Nida: a special varietal of garlic
At the peak of summer, harvesting and hanging our favorite varietal of garlic has us looking forward to the flavors and feelings of fall.
We’re so proud of our “Nida” garlic, a resilient, well-adapted farm and customer favorite. Longtime friend of the farm Dave Baldwin brought this garlic to the ranch when he came here in 2015 to develop our vegetable production program. Dave worked with us until he moved to start his own farm in 2020.
Dave grew up near Salt Lake City, where his grandparents operated a large family farm. Over the years, like so many family farms across the country, pieces of the farm had to be sold. Eventually only 3 acres remained, surrounded by suburbs.
Dave cared for his grandmother, Nida, and took over her sheep and production garden, which allowed him to sell at seven farmers’ markets every week! When Nida passed away and the rest of the land was sold, Dave brought a piece of his family’s farming history with him to Willow-Witt.
The hardneck varietal has been growing here for over 10 years, and has became a ‘landrace’ variety, which means it is uniquely adapted to the growing and market conditions that comprise this agricultural ecosystem.
We love growing Nida garlic. It has become our most prolific producer and reminds us that wisdom and tradition travel with us.
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- 2 cups (12 ounces) whole garlic cloves
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
