies love this stuff.
Rojo De Castro ‘Cuban Purple’ SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
Introduced to Australia via Spain, not Cuba. Smaller bulb size. Purple cloves. The name is believed to be associated with Fidel Castro and as a result is often marketed as ‘Cuban Purple’. This is a fine cultivar with sweet rich character and minimal heat. It grows well in hot climates where others struggle.” Growers tip: Chef’s use this whole and has purple cloves a good talking point.
Blanco ‘Spanish White’ SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
This variety introduced direct from Spain. This one has porcelain white skins, nice big cloves with a tinge of pink or purple, a sweeter milder garlic and with a great taste. Limited stocks; more available next season. Growers tip: long lasting rock-hard, good flavour.
Russian Pink SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
This is a true Russian garlic (not ‘elephant garlic’) These bulbs have lovely white skins over a medium size bulb, with cloves individually wrapped in pink skins. Medium to strong flavour. Growers tip: you must pre-order to get this – limited stocks
Giant Russian Garlic (Elephant Garlic ) SORRY SOLD OUT THIS SEASON
- russian garlic
Bulk Garlic Sales. 120+ Bulbs minimum P.O.A Wholesale (600+ bulbs) POA
Simon and Sarah Illingworth
0431933406
Garlic World - an ethical farm
Port Campbell Victoria
Cold Smoked Garlic $4 (1Bulb)
Our own plump garlic bulbs, cured naturally, then cold-smoked in oak and fruit tree woodchips. Our method is a closely held secret, a French Smoking technique.
Crispy Garlic Crush $10 (Made from approximately 5-6 of our smaller bulbs)
Crispy Garlic Crush* This is a secret recipe but what we can tell you is we break the bulbs into cloves, then they’re fed into our garlic crusher, (crushing releases the health giving anti-bodies). Then it’s dried naturally. The end product is a jar of crispy garlic flakes that are perfect for garlic bread, sprinkled on soup, on top of baked potatoes, on mushrooms with a dob of butter and sprinkled raw on salads. This allows you to eat the finest Australian grown Garlic all year round.
Unsolicited Testimonial “My eye specialist told me to eat garlic because of the elements in it, so I ate your garlic crush, it fixed my eye problems in a few weeks.” (Despite that glowing report we recommend seeing a doctor and asking about the health benefits of garlic)
Real Garlic. Seasoning $10. SOLD OUT This garlic seasoning is made from our finest garlic, it’s crushed to a flake and granule consistencyand mixed with ground sea salt and dried herbs grown here. This is a Chef’s favourite, it gets big aclaim when used on BBQ meat,marinades, smoked foods, sausages, stews, stuffings and salad dressings. Sold onsite in jars and posted in easy to use resealable packs.
COLD-SMOKED GARLIC $4.00 per bulb
Our own garlic cold-smoked to perfection in oak and fruit tree wood just as it was in France a few hundred years ago. Traditional smoked garlic. A gourmet delight.
COMING SOON **** OUR NEW PRODUCT - BLACK GARLIC
We’ve carefully followed the traditional Japanese fermentation process to make this culinary delight, and of course we use our own garlic.
GROWING ADVICE
The following tips and instructions are only a brief part of our full list, to receive a comprehensive coverage you need to spend $50 with us.
Maximize the size, quality and taste of your annual garlic crop as follows:
How much can I grow? Correctly spaced, an acre will produce between 3.62 and 4.5 ton of garlic (having planted 700 – 800kg of cloves).
Handy equations:
As a general rule: weight of cloves x 6 = average weight of harvest. Or, in small plots, simply, 1 clove = one bulb.
How big is my growing area?
(Width of crop) x (length of crop) = crop in square metres. 1 meter squared = 0.000247105381 acres
Planting – For best results we plant in late March to May in Victoria, but Queenslanders may want to plant according to their local climate. Nevertheless, garlic can be planted at any time of the year but it needs time in the ground to get a good sized bulb. Don’t replant in the same soil each year, rotate your plot.
This is just a snapshot of our instructions… there are another 2 pages that aren’t given out free… for FULL PROFESSIONAL GARLIC GROWING INFORMATION SHEETS make a minimum $50 purchase. Instructions include curing, preserving and some inside hints for you.
WANT TO GROW GARLIC TO SELL? WE’LL TEACH YOU HOW.
