Local Growers: Garlic Scapes and Worm Castings from Swede Lake Farm

If you’re a farmer, summer is no time to catch up on rest.

This Fourth of July weekend, Scotty Ventink and Deanna Stanchfield of Swede Lake Farms were up after dark Saturday tending their fields Saturday and awake at 5 am Sunday to head to the Kingfield Farmer’s Market.

Ventink, Stanchfield and their intern are the only fulltimers on the farm, with occasional help from volunteers.

“We work eight days a week,” Ventink said.

Swede Lake Farms specializes in (non-certified) organic garlic, growing over 30 varieties. Early in the season, Swede Lake’s market tables are overflowing with garlic scapes—elegant, curly green stalks that work in any dish where you would use garlic.

Garlic scapes are a great, early-season local alternative to garlic. Young garlic scapes are tender and can be chopped in salads, grilled, stir-fried with other vegetables or made into pesto or hummus. Scapes can even be used in floral arrangements.

One thing the Swede Lake Farm booth was selling that was unique to Kingfield’s Farmers Market was worm castings—otherwise known as worm manure.

“We use them in field applications,” Ventink said, adding that worm castings are a sustainable, organic way to grow healthier crops.

Worm castings also have unique advantages that can enhance soil and improve compost. The odor-free castings contain microbes and enzymes that help suppress fungus and bug infestation. They also contain worm cocoons, which bring additional worms to your garden.

Besides an amazing variety of garlic bulbs, Ventink expects “a killer crop of spuds and edamame” this season. The farm plans to have potatoes ready for market in early August, with fingerling potatoes ready in September.

In the long term, Swede Lake Farm plans to introduce a new type of berry native to Siberia. Called the haskap or honeyberry, the berry is more popular in Canada and has yet to catch on in the United States. This berry has a unique flavor most often compared to that of the blueberry.

Find Swede Lake Farm at the Kingfield Market all summer, and look for them at the Minnesota Garlic Festival in Hutchinson.