From teaching opportunity to hobby
Coffman family raises garlic, apples
By Amy Kyllo
STAFF WRITER
WEST CONCORD — Entering Tom and Maria Coffman’s shed on an early August day, bags of garlic hang from the ceiling and lie in stacks to be sold, dry in a wagon in the drying room or wait to be processed in a wheelbarrow.
Growing garlic started as a way for the Coffmans to teach their children life lessons of work and money, but has become their own hobby.
“It’s been a good project for the kids,” Tom said. “Of course, they’re growing up, and now we keep it going just because I like to do it.”
Coffman’s Garlic and Apples is located near West Concord. Each year, the Coffmans harvest around 9,000 garlic plants from a quarter acre field as well as apples from 30 Honeycrisp trees.
The Coffmans sell the majority of their garlic at the Minnesota Garlic Festival, which occurs the second Saturday in August each year. The event is a highlight for the Coffmans and their main marketing.
“They’ve kind of limited the entry into it as far as the garlic vendors,” Tom said. “(Because of that) you could sell enough there to make it a good effort.”
The festival is a hectic day, but the Coffmans said they enjoy it, especially visiting with people who have positive feedback from buying their garlic in the past.
Besides garlic vendors, there is also live music, dancers and unique foods such as garlic ice cream.
“It’s a wonderful family event,” Maria said.
The Coffmans said they want their garlic sold by mid-September. Whatever is not sold through the Garlic Fest and individual buyers who find them from their listing on the Minnesota Grown website, they sell to a wholesale buyer.
The Coffmans do not want to do a lot of direct marketing outside the Minnesota Garlic Festival.
“We didn’t want to get into that website stuff because it’s just very time consuming, and you’re running to the mailbox or the post office for a few bulbs,” Tom said.
In the late ‘90s, the Coffmans planted their first few bulbs of garlic which they received from their neighbor. Then around 1999-2000, which was their first big year, they planted 15 pounds.
“I started looking into it a little bit and I thought, ‘Wow, ... this is something we could keep the kids busy with and make some money,’” Tom said.
The first years, they split the profits equally between their three children for a college fund; but as time went on, and their children were involved for varying amounts of time, he paid by the hour.
“You use some of the land to be productive, keep the kids active and teach them how to work, earn money and save money,” Tom said.
Besides their garlic, the Coffmans also sell the apples from their Honeycrisp trees.
“(The) inspiration (was) when we heard about the Honeycrisp and had them, it was like, ‘Wow, this is a good apple,’” Tom said.
Tom’s brother, who has an orchard, bought 300 Honeycrisp trees, 30 of which the Coffmans planted on their farm in 1995.
Each fall, they sell their apples at the end of their driveway.
Their garlic year begins in the fall, with cloves planted from late September through October. The Coffmans plant 9,000 cloves by hand in the 18-inch rows which they mark with a tillage tool. Then, they spread straw mulch on top.
“The thickness of mulch is kind of critical,” Tom said. “If you get it too thick, then sometimes the garlic struggles to get through in the spring. .... If it’s too thin, then you end up with a few more weeds.”
The plants put down roots in the fall but do not sprout until late March.
The Coffmans weed by hand, usually going through their field once or twice. In the early summer, they remove the garlic scapes, which if left, would develop into seed heads.
Garlic is harvested mid-July. The Coffmans use a tractor pulling a middle buster to undercut the garlic and loosen them from the soil. Then, they can pick the garlic out by hand.
Usually, the Coffmans brush the dirt off the roots and send the garlic to the drying room, but this year, muddy soil from rain caused them to have to dry them outside on a wagon long enough to get the soil dry to brush off. The Coffmans had received over 21 inches of rain from May through June.
Once garlic is harvested and dirt removed, the garlic is placed in their drying room on wagons and suspended from the ceiling. The room is climate controlled for 75 degrees and 45-50% humidity. It takes about two and half weeks to dry down.
“You have to have a lot of air circulation for this,” Tom said. “When you harvest the plant, … the lower two leaves are kind of brown and dried off, and then the rest are kind of yellowish green, so there’s a lot of green, and the stem is real thick and wet.”
The Coffmans do not cut off the stem during drying. They said it is easier to work with the garlic if the stem is on and they feel the garlic cures better.
After drying, the Coffmans are ready to prepare the garlic. The week leading up to the Minnesota Garlic Festival, they spend several evenings processing the garlic with family and friends.
The first step is cutting off the roots and stems. Then, they peel off the outer wrapper of the garlic. They also sort the garlic to ensure quality.
“Anything that looks kind of crummy that we can’t sell, we just box it up for home use,” Tom said.
Most years, their cull rate is about 5%. However, this year they are dealing with adverse effects of rain and leaf hoppers and have been culling 30-40%.
The Coffmans raise 10 varieties of garlic, which they said each taste different.
“Once you cook it, it’s all fairly similar,” Tom said. “It kind of tempers, and (cooking) takes the heat and the hotness.”
The Coffmans have several ways they enjoy preparing raw garlic.
Looking to the future, the Coffmans plan to continue growing their garlic.
“I’ll keep doing it as long as I feel up to it and healthy,” Tom said. “It’s a good hobby.”
