WELCOME TO PATRICE NEWELL GARLIC
All our Garlic is now sold out.
New season Purple Glamour Garlic expected in November – please join our newsletter – on the right – to be kept up to date.
Sorry to say – the Australian Garlic season really is over for the year!
The end of April and the new garlic crop is looking good.
May 2013
Our annual treat at the Palm Beach Boathouse with graphic artist Katherine Smith - responsible for our gorgeous boxes and thank you notes - and garlic obsessive business partner Roger Sternhell.
April 2013
Sad day last box of white packed up today. Good bye garlic season……roll on November 2013.
Purple hardneck garlic will eventually sprout.
It's 100% natural and safe to eat.
Lisa from Taiwan breaks up the large bulbs of Purple Glamour Garlic for planting.
What an amazing Autumn. A Perfect Easter. We hope your Easter break was peaceful.
Garlic planting has begun at Elmswood.
Graeme and Lisa surrounded by purple garlic being broken up for planting.
And here the planters are getting 4 rows done at a time.
The native grasses have thrived with the rain during March. They're now all waving their seed heads in the wind.
March 2013
Wondering which garlic to buy?
If you're looking to buy a garlic that you want to last three months or more - we suggest you order our Late Season WHITE.
This garlic is a variety that won't sprout until May or June.
Some customers have advised theirs stayed firm and fresh well into September.
Click here for more information on storing garlic.
Please sign up for our newsletter - to the right - and we'll notify you when new season fresh PURPLE garlic is available in November 2013.
Remember Garlic is a SUMMER crop.
February 2013
Greetings from the farm, where the sun warms, the river flows, the grass jumps and there’s no imminent weather events looming.
In seven weeks we’ll be planting our 2013 garlic crop.
So we’ve been sorting seed stock deciding volumes and varieties.
When we pack our premium purple we also grade for size. So this year we again have a few crates of
SLIGHTLY SMALLER PURPLE GLAMOUR GARLIC.
Available at the special price of $30 a kilogram, packed in our narrow box with no woodwool.
January 2013
Summer Storms
What began as a quiet Christmas - New Year break at home with friends and family became high drama. In the middle of the heat wave, with farmer friends losing crops and belongings in bushfires, we were hit by a whopping freak storm that lasted just 20 terrifying minutes. It uprooted many of our oldest and most beautiful trees, rampaged through the olive grove, damaged electricity poles, gear and vehicles. Elmswood looked like a war zone. Phillip and Gavin have been removing trees off fences and clearing roads ever since.
My favourite tree killed.
Extra help was needed to clean up the mess
Beautiful Olive trees planted in 1997 where uprooted.
AVAILABLE NOW
- Purple Glamour Garlic
- Late-Harvest Longer-lasting White Garlic
- A box of different garlic varieties
New research confirms Garlic CAN help reduce hypertension. Read the article just out in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition here.
Our Varieties
There are hundreds of different types of garlic but many of the differences can be subtle. Our TWO main varieties are strikingly different!
Our PURPLE PREMIUM GLAMOUR GARLIC is our main variety.
A hard-neck. Average clove number is 12. They’re big cloves, with purple/brown skins. The garlic inside is white.
The outside skins – up to 6 layers – are purple when we harvest but as they break off, they increasingly become lighter. SO. Our purple garlic sometimes starts to look white as the season progresses. The purple colour of the skins of the cloves however, usually stay a purple/brown colour. The flavour is moderately hot, with a sweetness. Many customers say the low sulphur aspect means its very easy to digest. It’s our favourite.
LONGER-LASTING, LATE-HARVEST WHITE has up to 20 cloves.
This is a soft-neck garlic with white skins on the cloves and on outside. They often get water marks on them, which brown. So it’s not the prettiest garlic around.
We love it though because it has always been our best lasting garlic. Perfect right up to June.
