Just ask Maitland’s garlic queen Jocelyn Colleran, or producer Tom Christie, and they’ll tell you all about their love for this vegetable. 

Mr Christie, of Four Acre Farm near Dungog, has just finished the annual harvest and despite one of the worst droughts in living memory he has managed to secure a better crop that last year.

Garlic, like everything else, needs water to survive but it doesn’t like too much so Mr Christie was able to use the water he had in his dam – thanks to rain earlier in the year, to give it a drink.

Having a relatively small crop, compared with large-scale producers, has also worked in his favour.

A six-part series to spread the word about growing garlic will kick off on November 21 at Tocal College.

The first session will teach farmers and backyard growers everything they need to know so they can get ready for planting a crop in March. 

The rest of the series includes a range of insights including a garlic degustation dinner and a harvest celebration at the Slow Food Earth Market in The Levee. 

The final part, which focuses on curing, storing and selling, will be held in August 2019. 

Ms Colleran, who has a decade of  will be presenting the class 

“Growing garlic is a way of diversifying local crops and providing an alternative supply of imported garlic for the local customers,” Ms Colleran said. 

“It’s a great crop to grow in a sustainable way and increase the range of produce in the area. For existing garlic growers it is helpful as there is always a lot to learn and people who are interested in growing it in their backyard will also benefit.”

“It’s introducing the nature of garlic as a plant and the types of garlic that are more suitable for our climate and our soils.”

Slow Food Hunter Valley - a non-profit group focused on good, clean and fair food, is supporting the series to encourage more people to become involved. 

Mr Christie, who has been selling his crop at the Slow Food Earth Market since it started, said it was a fairly low maintenance pursuit.

Slow Food Hunter Valley volunteers went to the farm to help him plant three varieties in March. Rain came when his dam was critically low and allowed him to irrigate during the dry winter. 

“We had a little bit of a dry period through winter but there was enough in the dam from before that to keep it going,” he said.

“I irrigated it a bit through winter and also in spring … When the rain in spring it was great as well because it was really growing then.”

Tickets to the November 21 event are $50 each. Visit www.trybooking.com and type in The Garlic Series to secure your place.