By Amy Kyllo
STAFF WRITER
WEST CONCORD — Entering Tom and Maria Coffman’s shed on an early August day, bags of garlic hang from the ceiling and lie in stacks to be sold, dry in a wagon in the drying room or wait to be processed in a wheelbarrow.
Growing garlic started as a way for the Coffmans to teach their children life lessons of work and money, but has become their own hobby.
“It’s been a good project for the kids,” Tom said. “Of course, they’re growing up, and now we keep it going just because I like to do it.”
Coffman’s Garlic and Apples is located near West Concord. Each year, the Coffmans harvest around 9,000 garlic plants from a quarter acre field as well as apples from 30 Honeycrisp trees.
The Coffmans sell the majority of their garlic at the Minnesota Garlic Festival, which occurs the second Saturday in August each year. The event is a highlight for the Coffmans and their main marketing.
“They’ve kind of limited the entry into it as far as the garlic vendors,” Tom said. “(Because of that) you could sell enough there to make it a good effort.”
The festival is a hectic day, but the Coffmans said they enjoy it, especially visiting with people who have positive feedback from buying their garlic in the past.
Besides garlic vendors, there is also live music, dancers and unique foods such as garlic ice cream.
“It’s a wonderful family event,” Maria said.
The Coffmans said they want their garlic sold by mid-September. Whatever is not sold through the Garlic Fest and individual buyers who find them from their listing on the Minnesota Grown website, they sell to a wholesale buyer.
The Coffmans do not want to do a lot of direct marketing outside the Minnesota Garlic Festival.
“We didn’t want to get into that website stuff because it’s just very time consuming, and you’re running to the mailbox or the post office for a few bulbs,” Tom said.
In the late ‘90s, the Coffmans planted their first few bulbs of garlic which they received from their neighbor. Then around 1999-2000, which was their first big year, they planted 15 pounds.
“I started looking into it a little bit and I thought, ‘Wow, ... this is something we could keep the kids busy with and make some money,’” Tom said.
The first years, they split the profits equally between their three children for a college fund; but as time went on, and their children were involved for varying amounts of time, he paid by the hour.
“You use some of the land to be productive, keep the kids active and teach them how to work, earn money and save money,” Tom said.
Besides their garlic, the Coffmans also sell the apples from their Honeycrisp trees.
“(The) inspiration (was) when we heard about the Honeycrisp and had them, it was like, ‘Wow, this is a good apple,’” Tom said.
Tom’s brother, who has an orchard, bought 300 Honeycrisp trees, 30 of which the Coffmans planted on their farm in 1995.
Each fall, they sell their apples at the end of their driveway.
Their garlic year begins in the fall, with cloves planted from late September through October. The Coffmans plant 9,000 cloves by hand in the 18-inch rows which they mark with a tillage tool. Then, they spread straw mulch on top.
“The thickness of mulch is kind of critical,” Tom said. “If you get it too thick, then sometimes the garlic struggles to get through in the spring. .... If it’s too thin, then you end up with a few more weeds.”
The plants put down roots in the fall but do not sprout until late March.
The Coffmans weed by hand, usually going through their field once or twice. In the early summer, they remove the garlic scapes, which if left, would develop into seed heads.
Garlic is harvested mid-July. The Coffmans use a tractor pulling a middle buster to undercut the garlic and loosen them from the soil. Then, they can pick the garlic out by hand.
Usually, the Coffmans brush the dirt off the roots and send the garlic to the drying room, but this year, muddy soil from rain caused them to have to dry them outside on a wagon long enough to get the soil dry to brush off. The Coffmans had received over 21 inches of rain from May through June.
Once garlic is harvested and dirt removed, the garlic is placed in their drying room on wagons and suspended from the ceiling. The room is climate controlled for 75 degrees and 45-50% humidity. It takes about two and half weeks to dry down.
“You have to have a lot of air circulation for this,” Tom said. “When you harvest the plant, … the lower two leaves are kind of brown and dried off, and then the rest are kind of yellowish green, so there’s a lot of green, and the stem is real thick and wet.”
The Coffmans do not cut off the stem during drying. They said it is easier to work with the garlic if the stem is on and they feel the garlic cures better.
After drying, the Coffmans are ready to prepare the garlic. The week leading up to the Minnesota Garlic Festival, they spend several evenings processing the garlic with family and friends.
The first step is cutting off the roots and stems. Then, they peel off the outer wrapper of the garlic. They also sort the garlic to ensure quality.
“Anything that looks kind of crummy that we can’t sell, we just box it up for home use,” Tom said.
Most years, their cull rate is about 5%. However, this year they are dealing with adverse effects of rain and leaf hoppers and have been culling 30-40%.
The Coffmans raise 10 varieties of garlic, which they said each taste different.
“Once you cook it, it’s all fairly similar,” Tom said. “It kind of tempers, and (cooking) takes the heat and the hotness.”
The Coffmans have several ways they enjoy preparing raw garlic.
Looking to the future, the Coffmans plan to continue growing their garlic.
“I’ll keep doing it as long as I feel up to it and healthy,” Tom said. “It’s a good hobby.”
