There are few moments on a farm as satisfying as garlic harvest day.
After nearly nine months of tending the crop through changing seasons, unpredictable weather, freezing temperatures, and the steady rhythm of daily care, the moment finally arrives when each bulb is gently lifted from the soil. It’s a day that reminds us why we farm the way we do.
This year, our team harvested our Certified Organic Music Garlic, and the results exceeded every expectation.
The bulbs were enormous.
Each one tells a story—not just of favorable growing conditions, but of intentional stewardship, healthy soil, and a commitment to giving more back to the land than we ever ask it to produce.
The Soil Makes the Difference
At Living City Farms, we often say that we’re not simply growing vegetables—we’re growing soil.
Every harvest removes nutrients from the earth. Every tomato, every carrot, every head of lettuce, and every bulb of garlic carries with it minerals and organic matter that once lived beneath our feet. If those nutrients are never returned, the soil slowly loses its ability to support healthy plants.
Many modern agricultural systems treat soil as a growing medium. We see it differently.
Healthy soil is alive.
It’s filled with billions of microorganisms, beneficial fungi, earthworms, insects, and countless forms of life working together in an intricate ecosystem. These unseen partners cycle nutrients, improve soil structure, retain water, suppress disease, and create the conditions where plants can truly thrive.
That is why regenerative organic farming isn’t just a collection of practices—it’s a philosophy of stewardship.
Throughout the season, we focus on feeding the soil through compost, organic amendments, cover crops, mulch, minimal disturbance, and biological diversity. Rather than asking the land to continually give, we work to restore what each harvest removes.
When the soil is healthy, everything else follows.
Looking Back at 2025
Our 2025 garlic harvest was respectable, but noticeably smaller.
The bulbs simply didn’t have the size or consistency we knew the variety was capable of producing. Rather than accepting that as “just how it goes,” we viewed it as an opportunity to learn.
Every season teaches us something.
We carefully evaluated our fertility program, soil biology, irrigation timing, weed management, and overall field health. We continued building organic matter, refining our cultivation practices, and investing in the long-term health of our growing spaces.
The goal was never simply to produce more garlic.
The goal was to become better stewards.
Stewardship Bears Fruit
This year’s harvest was proof that healthy systems create healthy harvests.
As bulb after bulb emerged from the ground, the excitement spread across the field. We couldn’t help but stop every few minutes to admire another massive head of garlic coming out of the soil.
Music Garlic is already known for producing large cloves and exceptional flavor, but this year’s crop truly lived up to its reputation.
Seeing these giant bulbs wasn’t luck.
It was the cumulative result of hundreds of small decisions made over the course of the year—choosing soil health over shortcuts, investing in regenerative practices, and trusting that caring for the land today creates abundance tomorrow.
Nature has a remarkable way of rewarding patience.
More Than a Harvest
One of the greatest joys of farming isn’t simply bringing in beautiful produce.
It’s sharing those moments with people who have worked alongside you every step of the journey.
Harvest days carry a unique kind of energy.
There’s laughter between rows. Conversations flow easily. Hands become dirty. Boots get muddy. Someone inevitably holds up the biggest garlic bulb of the day for everyone to admire.
The photos from this harvest capture more than baskets overflowing with beautiful garlic.
They capture camaraderie.
They capture teamwork.
They capture the joy that comes from months of shared effort finally coming to fruition.
Farming is rarely easy. There are long days, unexpected challenges, equipment breakdowns, weather that refuses to cooperate, and countless moments where perseverance matters more than perfection.
That makes days like this all the more meaningful.
A successful harvest is something every member of the team helped create.
Looking Ahead
Our Music Garlic will now spend the coming weeks curing, allowing the bulbs to develop the storage quality and rich flavor that make this variety so highly prized.
Soon, it will find its way into our CSA shares, our farm store, and the kitchens of families who value fresh, organically grown food.
Every bulb represents far more than garlic.
It represents healthy soil.
It represents careful stewardship.
It represents a farming system that believes the land should be healthier tomorrow than it is today.
We’re incredibly grateful for our dedicated team, for another season of learning, and for the abundance this year’s harvest has provided.
As we celebrate these beautiful bulbs, we’re reminded that the greatest harvest isn’t measured only by what comes out of the ground—it’s measured by the health we’ve built beneath it.
Here’s to another season of growing food, growing soil, and growing together.
