We recently harvested our garlic and knowing when to harvest garlic can sometimes be a wee bit tricky, so I thought I ‘d share what I’ve learned over the years so here’s how to harvest and store garlic.
It depends on what type you grow {hardneck or softneck}, and unfortunately, you kind of have to go by how it looks.
Hardneck varieties, which is what we typically grow here in the northwest {because they are more tolerant of the winters}, are usually ready somewhere between early July through August.
I typically harvest mine when the bottom 5 leaves or so have turned brown, and the top ones are still green.
To harvest garlic, carefully dig around the bulb with a small garden shovel. Even though it’s super tempting, don’t pull garlic out like a weed. The bulb is fragile, and needs all its pieces intact to cure properly for storage.
Once you have dug around the bulb, carefully lift it out of the dirt and brush off the excess dirt.
To cure garlic, hang it to dry in a cool dark place. A garage or tool shed works great. Don’t remove the stalk or the roots when curing. If you want to, about a week into the drying process, you can braid the stalks together for storage.
It takes about two weeks total to dry completely.
After you have cured your garlic, you can prep it for storage.
If you didn’t braid it, you can cut off the roots and stalks now. Garlic stores best in a cool dark place {but not the refrigerator—it’s the optimal temperature for causing garlic to get those little green shoots}.
I recommend storing it in the pantry {or a basement, if there’s no humidity} in a brown paper bag with holes punched into it for circulation.
Softneck varieties store longer than hardneck. Either way, you should be able to get your garlic to store fairly well for 6 months or longer.
Did you grow garlic this year? Can you taste the homegrown difference?
~Mavis
Looking for more information in growing, cultivating and enjoying garlic? Check out the book The Complete Book of Garlic By Ted Jordan Meredith.
Elaine Harman says
This is the first year I have tried growing garlic, so I really appreciate this information. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Thanks so much!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Good luck Elaine, you’ll do great!
Kathy says
I keep talking about my sister’s garden because I live in an apartment and they do NOT encourage even container growing here, except maybe flowers. She planted garlic last fall, got good garlic scape a few weeks ago (yahoo!) and has started harvesting it. Smells amazing, much different from what I’ve gotten from the store. What she gave me I have in a closet, in a bag with holes in it. I also have rice in a bowl in said closet, helps keep humidity down (really it does!). I know, odd place but have no pantry to hang it in! Can’t wait to use it in a few months.
suzanne says
Does any one else save their biggest bulbs for replanting in the fall? That is anyone who doesn’t have their own internet boyfriend ;-).
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha Ha HA!!! 🙂
Jane says
We harvest ours the same time you do (when a few leaves are browning). We found that waiting until all the leaves have all browned makes for a nicer braid. When we’ve braided with them still green, they shrink as they dry out further and the braid loosens. We hang our braids right in the kitchen and they stay nice for the whole year. I’m still using the last braid from last year and it’s just fine:-).
Will says
Mine are just about ready to harvest. This is the 3rd year I’ve grown garlic. I planted 50 cloves in October. Since my soil is soft and fluffy, I haven’t had any problem just pulling them out of the ground. As a bonus, the garlic from last year is just about used up! I stored it (as suggested above) in a brown paper grocery bag hanging in the pantry. They are braided in threes and also make a nice gift to anyone who loves organic garlic from your garden!
Sophie says
This post made me think of a question about storing. My garage is not insulated, so it is not a cool dry place during summer. I don’t have a basement either. When I store onions and garlic on the floor of my corner pantry in a paper bag , but they never last more than 1.5-2 weeks. What would you suggest? Now granted this is produce that I have purchased at the grocery store, so who knows how long it has been stored by the grower, but shouldnt it last longer than that? I cant tell you how often I toss onion and garlic out and it drives me crazy!
Diane says
Sophie, last season I didn’t have a good garage or basement spot to store my garlic, either. I finally bunched it by the leaves in groups of 5 to 8 bulbs, tied the bunched leaves together with twine (leaving a loop in the twine), and hung the bunches from tacks or hooks on the wall in a cool, dark spare bedroom. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Those bunches lasted just about nine months, and we didn’t have to throw out anything but a very few cloves of garlic that started getting brown. Or you can cut the stalks off after curing, and store the bulbs in netted bags (available in good nursery catalogs/online), and hang THOSE in a dark room or a closet.
This year my husband created a quasi-root cellar in the crawl space under the house, so we shouldn’t have the storage problem, but it doesn’t matter – I’ll do anything I have to in order to have homegrown garlic. I’m addicted, and this fall I’m planting THREE varieties.
kimberly says
A root cellar in the crawl space? oooh i’ve not thought of this one, I will have to come up with a way to do this
I’ve seen garlic and onion go very wrong, spreading around in places they’re not intended. If contained and tended is it less likely to stray
Helen says
This is my first year growing garlic so thanks so much for the info! I planted most of mine amongst my roses, as I heard the deer don’t like the smell! Trying to save some of my roses to enjoy!!haha. Wasn’t sure when to harvest, so thanks again!!
Portia says
Thanks for posting! Getting ready to plant my garlic soon and I’m trying to read as much information about garlic as I can. Great read!
Wynne says
Thanks for the tips–no wonder my braid looked so odd after curing. This was my first year with garlic and I had to harvest it early because I moved the garden bed, but it was still delicious. Heads (heh) and shoulders above grocery garlic.
Will says
That really is THE thing about raising your own food. The flavor (and likely nutrients) are AMAZING!
Nadia says
Where do you buy your seed garlic from. I just moved to NJ from Vancouver, Canada and my seed supplier won’t ship here!
Diane says
Nadia, I really like Territorial Seed (http://www.territorialseed.com/) – an Oregon supplier with lots of great products and good service.
Michelle Landis says
I didn’t get garlic this year. The daughter planted a clove of my store bought, it is her plant baby. If I didn’t already have a garden that just keeps getting bigger and bigger, I would grow some more. maybe next year. I bought all my seeds from http://www.CooksGarden.com this year and they are doing great! They have many varieties. Thats why I went with them everything I am growing is not your typical store bought variety.
Rebecca says
One year I dug and dug and dug and put a galvanized trashcan almost all the way in the ground out in my garden to use as root cellar over the winter. That doesn’t help you during the summer as much but it is cooler. We had to level and regrade much of our back yard and my precious hole got filled in so when we put up the potting shed I was thinking I could reinstall it near that or in the floor somehow?
Michele says
I planted some garlic in the gound, some in a pot. I will be ofrced to dig up the ones in the ground in May when we move, so hoping my potted ones will turn out great!