When is garlic ready ?

[DDRanch]

I planted garlic for the first time several months ago. How do I tell when it is ready to harvest? And do I have to dry it out before I use it?

The thin greenery above ground is about 12" tall. Thanks for your help.

Anne

 

[tinychicken]

I always plant my garlic in October, so I'm not sure how garlic planted later will look and behave.

Different varieties are ready to dig at different times, some as early as early June, others late July.

I generally harvest when there are about 5 green leaves left. Don't wait until all the leaves turn brown because the garlic will most likely split and not store well.

After digging, they need to dry down a bit, similar to onions. My husband built me some screens using hardware cloth and I spread the garlic out on them to dry in an airy room OUT OF THE SUN!!!! If you try to store garlic before it dries out a bit, mold will be a problem. But you can certainly start using it right away.

After a few weeks I trim the leaves and roots, try to get as much soil off with a vegetable brush, then store in brown paper bags. Some garlics store for almost a year. I'm still using what I harvested last July.

Have fun!

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, what tinychicken said, wait til some leaves are yellowing/dying but about 5-6 green ones are left. It will probably have started to flower by then, and it is worth cutting off the flower scape as it forms (discard or eat)

I was told to hang them in bunches of a dozen or so (whole plant still intact) from the rafters of an airy shed or non-hot garage, for 10-14 days before cutting tops off and rubbing dirt off and storing; which is what I did and it worked very well for me.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[DDRanch]

Thank you Tinychicken and Pat,

Great information and just what I needed to know. I just love this forum.

Anne