BAKERSFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) – The legend of the Witchcat in Bakersfield goes back more than a century.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably 150 years ago, there was a catamount, a wildcat, that was trapped in the ice in a fall chasm around the corner, about a mile. And it screamed, and it screamed, and the locals called that chasm, Witchcat Falls, the Witchcat. And over time, the whole neighborhood became known as the Witchcat,\u201d explained Mickey Lopes of Witchcat Farm.<\/p>\n
The area kept the name, and so did a farm on what became Witchcat Road. \u201cWe had already loved the story, and named the farm Witchcat Farm,\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n
Mickey and Danielle Lopes started off in the 1990s with a small operation growing garlic. \u201cHis dad gave me one head, and I replanted it, and replanted it, and replanted it. And by the time I had 25 beds, and it\u2019s times eight. And I said, you have to quit your job, we\u2019re going into the garlic business,\u201d Danielle said.<\/p>\n
They now grow 32 types of garlic, including Music, Pyongyang, China Pink, Shandong, Asian Tempest, and varieties from the eastern Russia area, like Belarus.<\/p>\n
The garlic is fully organic. \u201cIn fact, we\u2019re beyond just Vermont Organic. If you notice on the front of the barn, there\u2019s another certification level, and it\u2019s called the Real Organic Project. So, we\u2019re at that upper level, and it is very important. Each head of garlic gets then touched, looked at, graded, cleaned, de-rooted, and then bagged and sent to market, or boxed and sent to market. Yeah, it\u2019s a lot of work,\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n
One of their biggest customers is the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, the oldest co-op in the state. Between August and January, the co-op primarily offers Witchcat Farm garlic.<\/p>\n
The farm also produces black garlic. \u201cGarlic that has been put into a device that ferments it. The process is called miliar, which is kind of cooking it, but not really. It\u2019s a regulated temperature and humidity, and it takes a little bit of time. It goes in as whole garlic, fresh, and it comes out black. Seven days. It comes out. It\u2019s dark, black, brown. It\u2019s gooey, it\u2019s gummy, and it has a very sweet candy taste,\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n
Danielle also makes garlic powder from leftover garlic that does not meet sales standards. The small garlic gets dehydrated, ground up, and sifted.<\/p>\n