This past fall the Acadia Farm was graciously donated many bulbs of garlic from David Kristie, the Director of Research in the KC Irving Environmental Science Center.
The story behind the Gido’s garlic starts in the 1960’s when David Kristie’s Grandfather traveled to Ukraine. There he collected some of his family’s garlic with plans for it to return to Canada with him. It would not be easy to transport as he was under watchful eye during the Cold War, technically not allowed to transport goods such as garlic across borders.
He was clever, and individual cloves were stitched into the cuffs of his pants. They were carried across land and ocean into Hamilton, Canada where they were first planted into Canadian soil. The garlic was passed down through the generations in the Kristie family and can now be found growing across the country in British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
It is not known exactly what village David Kristie’s Grandfather traveled to in the 1960’s, or what the original name of the garlic was. For this reason, and the amazing endeavour undertaken by David’s Grandfather, the garlic has been named Gido’s Garlic. “Gido” which translates into Grandfather.
The Acadia Community Farm currently has approximately 150 bulbs growing that were planted this past fall. After they are harvested and cured they will be making their way to Wheelock Dining Hall for Acadia Students to enjoy as well as to the Wolfville Food Bank!
