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Garlic Growing Hobby becomes Passion for Michael Tarkowski
Garlic Growing Hobby becomes Passion for Michael Tarkowski
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
Two Hills resident Michael Tarkowski has been growing garlic for the past nine years and readily admits his hobby has turned into burgeoning passion and home grown business Riverside Roots.
Michael explains that he had sold his liquor store in 2015 and was looking into trying something else to do. “A guy by the name of Albert Homeniuk got me started.” He began with 100 heads of garlic and that number has grown exponentially. In 2015 he planted 1,200 cloves. This year he planted more than 4,000 heads of garlic!
Michael said he’s very lucky to have his spouse Tammy, mother-in-law Pat Marichiw, and Aunt Deb Coutu come and help with digging the garlic in the fall. “We have six types of garlic and 27 different varieties. Each variety has its own unique taste and fit to customers’ preferences.”
There have been plenty of “trails and errors” over the years, says Michael, but it has increased his appetite to learn more and experiment more with different varieties, including black garlic which goes through its own fermentation process. He says black garlic has a sweet taste and is soft, which make it very interesting and unique.
Of course, Michael eats a clove of garlic every morning as part of his daily routine. Eating garlic has helped lowered his blood pressure and alleviated his arthritis.
He says garlic is such a versatile plant that you can enjoy it raw or cooked, pickled or as granulated or powdered garlic. He loves to experiment and has even tried garlic aioli as well as dry rubs, marinades, sauces and seasonings.
Michael has a couple hundred customers, who buy garlic to seed with or eat. He is looking forward to the upcoming Andrew Garlic Festival where he expects to sell at least 1,000 heads of garlic. Last year, he sold 1,500 heads of garlic. He is looking forward to meeting everyone at that event and the famous Smoky Lake Pumpkin Fair.
Growing garlic is becoming a very popular past-time, adds Michael, and he is always willing to share his knowledge and experience. He says he’s learned a lot from other growers and is grateful for that. As Harold S. Kushner said, “No good deed ever goes wasted.”
