October 22, 2025 • 19 mins
This week, Doug Stephan welcomes Peter Durand, Chief Farm Officer of Snickers Run Garlic Farm in Bluemont, Virginia — a 63-acre gem nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Peter shares how this small but mighty farm grows some of the most flavorful hard-neck garlic in the region using sustainable, soil-first methods and a lot of love. From their signature “Bluemont Music” variety to German Extra Hardy and Chesnok Red, each bulb is hand-planted, nurtured, and harvested with care.
At Snickers Run Farm, the philosophy is simple: healthy soil makes healthy plants — and happy cows help make both. Meet their beloved rescue cows — Garbanzo, Basil Hayden, Apple, Fig Newton, Hummus, and Tofu — who provide the natural fertilizer that keeps the garlic thriving.
Doug and Peter talk about:
• The secret to truly flavorful, nutrient-rich garlic 🌱
• How sustainable farming and animal care go hand-in-hand 🐄
• Why small family farms matter more than ever in today’s food system Plus, Peter shares tips for home gardeners on how to plant, grow, and harvest your own garlic this fall! Visit snickersrunfarm.com to learn more or order directly from the farm.
Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
Social Media: @GoodDayNetworks
Peter shares how this small but mighty farm grows some of the most flavorful hard-neck garlic in the region using sustainable, soil-first methods and a lot of love. From their signature “Bluemont Music” variety to German Extra Hardy and Chesnok Red, each bulb is hand-planted, nurtured, and harvested with care.
At Snickers Run Farm, the philosophy is simple: healthy soil makes healthy plants — and happy cows help make both. Meet their beloved rescue cows — Garbanzo, Basil Hayden, Apple, Fig Newton, Hummus, and Tofu — who provide the natural fertilizer that keeps the garlic thriving.
Doug and Peter talk about:
• The secret to truly flavorful, nutrient-rich garlic 🌱
• How sustainable farming and animal care go hand-in-hand 🐄
• Why small family farms matter more than ever in today’s food system Plus, Peter shares tips for home gardeners on how to plant, grow, and harvest your own garlic this fall! Visit snickersrunfarm.com to learn more or order directly from the farm.
Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
Social Media: @GoodDayNetworks
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The safe, proven Way to lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. Welcome to the American Family
Farmer program. I'm Doug Stephen. We're going to spend some
time with Peter Durand, who's the chief farm officer at
Snickers Run garlic farm that's in Bluemont, Virginia. You must
(00:21):
get a lot of people with raised eyebrows. Do you
grow Snickers candy bars here?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
No, we grow garlic. And he's the name Snickersville. Bluemont,
Virginia used to be called Snickersville back in the nineteen thirties.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So why why was it called Snickersville? What was there
about it? Was?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
There was a sure Yeah, there was a gentleman, Daniel Snickers.
There's a turnpike. We're just outside of Washington, about fifty
miles west. And Daniel Snickers ran a ferry across the
Shenandoah River back during the Revolutionary War days. So you
just we took that as something historical for our farm.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Okay, this is a good area. The Blue Ridge Mountains
is a good ag area, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It is? It is you know we're the Appalachian Trail
is just right behind us on a ridge of mountains
behind us, and then the Shenandoah Valley is on the
other side.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
But are your natives to that area?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
For the most part, I grew up as a as
a kid here in northern Virginia on a farm. But
father was a pilot and lived in Germany and California
and pretty much all over the country. But this this
has been home for most of my life.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So you wouldn't would you classify yourself as a farm
kid having been a farm kid?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yes, that is what inspired me to become a farmer.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
M So what sort of farming did you grow up around?
Most everybody who has stayed with agg stayed with what
they grew up with, especially if it was dairy. But
interested to know what it was that you.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Grew up around, specifically cornfields, soybeans, sheep, chickens, cows, that
type of thing, and then started garlic farming here. This
will be our fifth season doing this and it had
nothing to do with what my parents grew on there
far right became.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, that's yeah, you specialized. So under the circumstances, why
would someone you in particularly because you made the decision.
But why would one become a specialist in growing garlic.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Well, it starts from I love garlic, so which is great.