PRO.GROWERS ADVICE
We offer ’on-going’ Professional Garlic Crop Advice which includes an intensive 2hr information session ($500) on our farm in Port Campbell and we also offer you a year of Q and A free as your crop grows. On farm, you’ll get to see our implements, our curing area, hanging implements. This session will save you days of work and teach you how to get perfect garlic.
Garlic is not a crop you can just throw in the ground and forget, but it can be easy, if you know how. If you’re serious about get into garlic growing you should do our session, or
Have a go at growing it and contact us for garlic advice @ $200 per hour via telephone or $25 per emailed Question. This sounds a lot but when you consider a 15 minute ($50) telephone consultation or a $25 email might save your entire crop it is worth it.
GARLIC SALES FAQ’s
Q. What garlic’s are available for sale today? ..flavours? strengths? tastes? and bulb size? Go to Garlic Variety page
.Q. What garlic varieties do you grow for sale? USA – Californian, late and mid, French – Rose du var, Russian – Giant Elephant, Russian- Pink, New Zealand- white, Mexican – Purple Stripe, Italian- white, Oriental purple, Trima, Printanor, Puma.
Q. How do I know your garlic sold is Aussie Grown? A. That’s simple, imports are bleached white and void of all dirt necessary to pass inspection. Our fresh garlics have the roots and dirt left on and are not sprayed with bleach.
Q. Why shouldn’t I buy cheap overseas garlic? A. Short answer: Taste. Long answer: Imported garlic is treated with growth inhibitors, it’s bleached. It has been refrigerated for 6000 km until it gets here which is why it sprouts as soon as you get it home.
Q. Why does your garlic taste and grow so good? A. ‘We have re-invented the wheel’… We only sell traditionally cured heirloom garlic. It is hung with leaves left on in a cool, dark, european style barn with minimal temperature variation… just like it was centuries ago.
Q What are the medicinal health benefits of garlic and is it best as a supplement, oil, pill, raw or powder? Garlic’s health benefits are numerous. Garlic has proven active compounds that assist in the treatment and prevention of cancer, heart problems, fatty deposits in blood and many other ailments. Garlic’s health benefits peak if it is crushed and aged. So we experimented with our garlic to maximise its health benefits and came up with our crispy garlic crush. We gave it to our friends to trial. The feedback was the same, they really liked the idea of its medicinal benefits but mostly they raved about its super taste and versatility in cooking.
Garlic oil and pills are made from cooked garlic which reduces the health benefits and raw garlic cloves are still good for you but they are ‘less good’ than crushed and aged garlic.
FOUNDER OF ETHICAL FARMING
Lastest media interview – Western Victoria and South East South Australia Rural Report: Monday 26th March 2012 – 26/03/2012
Our Happy Cow
WHY?
Organic farming is alive with rorts and deception, some organic farmers spray at night, some use chicken manure sourced from cage egg farms, some buy cage eggs and label them as organic or free range and so on. Generally, rorting happens when people don’t embrace the values and/or principles underpinning the rules; This has occurred in the organic industry because many organic farmers are only organic because there’s a buck in it.
Increasing the penalties for rorting doesn’t work because if the risk of being caught is minimal then greedy people will rort irrespective of the penalty.
Most people think organic farming is morally right. It isn’t. For every additional farm that doesn’t spray herbicides or pesticides (for example) reduces food yield. This is occurring in a world that is already short of food. We agree with Prof. Norman Borlaug who is quoted below.
“While the affluent nations can certainly afford to adopt ultra low-risk positions, and pay more for food produced by the so-called “organic” methods, the one billion chronically undernourished people of the low income, food-deficit nations cannot.” Norman Borlaug Nobel Peace Prize Winner
So what do we do?
1. Find a system that farmers believe in and value,
2. Create a system that flexes with new technology and ideas, and
3. Increase the risk of detection for rorting.
Ethical Farming Model.
Ethical farms do not have inflexible ‘etched in stone’ rules. Unlike organic farming, ethical farms weigh up the pros and cons of new technology and seek to constantly improve farming practices. We strive to achieve the greatest yield (crop size) that is sustainable for our lands long term prospects. We value transperancy – so we welcome questions about how we operate.
Whilst we do not have specific farm sizes in mind, this model is best suited to small hobby farms and large family operated farms. Large corporate run farms are unlikely to be granted access to our farming model because of the transient nature of farm workers on these properties and a perceived lack of commitment from off-site operators.