Some of the bigger cloves have a green colour. This is perfectly okay and just an attribute of this variety. It doesn’t mean it’s about to sprout. This garlic has much more punch than the purple. It’s hot. A little goes a long way. If you like a strong garlic flavour this is perfect.
A box of mixed Garlic varieties
A special offering until we run out…. A box of selected different garlic’s. Big, small, oblong, hot, sweet. Including our premium purple - you’ll notice them because they’ll be the biggest bulbs - and also the late harvest white. All grown on the farm in our biodynamic trial plots. Sorry, they won’t all be labelled.
December 2012 - Happy Garlicy Christmas.
May you all have a peaceful Christmas break.
The Garlic Packing Shed is also on a small break - deliveries resume 7th January.
You can still place orders over this time.
Please sign up for our newsletter - see on the right - and we will notify you when our farm produce becomes available.
November 2012
"Hi Garlic People. Just a note to say thankyou for the amazing garlic. We have received our 5kg and already are enjoying it even on toast with tomato at breakfast!"
Regards, Rhonda
Garlic Deliveries Full Steam Ahead!
No need to complain about inferior imported Garlic anymore. Our Fresh Purple Glamour Garlic is here!
Graeme, Betty & Jane have been working hard clipping the Garlic for sale.
October 2012
The Great Eastern Ranges Initiative is a plan to connect people and nature along the east coast of Australia. From far north Queensland to the Grampians in Victoria – That’s 3,600 kms!
The Hunter Valley is a section with many nature gaps. Land clearing and mining has played havoc…..…we need to re-connect the biodiversity corridors here.
We’re on a mission to fix it. The management of privately owned land is crucial.
See more at www.gersteppingstones.org.au
Honey is on the way soon.......
Welcome to the month of October. Our garlic crop is growing before our eyes. We’re going to be harvesting our EARLY purple crop any day now. And by the end of the month our main, PURPLE GLAMOUR variety should be ready to hang in the shed for curing.
It’s an exciting month!
September 2012
Spring has arrived with perfect weather, but it’s been dry here. For the first time in two years we’ve had to water the garlic crop in September. Without water, the bulbs won’t fill out.
Here’s our main purple garlic pulled out of the ground September 24th. You’ll notice the bulb shape is just starting to form.
August 2012
August has been a time for holidays at Elmswood. Graeme went back to China for another visit, I’m worried he wants to move there! And Phillip and I headed off to the UK where we enjoyed London during the final week of the Olympics and then went onto Edinburgh to visit our daughter.
It was amazing how rare fresh garlic and good olive oil was in Scotland. One really had to hunt for it. But one happy farmer not far from Edinburgh did grow some hot purple garlic. Here’s me with his box at the Castle Terrace Market, Edinburgh.
St John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum, is a weed rapidly spreading across the nation causing all of us in the Hunter some grief every spring, but here it was as a garden feature in Edinburgh!
July 2012
This winter's so cold even the thermometer's frozen. We've put a warm blanket of mulch on the garlic but the poor olive trees have been enduring minus 8 degrees.
The garlic is mulched but Graeme and Betty have been checking all the rows for weeds anyway.
Mustard is in flower along the verges of the crop.
Besides having glorious honey the bees provide the wax for our candles.
They smell delicious when burning and I use a thick wick to make them last.
There was a brown snake around the house all summer…..when I cleared the old summer grass from the vegetable garden a perfect snake skin was hidden underneath…..I guess the snake will be back again next season!
June 2012
June 1st was a special day. The start of a new season……. and a trip off farm to Camden where we gathered at Mickey Robertson’s Glenmore House for a chat about the farm. In particular olive oil.
Here’s me and Mickey in her gorgeous garden.
We had a fantastic lunch munching on her garden fresh vegies.
If you’d like to learn about growing vegetables, she conducts kitchen garden classes.
The best thing about weather this cold is that it provides the best excuse to fry vegetables.
