Stars & Gardens Farm is garlic grown by Josh and Joy Ochse.

We started in the backyard. A garden. It was just a patch of dirt that Josh decided needed to be full of vegetables. The first years were dedicated to beans, peppers, and eventually almost a hundred tomato plants in grow bags. We planted blueberry and elderberry bushes. We planted zucchini, squash, herbs, and nasturtiums. We tried all sorts of different plants in the first few years. In the fall of 2016 we started building raised beds.

On a back road between Binghamton and Oxford, NY there was a farm stand where Josh bought the garlic that grew into an obsession. In the years since, more and more raised beds were added. Josh focused on learning about soil stewardship and everything he could about garlic. He started with one variety and branched out to nine varieties from all over the world. All hardneck garlics. Some porcelains. Some rocamboles. Each one with its own unique flavor profile or purpose but still at the heart of it.. Garlic.

Quickly, we started to run out of space and expanded to grown on some family land in Friendsville, PA. Between two locations there are fifty raised beds and each year we continue to expand. Currently, we sell exclusively between the end of August and the beginning of October at festivals, to vendors, and to local folks who love garlic.

We live and work in Binghamton, NY with our daughter and border collie, Mabel.