How to Harvest and Store Garlic

How to Harvest Garlic

1. Prepare the Garlic for Harvest

   Once the leaves on your garlic begin to decline, stop watering the plant. This is impossible if it rains on the plant, but do the best you can. A dry spell will help to cure the garlic in the ground.

2. Determine When the Time Is Right

   Picking the right time to harvest garlic is something of an art form. Consider these tips:

   • The plant is ready after three or four leaves have died back but five or six green leaves remain.
   • Avoid waiting too long because the cloves will begin to separate from the bulbs in the ground.

3. Dig Up the Bulbs

   Garlic bulbs don't easily pull out of the ground as onions do. While you may have planted a small clove, the mature bulb is now several inches deep with a strong root system. So always dig up your garlic.

   • If possible, wait for the soil to dry before digging.
   • Never try to pull it out of the ground, as the stalks can break and separate from the bulbs.
   • Use a garden fork because it typically works better than a shovel for digging up garlic, although either tool will do.
   • Loosen the soil, and gently dig up the garlic bulbs, taking care not to slice through them.
   • Shake off the remaining dirt by hand to separate the bulbs from the soil.

   Tip

   If you do slice through a bulb when digging it up, start planning a good use for it. A sliced bulb can be used immediately, but it can't be stored.

4. Cure the Garlic

   Garlic should be cured or dried before storing it for later use. Cure and dry garlic using these steps and tips:

   • Start by brushing off any soil remnants clinging to the bulbs. Do not wash them off or get the bulbs wet.
   • Leave the stalks and roots on the bulbs while they cure.
   • To store the garlic, either bundle eight to 10 garlic stems together, tie them with twine, and hang bulb-side down in a cool, dark space, like a basement, or lay the garlic flat on a raised screen in a single layer.
   • Allow the bulbs to cure for three to four weeks.
   • Keep the bulbs out of sunlight, as it can change the flavor of fresh garlic.
   • Once the tops and roots have dried, cut them off and clean the garlic by removing the outer papery skin. Be careful not to expose any of the cloves.
   • Alternatively, you can leave the stalks and braid the garlic if you've grown softneck varieties.

5. Store the Bulbs

   Use these tips to store bulbs:

   • Keep your garlic in a dark, cool place (32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit) where it will still get some air circulation.
   • Braiding and hanging garlic is a good way to store it.
   • Don’t hang garlic in the kitchen where it will be exposed to light.
   • You can also store garlic in a mesh bag.

Tips for Harvesting and Storing Garlic

Here are some tips on storing various types of harvested garlic:

• Softneck varieties of garlic can be stored for 6 to 8 months. Check periodically to make sure the garlic is not going soft or sprouting.
• Hardneck varieties might dry out, sprout, or go soft within three to four months. However, storing hardneck varieties right at freezing temperatures sometimes helps them survive for up to 6 months and maybe more without deteriorating.
• If you're a seed saver, there is nothing easier than saving garlic seed cloves. Simply put aside a few of your largest, healthiest bulbs to plant next season. Don't bother saving smaller bulbs, as planting them will result in small bulbs for your next harvest. Store bulbs for planting at room temperature with fairly high humidity, so they don't dry out.