Douglas County is state's top garlic and onion producer

Crops of garlic, onions and carrots are now grown for retail sale and seed by several farmers in scattered locations in the valley. Douglas County is the largest garlic producer in Nevada, with up to 700 acres in the bulb crop, longtime garlic farmer Jerry Rosse said.

Most of the land used is leased from resident valley farmers and ranchers by Rosse and Jim Snyder - both of whom also farm in Smith and Mason valleys.

Snyder, who farms 120 acres of garlic in the Carson Valley, said the crop is a challenge, but one he's up to.

"Compared to growing onions, the garlic is rather intense," he said. "Garlic is subject to freezing, which hurt us this year in December. We lost a good 25 to 30 percent of the crop and had some damage to the remainder, but we had 60 percent survive. Back in 1991, we did have a severe winter loss in Mason Valley."

Snyder plants in September and October, usually with the contract already signed by his buyer.

"We sell to two main buyers, Christopher Ranch and Rogers Foods," he said.

Some of it goes to make seed, some is dehydrated into garlic powder and some may go to fresh product, he said. It all depends on the buyer's needs.

After planting, the ground is irrigated until the shoots start to come up, in about a month. From March to June, irrigation takes place, and is stopped so the plant can dry and season. The harvest takes place the end of July and beginning of August.

Rosse, of High Sierra Garlic, farms 140 acres in the Carson Valley and has already begun harvesting his garlic fields, starting with some Chinese garlic to be sold as seed.

Rosse, who has grown garlic for 25 years - five of them in the Carson Valley - said the Valley is conducive to growing this bulb crop because the area is largely disease-free, and the high altitude and cold winters serve the plant well.

Harvest for the garlic is either by hand or by machine. If the ground is wet, it will be hand-picked, but if conditions are just right, they'll use the garlic bulker machine, which works like a potato digger, Snyder said.

Afterward, it will sit in a bag on the field for a week or so to dry and cure and then go to market.

Snyder, who has been growing garlic for 15 years, said the garlic industry in the United States is facing an uncertain future due to some recent changes.

"Last year, the big dehydrators had a shortage of suppliers in the U.S., so they brought in product from China," he said. "This year, some of the dehydrators are sticking with the Chinese suppliers, which will really hurt us. The garlic industry is facing some major challenges. Looking down the road, it doesn't look good."

Onion growing involves planting male and female plants and using bees to pollinate, according to Rosse.

The process is a two-year cycle, he said, starting with seed and getting the onion bulb the first year and then letting the plant produce seed the second year if a seed crop is desired. By the time the plant has flowered and produced seeds, the bulb will be all gone, its energy and mass spent on reproduction.

Many of the onions grown in Mason Valley will be sold as market onions, Rosse said.

The same is true for the carrots grown for seed in the field next to the onions.

Those plants have been there for two years, and by now the carrots - the orange part, that is - will be almost gone as the plant has reached five feet tall and the seed is being set. This now-fragrant crop will be harvested soon and the seeds will be packaged.

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