"Grow Good Garlic on Cape Cod."

Meet the Expert

Ben Chung, the Garlic, was seeded (born and raised) in Taiwan. Like his fellow garlic, whose ancestors came from Asia and Central Asia, he too came from a long line of good garlic on this little island. His type of garlic is distinct from the Chinese garlic, so when asked whether he is Chinese, he always replies, “Not yet.”

When this “Garlic” was thirteen, he was transplanted to Vancouver, BC, Canada. Following the patterns of garlic migration, he ended up in Toronto, Ontario, before he was re-transplanted in the United States. While he was in the Massachusetts nursery (Harvard School of 'Garlic' Medicine), he met his future garlic mate, Lillian. Together as 'wash-a-shores' to Cape Cod, they became re-transplanted to Orleans, MA in 1997. Within the next few years, they produced five cloves (kids). Now this young garlic family is becoming indigenous to Cape Cod shores, and they begin to cultivate lots of good garlic. In 2008, this Chung garlic family joined Orleans Farmers' Market, and they are identified as “Caroline's Corner.” Caroline is their fourth clove.

Since then, this “Garlic” has decided to focus on garlic as his prophetic calling in life. Starting from 2008, in the year of Our Garlic, he has grown every type of garlic he could get his hands on. He starts out like everyone ordering from organic seed catalogs (Fedco, etc). Then he seeks to grow more garlic, so he bought all the available garlic from Orleans Farmers' Market from a vendor named Clare. This 'garlic sickness' compelled him to even traded some veggies with his customer for his French Rose. His friend Judy Embleton gave him some of her favorite, but this desire was insatiable. This mad man found some in Boston at the Chinatown, then he went to his local super markets, both Shaws and Stop and Shop. He bought everything that was available to him. He asked anyone and everyone. He even asked his mother in Taiwan and his aunt in California to send some. In 2014, his friend Curtis Newcomb went to Gilroy on a sacred garlic pilgrimage and brought home a beautiful bag of Californian garlic and gave him some. At the peak of this madness, he grows more than 50 types of sacred, organic garlic.

This little book is born out of Ben's burning desire to seek garlic as a way of life. It is his wish to imitate garlic, and look like a garlic and to smell like a healthy garlic. His mission and vision is to help everyone to grow something, especially garlic. This little book is designed for small families who want to grow garlic. His desire is that they may find an easier way to grow good strong, healthy, ethical and spiritual garlic. By embracing garlic on Cape Cod soil, small young families may accept good garlic as a way of life and produce more cloves (kids).

In Ben's real life, other than being a garlic, is that he practices as a simple general dentist in Orleans, MA since 1997.