I know I’ve said it before, but frying in homemade grass fed animal fat is one of my favourite kitchen traditions.
We butcher our own meat here so I get to render the fat.
This is a very special ingredient. Grass fed, no chemicals.
I pour the fat into cake tins. Let it set, remove it, then freeze it.
Here's a block of Fat. I melt it down.
Get the fat hot. It usually takes about 5 minutes to cook, but this depends on the size you cut the vegies. The bigger the pieces the longer it takes.
Scoop out with slotted spoon or tongs.
Drain on paper and sprinkle with salt!
The best thing about this is, you can eat a little and feel so satisfied. For me, this food always reduces my aches and pains!
I keep the fat in the pan and re use it about three times.
When it’s ready to be thrown away, I cut it up into pieces and twist it into newspaper and use as kindling.
Waste not want not.
May 2012
We’ve had frosts for seven mornings.
It’s been one of the coldest May’s in memory.
Minus 8. I can’t remember having such heavy frosts this early in the season.
The garlic loves it. The Olive trees don’t!
May has to be the best month everywhere in the world.
Sad to say but this year we have not harvested our olives for oil.
A small crop together with abundant birds meant we hand picked the best and now they are soaking in salty water in preparation for pickling olives……more on that later.
Meanwhile Garlic is looking wonderful, and the bees are buzzing.
We're looking forward to munching on some good olives after they've cured in the brine.
I don't remember there being a lot to smile about during the tiny olive harvest, but it clearly wasn't all bad. Just disappointing we didn't get a big crop. But that's farming for you!
Even Graeme chipped in to pick olives.
Roger and Phillip taking a rest during olive harvest.
Gavin carefully went through every crate to make sure there were no bruised, nipped or ugly olives in the crates.
April 2012
Greetings to all this beautiful Autumn.
Trees are turning and Demeter is standing proud in our garden!
Olive harvest is hopefully going to happen at the end of April. A poor crop this year - after the massive one last year!
It's hard to believe I’m still picking up odd bits of chain around the farm.
My collection has become quite extensive.
They're glorious.
Meanwhile, over Easter, we finally boxed up soap ready for delivery. The wet summer meant it just refused to fully cure. It's a slightly darker colour due to the greenness of the oil.
March 2012
2011 Garlic Harvest is Sold Out.
Preparations and plantings for our 2012 crop – due November 2012 – are full steam ahead.
To be notified when the Garlic is ready to order please sign up for our Newsletter.
From tranquil clear water to a torrent.
All the debris dumped on our bridge.
Greetings.
It’s that time of year again when we stop thinking about one crop and pay attention to the next.
Yes, we’re about to plant our 2012 garlic crop.
Please go the garlic pages to read all about our garlic.
Meanwhile olive trees, cattle and sheep are taking up our attention.
We do not sell our beef direct nor to special butcher shops.
But the cattle are certified organic and managed using holistic management principles.
Our famous premium Biodynamic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is ready to post in a
3 x 500ml bottle pack
and also our new glamorous economy box
6 X 500ml bottles.
Order click here to order on line our Australian biodynamic Olive Oil
Olive Oil deliveries Full Steam Ahead
Above and below is our main Purple hard neck variety
January 2012
This week we trimmed our LATE HARVEST, WHITE SOFT-NECK GARLIC.
This is the garlic that we plant two months after our main crop and consequently harvest two months later.
Some of the cloves have a natural GREEN tinge.
It’s the last variety to sprout.
We’ve been planting it each year to test it and for the first time we’re selling it.
It’s definitely a stronger flavoured garlic and takes longer to bake than the purple.
I literally use half as much when cooking.
The only snag with it is that it rained just before harvest and the outer skins were stained brown – so it’s perhaps not as beautiful on the outside. But remains perfect on the inside.
But just as a crooked carrot can still taste as good as a straight one, I hope for those who snapped up the crop - you’ll enjoy this garlic. For those who missed out, again sorry.