And you know, I just discovered over the years that
there is actually not a lot of at least in
this area, there's not a lot of local garlic, and
so I kind of looked at the market for garlic.
Something like eighty five ninety percent of all garlic is
(02:57):
is imported into the United States. I just found that,
you know, people really liked the kind of hard neck
garlic that we grow here. So it's become it's just
become really popular, and we feel like we're kind of
serving kind of a really interesting side of the market
to in produce. We go other things here on our farm,
but we really specialize in just garlic.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
For the unwashed like me. I don't know. I put
I'm not a garlic guy, per sae. I don't eat
it raw and I don't cook it. But what is
a hard neck garlic and how is that different from
other varieties?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So garlic can be really set up, as you know,
two types of plants. One is soft neck and the
other one is called hard neck. And the difference really
is hard neck garlic, it grows a flower stalk called
a garlic scape. Soft neck garlic is typically what you'll see,
you know, wrapped up in bunches, let's say, at an
(03:53):
Italian restaurant. It's typically what's grown out in California. And
the real difference between hard neck and softnack it's certainly
more labor intensive to harvest, but the flavor characteristics are
you know, it's just an exceptional flavor over just standard
you know, softneck garlic that you may pick up at
your local supermarket.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So garlic is not garlic is not garlic. There are
different types, but one would wonder if the fragrance in
garlic is all the same. I know, I take garlic
supplements and when I open the bottle, it smells like garlic,
So I'm thinking all garlic smells alike. We're having a
conversation with Peter Durand, who comes from Snickers Run Garlic
(04:36):
farm in Bluemont, Virginia. Caliitrin is on the top of
the food chain, if you will. When it comes to
losing weight, and because it is fall, it's time to
focus on what we seem to get into every year
at this time exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
You know, we call it the eating season around here,
and you know, while this season is full of joy,
it is just also full of temptation. So when you
were taking Alatren, it's not only going to help you
lose the inches and the pounds, but it also helps
you make those better decisions because you do have less cravings,
you have more energy, You're not having the afternoon slump
(05:12):
or the crash because Caltrin's working with your body naturally.
So if you need a little bit of help, especially
this time of the year, Caltrin is gonna get you there.
The website is toploss dot com. There is a big
fall sale going on right now with discounts on every
single month, So whether you have a little bit of
weight to lose or a lot of weight to lose,
it's a great time to get on.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Caldrin Elizabeth Miller from top looss dot com and Caldron
here back on the American family farmer, Peter Durand is
here from Snickers Run Garlic Farm in Bluemont, Virginia. Who
would have thought that there is this much information around
(05:53):
regarding growing garlic and the varieties, et cetera, et cetera.
So are the varieties predicated by the soils? How what
do you have to have to grow good garlic in
terms of soil.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, that's a great question. Yeah, And you know, garlic,
it's been cultivated for thousands of years, and it grows
in sandy soil, and it grows in clay soil. I'm
in Virginia, so we have a lot of good red clay.
But really what it does need is you need to
have very you know, good nutrients in the soil. So
Here at our farm, we have cows. They're all actually
(06:30):
rescue cows or pet cows that my wife raises, but
we use all their calmonore and we compost that and
till that into our soil. What garlic does need, though,
is it does need cold weather during the winter. And
it's a crop that you plant in the fall, so
it's a long growing cycle. And the reason you would
(06:52):
plant it in the fall is you want to get
a root structure, and garlic needs roughly thirty days of
really cold weather to cause a process called journalization that
causes the clothes to split and become bulbs. But you
can grow it anywhere. It does not do as well
in you know, very warm southern climates.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
So this is interesting. I'm just I have a large garden.
I have a development called an agrohood, which is a
it's a farm and a residential neighborhood built around a
working farm. And we have a three acre garden, and
a lady who takes care of the garden is just
talking about planting garlic. And I guess I remember from
(07:36):
many moons ago that garlic does need to be planted
in the fall and carried through the winter. So does
that mean that once the soil wakes up in the
spring we have garlic. What is the You just explain
why it needs to be cold, but what happens in
terms of if it's growing in maturation?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yep. Yeah, So garlic is a really interesting plant because
it it just rests. So the reason you know you
plant in the fall is you just want to get
a root structure in play for the plants. When you
know the weather starts to warm in the spring, it'll
really start to take off, but it'll grow all winter.
