Gardening Garlic: 5 things you need to know

It is mid July, which is a great time to stop watering your garlic for the season. After you do that, what’s next? When do you harvest? How does one cure garlic?

Great questions! Here are some great resources:

When do I plant my garlic?

Plant your garlic in late fall. Before the ground freezes, but after the warmth has left the air. You don’t want your garlic to sprout before winter comes. If it does, it will likely be fine, but good to put some straw over it either way. You know, tuck it in for the winter.

If you want to know details about planting garlic, check out this post.

Garlic tucked in for the winter under a blanket of straw.

Am I supposed to stop watering my garlic at some point?

YES! Early to mid July, in fact (as I mentioned before). It is good to stress your garlic out a bit: it then puts all its energy into its roots. Too much water can also cause the garlic bulbs to rot. Early to mid July is the time to stop watering until it is time to harvest.

If you can’t turn off the water to your garlic, then you may want to harvest your garlic sooner to prevent rot (more about the pathogen White Rot here), which brings me to the next question…

How do I know when it is ready to harvest?

When the top of your garlic plant looks dried and yellow, you know it’s time to harvest, just don’t wait until the entire plant is yellow. A good rule of thumb is when half of the leaves are green and half are brown/yellow, it’s time to harvest. Keep in mind that garlic leaves will start to die from the bottom up. If you’re not sure, feel free to dig down and check one of the bulbs to see if it is a good size and firm. Garlic can be harvested as early as mid July to mid August. It just depends on your crop, the soil, and the weather, so keep an eye on them. It will vary some year to year.

This is a great example of garlic that is ready to harvest. Just pull it gently up from the ground, and give it a shake.

How do I cure it?

After you pull your garlic, you want to let it cure. That means letting the outer layers of skin dry and protect the inner deliciousness for the cold months to come. Garlic is a great storage vegetable. If it is cured correctly, it will last through till spring!

After you’ve harvested your garlic (and no need to wash the dirt off, just pull it out of the ground), bundle your garlic in groups of five or six and hang-dry them in a semi-aerated place such as a shed or back porch. An ideal temperature for drying garlic is around 80 degrees.

Let your garlic hang for at least two weeks.

Garlic hanging in the PEAS Farm barn to cure.

How do I save seed garlic for next year?

Once your garlic has cured, it is time to take it down, clean it up, and trim the leaves off, so it looks like this:

Look for nice, large cloves of garlic. Break them apart, and plant them this fall for next season’s crop. Garlic cloves are essentially clones of their garlic plant, so you want to pick the cloves that look the best.  That way, they’ll produce big and healthy cloves just like their forefathers and mothers. So grab a nice looking head of garlic and pull its cloves apart, making sure to leave the papery husk on each individual clove (sometimes this is easier said than done, but it helps protect the cloves from disease and pests once in the soil). Then put aside the ones with the nicest shape – you know, the ones you really want to chop up and eat. Those are the ones you’ll want to plant.

Good luck with your gardening, and may the garlic boost your immunity and keep those vampires away!