Terms of Service, Refund Policy, and Contact Info
By using this site, you implicitly agree to the following-
1. All advice given on this site, whether about growing, using, or storing garlic, should always be understood as just advice and not a formal consultation, and it's your responsibility to do full due diligence to make your own decisions based on your own climate, tools, time, etc.
2. When making a purchase, I assume that if you have concerns about the exact size of each variety, the exact shipping date I'll be able to get it to you, etc and so forth, you will have already read my FAQ page and/or sent me the questions.
In regards to refunds, please note the following:
I work very hard to sort my bulbs by quality, discarding those that have diseases which will result in the unusability of a clove, whether it's in the kitchen or for planting. However, inevitably, some imperfect cloves will be missed, and some bulbs may turn out to dry out, shrivel, et cetera. No refunds are guaranteed in such cases, but if more than 5% of your order contains such bulbs, I will consider a refund, but in my experience of using my own stock, no more than 0.5% of all bulbs fail in such a way. It is assumed that you accept the risk of some imperfections or losses, while understanding that I work very hard to keep that number below 1% in actuality.
Unlike some garlic suppliers on the internet, I have NOT gone to buying/sourcing garlic to complete orders. I grow 100% of what's sold here because I want complete control of the quality of the bulbs produced. My refund policy sounds restrictive because I know the quality going out and have never had a refund requested. To avoid the risk of importing disease from elsewhere, I also rely on my own garlic for seed- 98%+ of what I plant is from my own bulbs, so from start to finish, I work to keep the crop as healthy as I can. If I wouldn't keep it for replanting here, I won't ship it either. I also eat from the stock of garlic I produce, so I've crafted my quality control for bulbs that grow well, that store well, and eat well.
In regards to any other refunds, none will be honored if it's a topic covered in my FAQs page or something covered here. I've never had a request for a refund but I want the policy to be clear- refunds are issued when I screw up, not for when someone else screws up! If I mis-pack your order or make some other error, let me know and we'll figure out a way to fix it! Those have happened- I made honest human errors a few times and forgot to include a variety ordered, a simple picking error- and I shipped a second package at my own cost to cover it. The refund/error policy is simple- the customer isn't always right, and I'm not always right either. All issues are worked out case by case.
Substitutions-
In the case of a variety running out, I will contact you by email about acceptable substitutions or an offer of a single-line refund for that portion of your order. For substitutions I tend to suggest varieties that are in the same genetic subfamily, unless you indicate another preference. Your order will be put on a figurative "backburner" until you respond. In the case of no response, I reserve the right to simply ship your order 7 days after my email of a suggested substitution, with my own decision for either a substitution or a refund. A lack of a response is implied to mean that the decision is mine at that 7 day mark. It's for the simple reason that I do not want to hold onto partially finished orders for very long. The September shipping season is very busy so orders that are waiting for responses tend to clutter the packing area if not quickly dealt with.
I find that most customers are very happy with my suggestions and that's the better way. About 4 out 5 people agree with the suggestion, and 1 out of 5 ask for a different variety or a line-item refund. However, I have to write the policy to reflect the small percent of people who don't communicate or indicate their preferences- some of y'all will just get your order 7 days later, with whatever I judged to be the best solution to get your order out. If I have plenty of substitution options, you're probably getting a substitution, while if I'm short on options, I'll issue a line-item refund and ship the rest of your order to you.
I should also note- every year, I try to get better at predicting yield. I am working on the back end of the farm (the data portion) to reduce the need for substitutions to happen at all. This is done by more accurate yield-forecasting each year. It's not perfect, but the goal is a website that shows accurate inventory projections at all times.
I have big sprawling spreadsheets which tell me all this. You can feel free to add a note to your order saying "please add such and such variety if available," and I can add it to your order and bill you additional later, if I find there is spare inventory in the packing shed. I've done this a few times already, not a big deal to do so. If a requested add-on still has inventory in September as I pack your order, you'll get an email for an additional invoice to pay, and it'll all ship out together.
Shipping Dates-
For 2022, I'll start shipping out orders as soon as I can when the garlic is cured in late August or early September, and I complete them as best I can on a first come, first served basis. Unlike some other farms, I do not attempt to time my shipping depending on your location- it's simply because this is a small scale farm, and "first come first served" is simpler. If you want garlic early, order it early!
The problem is that packing an order early, may mean someone who ordered before you doesn't get the garlic they actually reserved first. If it's a common variety, this isn't an issue, but if inventory is tight, it could create an unfair situation. Want early orders? Place early orders! Most orders placed March through July shipped in mid September last year.
August and September orders shipped in mid-late September. This year I plan to move the whole average order shipment time to a week or two earlier, weather-gods-willing (can't pack boxes in sticky humidity where even crumpled newspaper feels damp). Under the hopeful 2022 plan, orders place March through July will be likely to go out late August or early September, so on and so forth. If you're in Alaska, or in the South and plan on a long vernalization/stratification treatment, please place your order by July, and that'll put it right up front in the orders shipping first. You'll also have best pick of varieties so placing early orders just makes good sense!
Contact Info-
In case you have not seen the contact info elsewhere, I can be reached at gradentalunfarm@zohomail.com . The farm season is incredibly busy and I'm bad at multitasking on the phone, so no phone calls, sorry! My address is 127 Lincoln Hill Road, Eagle Bridge, NY 12057, but don't show up unannounced, there's no farm stand and the neighbors are watchful! For a beautiful drive in my neck of the woods, you can find some of my garlic at Perry's Orchard or Moses Farm Stand from August to October (more details here). Farm visits/tours are only possible by private appointment only, through, you guessed it...email. I enjoy showing the place off but they have to be scheduled when I've got spare time, because (confession) - I'm a gabber with poor time management skills.