(08:14):
If you get some warm days, you know, we'll be
planting here in about a week or so, and by
middle of November the garlic should be you know, maybe
an inch or two tall.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
M it's not almost a winter rye. It sounds like.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Very much.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So, yeah, yes, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I have Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Also, I'm just thinking to the things that we have
in common here. I have I raised jersey replacement heifers
for dairy h and I also have my I have
a group of rescue cows. I have a sanctuary for
cows that were headed for the wrong place and headed
in the wrong direction. And people will call me and say,
will you take this cow? I can't take care of
(08:57):
her anymore, or will you want I don't to send
this cow to slaughter or somebody's going to take the cow.
So I have I don't have garbanzo, and I don't
have apple, and I don't have fake Newton. But I
have other creative names for the benefit of the audience.
They are the names of some of the cows you
use their manure, which is obviously a great way for
(09:20):
any of us to grow things, and those of us
who are fortunate enough to have some commoneur or a
lot of commoneur, it does wonders because of what really
well is that anything else? What comes out is what
goes in right, And you were probably pretty careful as
to what to feed the cows.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yep. Yeah, we make sure they're they're all organically raised
and grown. You know, we're very careful about you know,
not antibiotics. But many of those, all of those cows
were rescues and we're headed to the to the wrong place.
And our favorite cow or my favorite cow, his name's
Basil short for Basil Haydon, but he's about a twenty
(09:58):
five pound angus steer, and so it's super it's super beneficial,
you know, for the soil because we try not to
use We try to do everything naturally here growing the garlic.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Is there such a thing as as a certified organic
garlic farm?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah? Absolutely, we're not us d a quote unquote stamped organic,
but we grow everything organically following natural practices. And that's
more of just been doing a paperwork exercise with us day.
But yes, you absolutely can do this all naturally. And
you know there are you know, pests come after garlic,
(10:39):
just as any other crop, and so you know, we
have ways of treating with them so we don't have
to use. You know, I'm the farmer and I'm doing
any spring, so you know, we're just very careful about
you know, what we're putting on the plants as well
as what we're putting in our soil.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It's interesting because I, again kind of philosophically am where
you are. I'm not bothering with the paperwork because I'm
non sense. I think it's just nonsense, frankly, but I
know in my heart and my head what I'm doing
and how I'm taking care of the animals and what
comes out of the farm. And so in this circumstance
to the customers that you have, I guess let's talk
about that. Do you sell retail, wholesale or both?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
We do both. We do both. So you know, we
have done a lot of farm markets here in the
Washington area, so you know that got very popular. I'm
in loud In County, Virginia, and our Economic Development does
like farm tours, so you know, we've been doing fall
and spring farm tours, you know, and we may get
(11:37):
five six hundred people out over the weekend. But we
do sell online, so that's actually worked very well for
us online through Etsy and through our website. And then
we have a number of farm stores here that you
know carry our garlic bulbs. We also with the garlic
(11:58):
we we have a certified kitchen here at the farm,
and so we also make gourmet garlic powders, garlic salts,
black garlic, you know, and other related all garlic products
so people can get them locally here. Well, we've shipped
all over the US.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Really, Okay, that's what I want to I want to
know who a little more about your customers and what
they know about what you're growing. Conversation with Peter Durand
who comes from Snickers Run Garlic Farm in Bluemont, Virginia.
Very specialized growing, but very interesting story. We'll continue in
a matter of moments here on the American Family Farmer.
(12:39):
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(13:03):
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Speaker 1 (15:43):
We continue our rop through the garlic field with Peter
Durand from the Snickers run garlic farm. So your customers again,
I asked whether you were holdser retail. You said both,
What do they know? And what do they want to know?
Are they picky you of different things? Here? I'm looking
at all the stuff that you sell, the garlic salt
(16:05):
and garlic cloves and various powders and that sort of thing. So, uh,
what is how sophisticated is your customer?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
When I started with this, you know, years back, I didn't.