Some of the dimensions we consider:
The Sunlight Test The sunlight test assumes our customers are watching how we grow our food. So, if we wouldn’t do it in front of you – We don’t do it.
Juggling the upside with the potential down side – Farming is a constant battle of changing parameters, severe weather, locust plagues, flood, drought etc. So tackling these challenges requires continual risk assessments.
First, we ask ourselves; What are the options available to help fix this problem? Then we ask, Which option will create the most good (upside) with the least bad (downside)?
Examples – When possible we use biodegradable sprays instead of using a tractor in eliminating weeds from our planting beds (tractors emit lasting amounts of co2 while our sprays are biodegradable).
We often use local chicken manure or seaweed products for fertiliser instead of pelletised, environmentally unfriendly fertiliser that’s shipped in from China or Egyptian Phosphorous Rock (which is used in bio-dynamic farming) which, you guessed it, comes all the way from Egypt.
Philosophy
1. Human life is important to us. “We are 6.6 billion people now. We can only feed 4 billion. I don’t see 2 billion volunteers to disappear.” This comment from Bourlag was in response to the fraction of the world population that could be fed if current farmland was convered to organic-only crops.
Whilst ethical farms happily cohabitate with organic farms, we believe that very few people have thought of the repercussions and negative impacts that organic farming is having on under developed nations.
2. Continual Improvement. Ethical farms seek to continually improve; we look to advance farming technology through information sharing and forums. In simple terms that means we weigh up the pros and cons of a renewable energy use for example , but if it isn’t going to work we’ll use petrol until technology catches up. And when our animals get sick we’ll give them the care they require, when they require it. We don’t let our animals suffer. We use preventative natural remedies but, if that doesn’t work we’ll use the latest medicine prescribed by a vet. The organic industry bans many veterinary medicines, which we believe, is cruel and unethical. Note: There is a legal withholding period after medicines are administered to an animal. This ensures the animal is clear upon consumption.
3. We Promise to Speak the Truth. Ethical farms promise to speak the truth about how your food is grown from one season to another. That means, on occasion, we will tell you we’ve used a biodegradable spray. As previously mentioned we will not sit back and watch insects destroy entire crops when the world is short of food.
4. How far away was it grown? Food miles. Just because a product is organic doesn’t mean it hasn’t travelled 6,000 km from China in refrigeration before it gets to you. Indeed, if our product matches your local product; buy local. We can live with that.
5. We are a mainstream, non radical concept. Being ethical farmers doesn’t mean we’re tree-huggers or vegetarians (though they are welcome as ethical farmers and we like people with strong views) but we aren’t people that are extremists. The extremist group PETA is not an ethical organisation for a range of reasons, none more so than, the fact that they disrespect females by stripping, they sell nude photos and one of their high profile members, Pamela Anderson, who had appeared on TV ads for KFC, later joined PETA and then slammed KFC treatment of animals as unethical. Ethical farmers weigh up the options, new technology and make decisions based on common sense (and occasionally eat KFC). Incidentally, many intensive chicken farms say that chickens savagely peck each other if they are free to roam without constant supervision. There is, most certainly, stock losses at free to roam and organic chicken farms. There has to be, simply because they deny animals certain treatments that would be administered by a vet. Perhaps the middle ground would be better conditions, bigger pens and proper vet care. That is what we’re about – getting farming right.
Governance
Organic farming is governed by the organic accreditors whos’ very existence relies on fees from accreditted organic farms. So it is not in the interests of organic accreditors to deny a farms’ organic application nor is in their interests spending money on governance if the only feasible result is to discredit their own accreditation and /or to ban a farm that pays them money.
On the other hand, ethical farmers are chosen for their good character, their commitment to the cause and their belief in the values and principles that underpin our model. Farmers can only join our model by being vouched for (recommended) by a current ethical farm member. The members’ commitment to our principles and the ‘all-for-one and one-for-all’ communal ownership of our concept increases the risk of detection for the same rogue operators who have infultrated organic farming. Ethical farmers encourage transperancy and whistleblowing to keep the integrity of our concept intact.
Want to Join?
We own the ethical farm idea, but we are willing to share it. In the meantime if you want to join or you have a suggestion as to how we can improve our methodologies, feel free to email us.
Simon Illingworth ‘Ethical Farm’ Founder 2004
Ethical Farming enquiries: simon@ethicalstrength.com
