Like many young college students, the lack of resources and tight budget causes us to think outside of the box and Waitman Dixon was no different.
He began gardening in graduate school and found something surprising.
“Growing my own food was rewarding both spiritually and financially,” Dixon said. “What started out as a small hobby morphed into a passion. It became my gym and my therapist.”
His specialty caters to those who know their way around a kitchen and includes culinary alliums like garlic, leeks, onions, chives, shallots and artichoke.
“Garlic was my first choice. It’s somewhat a healthy food and not widely available at farmer’s markets. After starting with a few successful garlic crops, I decided to spread my wings so to speak and increase my offerings,” Dixon said.
The Renno resident began attending several local farmer’s markets and carved out a niche for himself.
A rarity among produce and flower farmers, Dixon began welcoming the same customers every week with the goal of providing a one stop shop for all of their culinary needs.
It might be a customer who enjoys making a homemade pizza every now and then, or it might be a new restauranteur looking for the freshest ingredients.
Either way, Dixon is dedicated to providing healthy and unique product.
He uses all organic farming methods and has even begun packaging garlic powder and garlic/oregano blend spices from supplies on the farm.
“A batch of spices takes about 30 hours; 24 of which are devoted to dehydration,” Dixon said. “We use a food dehydrator set at a very low temperature for a long process.”
The art of growing culinary alliums isn’t seasonal, it’s hard work and challenging throughout the entire year.
With the exception of leeks, Dixon said all of the allium crops are harvested by the end of June and they store or keep throughout the summer until inventory is depleted.
“It’s typically gone by the end of August to mid-September and then fall and winter are dedicated to preparing garlic beds for the planting of next year’s crop and setting seeds in the greenhouse for other allium crops to be transplanted in late winter to early spring,” Dixon said.
Though Dixon said visitors are always welcome to the farm, the Farmers Markets provide the best array of what they offer and they aren’t set up for sales from the farm itself.
He’s always enjoyed the farmers market atmosphere and looks forward to meeting new customers and sharing his hard work with others.
“The reward comes in the form of friendly faces and returning customers on Saturday mornings. Once I crossed the line between backyard gardener and market vendor, there was no looking back,” Dixon said.
Visit Waitman’s Garlic at the Simpsonville Farmer’s Market the second and fourth Saturday of the month, the Spartanburg Farmer’s Market the first and third Saturday of the month and the Greer Farmers Market every other Tuesday.
In addition, this year, Dixon is scheduled to participate in a specialty market at Lake Keowee.
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