I was at the mindset of I just thought garlic
was garlic, and then I got into it and it's there.
It's it's kind of like tomatoes, like a beefsteak tomato
tastes very different than aroma tomato or other varieties. And
so I found that with garlic. And what I say is,
(16:36):
I've got a couple. We have a couple of different
kinds of customers. We have customers that want to buy
garlic for planting, which is often called seed garlic. So
you know, those those customers are looking for different kinds
of varieties, whether it's a Chesnolk red which is a
you know, a purple striped garlic, or a German hardy,
(16:56):
which is a porcelain hardneck garlic. So they're looking for
particular varieties, and so we're able to cater to them.
And then the other customers are the ones who want
to you know, cook with garlic or you know, or eating,
and so they're really interested in the different flavor profiles,
you know, of garlic. So we'll get those kinds of
questions and you know, we'll allow people to sample the
(17:19):
different flavors. It's different. I don't eat the garlic raw myself.
I do, uh, I do cook it sometimes it's a
little too hot for that. But we do have you know,
the consumer. You know, I've got some restaurants that use
our garlic. I've got one down in Great Falls, Virginia.
They make a garlic martini, which is which is which is,
(17:40):
which is quite We do a garlic festival restaurant. So
it's you've got yeah, so you've got the consumer that
you know wants it for cooking and they like our
powders and they don't like what they get at the
you know, at the supermarket. And then it's just the
the you know, other farmers that want to plant a
crop of garlic, or you know, low gardening clubs. We'll
(18:01):
have gardening clubs out and they all want to learn
how to grow garlic and what are the different varieties.
And we've had the benefit of actually, you know, because
we're in the mid Atlantic region testing a lot of
different garlic varieties to see what grows well in our climate.
So you know, I think the varieties we have here,
you know, mesh to that. And then we have certain
(18:21):
specialized customers. Last year, I had a lot of ladies
came out and you know, they wanted twenty five thirty
pounds of garlic, and I'm like, what are you cooking
with it? And they're like, we're making kim chi. So
you know, like we found a Korean garlic that's fiery
hot and they were exted that. You know, we could
offer them a Korean garlic to make really traditional kimchi, So,
(18:45):
you know, we really try to specialize it for different.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I really have a few seconds left. Do you offer
on your website? And I didn't ask you what that was?
What is your website?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, it's a www. Snicker Runfarm dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Okay, Snickers Runfarm dot COM's a website. I'm sure you
can go there and find out how to plant garlic.
There are lots of different ways of cooking it using it.
This is a very interesting Who would have thought that
we could get this much. It takes a certain talent
and you obviously have the pursued interest here. So you
have done well practicing and I'm sure a lot of
(19:24):
people do well learning about what it is that garlic requires.
Thank you good to have you here, Peter Peter Durant
from Snickers Run Farm in Bluemont, Virginia on the American
Familyfarmer program. This program was produced at Bobksound and Recording.
Please visit bobksound dot com. The American Familyfarmer Podcast sponsored
(19:46):
in part by Caldron, which is the safe way for
you to lose weight and keep it off.
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The safe, proven Way to lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. Welcome to the American Family
Farmer program. I'm Doug Stephen. We're going to spend some
time with Peter Durand, who's the chief farm officer at
Snickers Run garlic farm that's in Bluemont, Virginia. You must
(00:21):
get a lot of people with raised eyebrows. Do you
grow Snickers candy bars here?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
No, we grow garlic. And he's the name Snickersville. Bluemont,
Virginia used to be called Snickersville back in the nineteen thirties.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So why why was it called Snickersville? What was there
about it? Was?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
There was a sure Yeah, there was a gentleman, Daniel Snickers.
