Garlic Growing Essentials: Lessons from Lynnae Boudreau of Sigma Farm
By Ryan Ayers
The Carroll County Young Farmers gathered Tuesday evening, October 7, at the Carroll County Agricultural Center to hear from Lynnae Boudreau of Sigma Farm, who shared her passion and practical wisdom for growing one of agriculture’s most flavorful crops — garlic. Her presentation, Garlic Growing Essentials, offered a deep dive into the art and science behind cultivating healthy, profitable garlic in Georgia’s climate.
The Long Game of Garlic
“Garlic takes months to grow,” Lynnae began, “and that’s a challenge when you’re trying to fit other vegetables into your rotation.” But patience pays off. Garlic thrives when given time to root through the winter and size up in the spring. While it faces little deer, pest, or disease pressure, success begins with smart rotation and attention to sulfur — both in the soil and as a preventative dusting against fungal issues.
Sulfur, she explained, slightly acidifies the soil and strengthens root development. “The roots develop well in winter,” she said, “but the sizing up happens in spring.”
Choosing Varieties
Lynnae grows both hardneck and softneck garlic, each with its strengths. She recommends hardneck varieties for flavor and quality, though softnecks tend to produce more cloves. Hardnecks also send up scapes — flowering stalks that should be clipped to direct energy back into the bulb. “Clip the scapes,” she encouraged. “They’re delicious.”
For southern growers, Creole varieties are a smart choice, as they prefer warmer weather. Lynnae grows around ten varieties at once, ensuring that if one struggles, others will thrive. Her favorites include Basque, Blossom, Madrid, Spanish Roja, and Sicilian Silver.
Soil, Paper, and Patience
More than once, Lynnae emphasized that her true focus isn’t just on garlic — it’s on soil health. “As a farmer, I grow good soil,” she said. Her no-till system fosters healthy soil communities and prevents erosion. Her method is simple: mow, fertilize, then cover with weed paper.
“I get great paper from Weed Guard Plus,” she shared. “It stays on the surface, and I use cattle panels to hold it down.” Four rolls cost her $232, with another $234 in shipping — a total of $466 spread over three years. “I don’t have to weed in the summer,” she said with a grin. “That makes me happy.”
Planting and Fertilizing
Each clove — which Lynnae reminded everyone is technically a modified leaf — is planted about two inches deep and six inches apart. She plants five rows per four-foot strip of weed paper, using cattle panels as a spacing guide.
Larger farms may use mechanical planters, but Lynnae keeps things hands-on. “I use a stick with a nail and a maul,” she explained. “It works just fine.”
Her fertilizer of choice is either 10-10-10 rainbow mix with micronutrients or chicken manure and lime. In the spring, she uses a fish emulsion foliar spray to feed the plants. The goal? Heads about two and a half inches across — firm, flavorful, and well-wrapped.
Harvest and Curing
When there are four to six green leaves remaining, Lynnae knows it’s harvest time. “Don’t pull your garlic,” she warned. “Shovel and then pull.” Once harvested, she gently rubs the bulbs clean but never washes them. Instead, she hangs them in the barn to cure for about three weeks.
For seed garlic, she looks for bulbs with at least four intact paper layers. “Seed garlic is expensive — $25 to $30 per pound,” she noted. “That’s why I keep my own seed each year.” She keeps records on each variety — how many she plants, how many she needs, and how they perform.
Her go-to source for seed stock has been Filaree Garlic Farm, whose owner also wrote Growing Great Garlic, a book Lynnae calls her “garlic bible.”
Selling the Harvest
Lynnae markets about 2,500 heads of garlic per year, with large heads selling individually for $1 each and braids of ten smaller heads selling for $8. Presentation matters, she said — she always cleans the roots and leaves before selling.
She cures her garlic in the barn, then stores it in baskets in an arid, shaded place. “Heads with complete papers have a better shot at lasting longer,” she added.
More Than Just Garlic
Lynnae also shared some fascinating facts:
Garlic’s aroma doesn’t appear until it’s cut or bruised.
Elephant garlic is actually a leek — milder in flavor and sometimes forming single “rounds” instead of multi-clove heads.
Garlic can serve as a natural parasite prevention for livestock.
And behind all her practical know-how, there’s philosophy too. Her farm, Sigma Farm, takes its name from the Greek letter meaning summation. “We are the sum of all good things in that system,” she explained. “I created something that is good for them.”
Final Thoughts
Lynnae’s closing message was clear: garlic growing is about balance — between patience and timing, soil and plant, effort and reward. With careful management, even small-scale farmers can produce marketable, profitable garlic while improving their soil for future crops.
For anyone considering garlic as part of their crop rotation, her advice was simple and hopeful: start small, take notes, and grow good soil.