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It is amazing how many people come to me on our social media platforms who want to know how best to harvest, cure and store their garlic. So I have written this article to show you exactly how to do it to get the best results. Here you will learn all my tips that will allow you to keep your garlic all year until you lift next year’s garlic.
If you would rather learn via watching a video, I have created the perfect learning tool for you. In the video below, named harvest cure and store garlic best tips 2018, I take you through each process step by step. I give you all the tips to be confident in harvesting your garlic and ensuring it does not rot.
Harvesting Garlic
To know when to harvest, there are many indicators, If soft-neck garlic, you may notice that the leaves have all flopped over very much like onions.
When you notice this, you can harvest your garlic. If it is hard-necked garlic, the first sign will be that the garlic scapes will appear, they start curly, but as the garlic becomes ready, you will see them straighten up. This will coincide with the bottom leaves of the garlic starting to yellow. Again your garlic is ready to Harvest.
To lift your garlic, use a garden fork, place it under the garlic and lift, do not pull on the garlic as this will damage the bulb, and it will not store. Lift all your garlic. Clean off as much dirt as possible, You can aid with this if you prevent water for three days before harvesting your garlic. You are now ready to move on to the step to cure your garlic.
Cure Garlic
To cure your garlic, you need to provide it with plenty of circulation. Lots of air movement around it. I do this by placing the garlic into a mesh tray upside down, allowing the leaves to pass through the mesh. This will allow the garlic to dry and cure fully.
Curing garlic is not a hard process, once it has been left for some time, you will notice the leaves shrinking and turning brown and brittle. At this point, your garlic, when dry, is fully cured, and you can move on to storage.
Storing Garlic
Storing hard-neck garlic is very straightforward, cut the stalk around two inches from the bulb, remove the roots and place it back into the tray or a net bag, This should be stored in a cool, frost-free place kept dark.
Storing soft-neck garlic is much better braided or plaited I have a full step-by-step video on this, too, if you would rather see that. You can view that here Plaiting or braiding will allow air to be circulated through the garlic and keep it fresh and ready to be used as and when. Simply hang this in a frost-free place as above.
I hope this guide was of use to you. If so, we have hundreds of videos like the ones above to help you with all aspects of gardening and growing your food. Why not consider subscribing to my youtube channel to gain more information to help you get the best out of your garden? You can subscribe and visit the channel here.
Thanks
Tony