There's a turnpike. We're just outside of Washington, about fifty
miles west. And Daniel Snickers ran a ferry across the
Shenandoah River back during the Revolutionary War days. So you
just we took that as something historical for our farm.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Okay, this is a good area. The Blue Ridge Mountains
is a good ag area, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
It is? It is you know we're the Appalachian Trail
is just right behind us on a ridge of mountains
behind us, and then the Shenandoah Valley is on the
other side.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
But are your natives to that area?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
For the most part, I grew up as a as
a kid here in northern Virginia on a farm. But
father was a pilot and lived in Germany and California
and pretty much all over the country. But this this
has been home for most of my life.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So you wouldn't would you classify yourself as a farm
kid having been a farm kid?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yes, that is what inspired me to become a farmer.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
M So what sort of farming did you grow up around?
Most everybody who has stayed with agg stayed with what
they grew up with, especially if it was dairy. But
interested to know what it was that you.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Grew up around, specifically cornfields, soybeans, sheep, chickens, cows, that
type of thing, and then started garlic farming here. This
will be our fifth season doing this and it had
nothing to do with what my parents grew on there
far right became.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, that's yeah, you specialized. So under the circumstances, why
would someone you in particularly because you made the decision.
But why would one become a specialist in growing garlic.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Well, it starts from I love garlic, so which is great.
And you know, I just discovered over the years that
there is actually not a lot of at least in
this area, there's not a lot of local garlic, and
so I kind of looked at the market for garlic.
Something like eighty five ninety percent of all garlic is
(02:57):
is imported into the United States. I just found that,
you know, people really liked the kind of hard neck
garlic that we grow here. So it's become it's just
become really popular, and we feel like we're kind of
serving kind of a really interesting side of the market
to in produce. We go other things here on our farm,
but we really specialize in just garlic.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
For the unwashed like me. I don't know. I put
I'm not a garlic guy, per sae. I don't eat
it raw and I don't cook it. But what is
a hard neck garlic and how is that different from
other varieties?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So garlic can be really set up, as you know,
two types of plants. One is soft neck and the
other one is called hard neck. And the difference really
is hard neck garlic, it grows a flower stalk called
a garlic scape. Soft neck garlic is typically what you'll see,
you know, wrapped up in bunches, let's say, at an
(03:53):
Italian restaurant. It's typically what's grown out in California. And
the real difference between hard neck and softnack it's certainly
more labor intensive to harvest, but the flavor characteristics are
you know, it's just an exceptional flavor over just standard
you know, softneck garlic that you may pick up at
your local supermarket.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
So garlic is not garlic is not garlic. There are
different types, but one would wonder if the fragrance in
garlic is all the same. I know, I take garlic
supplements and when I open the bottle, it smells like garlic,
So I'm thinking all garlic smells alike. We're having a
conversation with Peter Durand, who comes from Snickers Run Garlic
(04:36):
farm in Bluemont, Virginia. Caliitrin is on the top of
the food chain, if you will. When it comes to
losing weight, and because it is fall, it's time to
focus on what we seem to get into every year
at this time exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
You know, we call it the eating season around here,
and you know, while this season is full of joy,
it is just also full of temptation. So when you
were taking Alatren, it's not only going to help you
lose the inches and the pounds, but it also helps
you make those better decisions because you do have less cravings,
you have more energy, You're not having the afternoon slump
(05:12):
or the crash because Caltrin's working with your body naturally.
So if you need a little bit of help, especially
this time of the year, Caltrin is gonna get you there.
The website is toploss dot com. There is a big
fall sale going on right now with discounts on every
single month, So whether you have a little bit of
weight to lose or a lot of weight to lose,
it's a great time to get on.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Caldrin Elizabeth Miller from top looss dot com and Caldron
here back on the American family farmer, Peter Durand is
here from Snickers Run Garlic Farm in Bluemont, Virginia. Who
would have thought that there is this much information around
(05:53):
regarding growing garlic and the varieties, et cetera, et cetera.
So are the varieties predicated by the soils? How what
do you have to have to grow good garlic in
terms of soil.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, that's a great question. Yeah, And you know, garlic,
it's been cultivated for thousands of years, and it grows
in sandy soil, and it grows in clay soil. I'm
in Virginia, so we have a lot of good red clay.