OCTOBER 2011
The Garlic Inspector Echidna is pleased with progress
SEPTEMBER 2011 - 35 Sleeps till Garlic Harvest
Spring has arrived. September is the month when garlic starts to bulb up and we prepare the soil for the following years crop.
Here’s Graeme with the winter oats we grew on last year’s garlic area.
We plough it back it to help build up organic matter in the soil.
The soil is alive with worms, smells sweet and looks edible
"I am super keen to buy your garlic. The box you sent us last year lasted for ages. I confitted (is that even a word?) it and used the garlic confit in our aioli.
I also went foraging down on the banks of the Nepean where wild fennel grows like weeds. This is potent stuff and I used this with your garlic to make a super garlic and wild fennel mayonnaise."
Ross Dobson Food Writer
JULY 2011
Garlic is on track for November - 85 sleeps till Harvest
June 2011 - Philip and I in China
- We met some farmers growing garlic for their household.
We didn’t get to the big garlic farms, but the garlic most people were growing in the south was small but strong in flavour.
- Beekeepers were out in force
Along many streets we came across Beekeepers. All the bees were calm, no need for nets, and each person was quick to offer a sample of their honey. The bees we saw were only working local natural flowers, not crops. The different honeys were all floral. All quite unusual.
- Yulong River was spectacular
These Karst mountains have been my idea of wild China forever. I want to go back.
- We had a lesson in traditional tofu making
Making tofu is very time consuming. The beans are soaked, crushed, and then drained. The pulp is fed to animals and the milk fermented with a piece of gypsum, then strained and allowed to set.
- Many farmers had Fluffy Lion Dogs - or Chows
Who doesn’t want a Fluffy Lion Dog?
May 2011 - Olive Oil....How delicious.
I must be increasing my fat quota 100% this time of year. I’m pouring olive oil over everything.
It’s also the season for Jerusalem Artichokes those much underrated tubers.
My friends Gideon and Eli were visiting last weekend and filmed a few things around the farm– including me harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes……… if you’re not familiar with how they grow you can see the film here.
My regular way of cooking them is a simple sauté.
Preferably I get enough to fill a single layer of a fry pan.
Scrub the artichokes – no need to peel - and cut into pieces about the size of a walnut.
Sauté one onion, and when cooked add the artichokes, mix and then add 2 cups of white wine, then 2 cups of good stock. They absorb a lot of liquid so be careful not to let the pan dry out. If you don’t have stock, add Worchester sauce, or soy, or even miso to water, a dash of balsamic vinegar is good too. Put the lid on and in about 15 minutes the juices will get syrupy. Stick a knife into them to test if they’re soft. If they need longer, add more stock or water. When ready, I pile them into a serving dish and pour loads of olive oil over it and chopped parsley.
They have a nutty, comforting flavour.
When Fresh Olive Oil is available try Tony Bilson's Olive Oil Ice Cream Recipe.
P.S. I’ve started a PhD with the Tom Farrell Institute at Newcastle University on Pyrolysis and Biochar. More on that this year as my research develops.
A letter from Roger Sternhell
Thank you Patrice.
You’re a brave farmer, entertaining my mad fruiterers ideas from cyber space.
But most of all, thanks for your genuine integrity and commitment behind your sustainable practices and the remarkable quality that you produce.
Thanks for having a go, of being proud of what you have achieved at Elmswood and sharing your story and most importantly for the booty itself.
All this fuss over web sites, on line ordering, credit card facilities, banks and information technology, Australia Post and the production of getting your fine produce, directly, efficiently and reliably from your farm to deserved diners’ kitchens is worthy of support, endorsement and excitement.
All the tasks have been a pleasure. It's been like ten years of Dynamic Organics all rolled into one.
Anyhow, enough of my banging on, there is so much more to read, I do hope you enjoy the fascinating story of Patrice Newell and Elmswood Farm in cyber space.
Regards, Roger
