Martha Stewart Harvests Keene Garlic on her Farm
Key Takeaways
- Martha Stewart harvested her 2026 garlic crop on her Bedford, New York farm in July — and every bulb came from Keene Garlic, a family-owned organic farm in Wisconsin.
- Martha says: “I’ve been planting Keene Garlic for quite some time and am always pleased with their growth and taste.” (The Martha Blog, July 2026)
- Her farm grows both hardneck garlic (complex flavors) and softneck garlic (long-storing bulbs), plus shallots — all from Keene Garlic seed stock.
- The harvest was featured on MarthaStewart.com, The Martha Blog, and shared with millions of followers on her official social channels.
- Martha’s longtime favorite Keene varieties include Amish Rocambole, Inchelium Red, and Purple Glazier, first spotlighted in Martha Stewart Living magazine.
- You can plant what Martha plants — fall seed garlic ships in September closest to planting time.
Martha Stewart’s 2026 Garlic Harvest Featured Keene Garlic
July is garlic-picking time on Martha Stewart’s famous Bedford farm. This year, her gardeners pulled an entire crop of beautiful hardnecks, softnecks, and shallots from the soil. Every one of them started as Keene Garlic seed stock.
We are humbled and proud. Martha wrote about the harvest on The Martha Blog, and her editorial team covered it again on MarthaStewart.com. The story then spread to millions of her followers across her social media channels.
Her words say it best: “I’ve been planting Keene Garlic for quite some time and am always pleased with their growth and taste.”
What Martha Grows: Hardnecks, Softnecks, and Shallots
Martha’s crop shows off the two great families of garlic. Consequently, her harvest is a perfect masterclass for home growers deciding what to plant.
Hardneck Garlic
Martha’s team praises hardnecks for their “intriguingly complex flavors.” Hardnecks produce a stiff central stalk, fewer but larger cloves, and delicious garlic scapes in June. They thrive in northern climates like Wisconsin and New York. Browse our certified organic hardneck garlic.
Softneck Garlic
Softnecks, on the other hand, produce “long-lasting bulbs with many cloves around a soft center stem.” They store for months and braid beautifully. Explore our softneck garlic varieties.
Shallots
Martha’s gardeners also harvested crates of shallots — mild, sweet, and easy to grow alongside garlic. We offer shallot bulbs for fall planting as well.
How Martha’s Farm Grows Great Garlic
Her team’s methods mirror the advice we give every customer. In addition, they prove that great garlic starts with great seed and good technique.
- Plant in fall, before the ground freezes, in rich, well-draining loam soil.
- Space generously: rows one foot apart, cloves two to three inches apart.
- Cut scapes in June when the ends curl — they are delicious and help bulbs size up.
- Harvest on a dry day when lower leaves brown but upper leaves stay green.
- Cure properly: well-cured bulbs keep six to eight months or longer at 60–70°F.
Furthermore, healthy soil makes all the difference. Our organic garlic fertilizers are the same nutrition program we use on our own farm.
Plant What Martha Plants This Fall
Fall planting season arrives fast. Therefore, now is the best time to reserve your seed garlic before favorite varieties sell out.
- Shop All Fall Planting Garlic
- Hardneck Varieties
- Softneck Varieties
- Garlic Samplers — perfect for trying several varieties
- Organic Fertilizers
Where Our Journey Began: Keene Garlic in Martha Stewart Living
Our story with Martha goes back many years. Martha Stewart Living magazine first featured our garlic seed stock in August 2018, along with delicious recipes made from garlic she grew herself. We tried her garlic confit recipe the very night we read it. Then we could not wait to make her roasted garlic butter next.
Martha and her farm team have documented the journey with our garlic for years across their blogs:
Their posts show the garlic fertilization soak, planting, and growing process beautifully. Check them out for excellent garlic growing instruction.
Martha’s Favorite Garlic Varieties
In that 2018 magazine feature, Martha listed some of her favorite garlic varieties to grow and eat. Some take a bit more skill than others, so we have noted easier alternatives too.
- Amish Rocambole — Grown by Amish farmers in Wisconsin for generations. True heirloom flavor with about 10 large cloves per bulb. A little harder to grow, but worth it. Similar to German Red.
- Inchelium Red — One of the best-tasting softnecks, sizing up to over 3-inch bulbs with 12–15 cloves. It multiplies well and braids beautifully. Mulch well in northern states. Easier to grow.
- Chesnok Red — Martha originally highlighted our Purple Glazier for roasting, and Chesnok Red is our absolute favorite alternative. It is wonderfully mild, excels as a roasting garlic, and reliably grows beautiful bulbs with 10–14 cloves.
She also shared her favorite garlic harvest recipes in the same issue.
From Our Wisconsin Soil to Your Garden
From a magazine mention in 2018 to a full harvest feature in 2026, our partnership with Martha Stewart’s farm reflects one simple truth. Great garlic starts with great seed. We grow ours with organic practices, healthy soil, and family pride here in Wisconsin.
Ready to grow garlic that impresses even Martha? Reserve your fall seed garlic today.
I haven’t tasted real garlic in 30 years. I remember when one or two cloves would flavor a dish.
Does flavorful garlic still exist, Yes Keene Garlic.
I like strong garlic taste
I want garlic I can taste, I have not found any in super markets, I have try them all
I think you will be happy with our full flavored garlic. We have different garlic varieties than what you find in the grocery store, and you will find there is no comparison. Our website has plenty of garlic that we should have available for sale until about September.
Our type of heirloom gourmet garlic is not sold in the grocery stores. It costs more to produce since it is a very labor intensive crop with most of it done by hand where every clove is hand planted and every bulb is manually harvested and each one individually cleaned. As a result, grocery store don’t want to pay the price it costs for us to produce it, so they prefer to purchase imported garlic and sell it at an economical price. Our garlic is actually just as economical when you realize that you don’t need as much garlic to flavor your dish. So try some heirloom garlic from us, farmers markets or local farms to taste the difference.