But really what it does need is you need to
have very you know, good nutrients in the soil. So
Here at our farm, we have cows. They're all actually
(06:30):
rescue cows or pet cows that my wife raises, but
we use all their calmonore and we compost that and
till that into our soil. What garlic does need, though,
is it does need cold weather during the winter. And
it's a crop that you plant in the fall, so
it's a long growing cycle. And the reason you would
(06:52):
plant it in the fall is you want to get
a root structure, and garlic needs roughly thirty days of
really cold weather to cause a process called journalization that
causes the clothes to split and become bulbs. But you
can grow it anywhere. It does not do as well
in you know, very warm southern climates.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
So this is interesting. I'm just I have a large garden.
I have a development called an agrohood, which is a
it's a farm and a residential neighborhood built around a
working farm. And we have a three acre garden, and
a lady who takes care of the garden is just
talking about planting garlic. And I guess I remember from
(07:36):
many moons ago that garlic does need to be planted
in the fall and carried through the winter. So does
that mean that once the soil wakes up in the
spring we have garlic. What is the You just explain
why it needs to be cold, but what happens in
terms of if it's growing in maturation?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Yep. Yeah, So garlic is a really interesting plant because
it it just rests. So the reason you know you
plant in the fall is you just want to get
a root structure in play for the plants. When you
know the weather starts to warm in the spring, it'll
really start to take off, but it'll grow all winter.
(08:14):
If you get some warm days, you know, we'll be
planting here in about a week or so, and by
middle of November the garlic should be you know, maybe
an inch or two tall.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
M it's not almost a winter rye. It sounds like.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Very much.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So, yeah, yes, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I have Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Also, I'm just thinking to the things that we have
in common here. I have I raised jersey replacement heifers
for dairy h and I also have my I have
a group of rescue cows. I have a sanctuary for
cows that were headed for the wrong place and headed
in the wrong direction. And people will call me and say,
will you take this cow? I can't take care of
(08:57):
her anymore, or will you want I don't to send
this cow to slaughter or somebody's going to take the cow.
So I have I don't have garbanzo, and I don't
have apple, and I don't have fake Newton. But I
have other creative names for the benefit of the audience.
They are the names of some of the cows you
use their manure, which is obviously a great way for
(09:20):
any of us to grow things, and those of us
who are fortunate enough to have some commoneur or a
lot of commoneur, it does wonders because of what really
well is that anything else? What comes out is what
goes in right, And you were probably pretty careful as
to what to feed the cows.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yep. Yeah, we make sure they're they're all organically raised
and grown. You know, we're very careful about you know,
not antibiotics. But many of those, all of those cows
were rescues and we're headed to the to the wrong place.
And our favorite cow or my favorite cow, his name's
Basil short for Basil Haydon, but he's about a twenty
(09:58):
five pound angus steer, and so it's super it's super beneficial,
you know, for the soil because we try not to
use We try to do everything naturally here growing the garlic.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Is there such a thing as as a certified organic
garlic farm?
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Yeah? Absolutely, we're not us d a quote unquote stamped organic,
but we grow everything organically following natural practices. And that's
more of just been doing a paperwork exercise with us day.
But yes, you absolutely can do this all naturally. And
you know there are you know, pests come after garlic,
(10:39):
just as any other crop, and so you know, we
have ways of treating with them so we don't have
to use. You know, I'm the farmer and I'm doing
any spring, so you know, we're just very careful about
you know, what we're putting on the plants as well
as what we're putting in our soil.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It's interesting because I, again kind of philosophically am where
you are. I'm not bothering with the paperwork because I'm
non sense. I think it's just nonsense, frankly, but I
know in my heart and my head what I'm doing
and how I'm taking care of the animals and what
comes out of the farm. And so in this circumstance
to the customers that you have, I guess let's talk
about that. Do you sell retail, wholesale or both?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
We do both. We do both. So you know, we
have done a lot of farm markets here in the
Washington area, so you know that got very popular. I'm
in loud In County, Virginia, and our Economic Development does
like farm tours, so you know, we've been doing fall
and spring farm tours, you know, and we may get
(11:37):
five six hundred people out over the weekend. But we
do sell online, so that's actually worked very well for
us online through Etsy and through our website. And then
we have a number of farm stores here that you
know carry our garlic bulbs. We also with the garlic
(11:58):
we we have a certified kitchen here at the farm,
and so we also make gourmet garlic powders, garlic salts,
black garlic, you know, and other related all garlic products
so people can get them locally here. Well, we've shipped
all over the US.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Really, Okay, that's what I want to I want to
know who a little more about your customers and what
they know about what you're growing. Conversation with Peter Durand
who comes from Snickers Run Garlic Farm in Bluemont, Virginia.
Very specialized growing, but very interesting story. We'll continue in
a matter of moments here on the American Family Farmer.
(12:39):
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Speaker 1 (15:43):
We continue our rop through the garlic field with Peter
Durand from the Snickers run garlic farm. So your customers again,
I asked whether you were holdser retail. You said both,
What do they know? And what do they want to know?
Are they picky you of different things? Here? I'm looking
at all the stuff that you sell, the garlic salt
(16:05):
and garlic cloves and various powders and that sort of thing. So, uh,
what is how sophisticated is your customer?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
When I started with this, you know, years back, I didn't.
I was at the mindset of I just thought garlic
was garlic, and then I got into it and it's there.
It's it's kind of like tomatoes, like a beefsteak tomato
tastes very different than aroma tomato or other varieties. And
so I found that with garlic. And what I say is,
(16:36):
I've got a couple. We have a couple of different
kinds of customers. We have customers that want to buy
garlic for planting, which is often called seed garlic. So
you know, those those customers are looking for different kinds
of varieties, whether it's a Chesnolk red which is a
you know, a purple striped garlic, or a German hardy,
(16:56):
which is a porcelain hardneck garlic. So they're looking for
particular varieties, and so we're able to cater to them.
And then the other customers are the ones who want
to you know, cook with garlic or you know, or eating,
and so they're really interested in the different flavor profiles,
you know, of garlic. So we'll get those kinds of
questions and you know, we'll allow people to sample the
(17:19):
different flavors. It's different. I don't eat the garlic raw myself.
I do, uh, I do cook it sometimes it's a
little too hot for that. But we do have you know,
the consumer. You know, I've got some restaurants that use
our garlic. I've got one down in Great Falls, Virginia.
They make a garlic martini, which is which is which is,
(17:40):
which is quite We do a garlic festival restaurant. So
it's you've got yeah, so you've got the consumer that
you know wants it for cooking and they like our
powders and they don't like what they get at the
you know, at the supermarket. And then it's just the
the you know, other farmers that want to plant a
crop of garlic, or you know, low gardening clubs. We'll
(18:01):
have gardening clubs out and they all want to learn
how to grow garlic and what are the different varieties.
And we've had the benefit of actually, you know, because
we're in the mid Atlantic region testing a lot of
different garlic varieties to see what grows well in our climate.
So you know, I think the varieties we have here,
you know, mesh to that. And then we have certain
(18:21):
specialized customers. Last year, I had a lot of ladies
came out and you know, they wanted twenty five thirty
pounds of garlic, and I'm like, what are you cooking
with it? And they're like, we're making kim chi. So
you know, like we found a Korean garlic that's fiery
hot and they were exted that. You know, we could
offer them a Korean garlic to make really traditional kimchi, So,
(18:45):
you know, we really try to specialize it for different.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I really have a few seconds left. Do you offer
on your website? And I didn't ask you what that was?
What is your website?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, it's a www. Snicker Runfarm dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Okay, Snickers Runfarm dot COM's a website. I'm sure you
can go there and find out how to plant garlic.
There are lots of different ways of cooking it using it.
This is a very interesting Who would have thought that
we could get this much. It takes a certain talent
and you obviously have the pursued interest here. So you
have done well practicing and I'm sure a lot of
(19:24):
people do well learning about what it is that garlic requires.
Thank you good to have you here, Peter Peter Durant
from Snickers Run Farm in Bluemont, Virginia on the American
Familyfarmer program. This program was produced at Bobksound and Recording.
Please visit bobksound dot com. The American Familyfarmer Podcast sponsored
(19:46):
in part by Caldron, which is the safe way for
you to lose weight and keep it off.
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