Garlic: how to harvest, cure and store

So, you planted your cloves about seven months ago and now, after waiting patiently, the time has finally come to harvest your garlic. Before you dive into digging, though, it’s worth reading this article to learn how to properly cure and store your garlic, so a single year’s crop can last you the entire year ahead!

When to harvest

You’ll often hear it said, garlic should be harvested in late spring to early summer, which is November–December. The best indicator, though, isn’t a specific date on the calendar, but rather the plant itself, as timing varies by variety and location.

Contrary to popular belief, the best time to harvest garlic isn’t when most leaves have died back, as waiting until then means the bulbs will have started to split and won’t store as well.

Harvest your garlic when the first couple of leaves yellow and flop over, with 4–5 green leaves still standing. For hardneck varieties (ones that grow a flower stem called a scape) – the scapes will also start to soften or straighten out.

Once you see these signs, gently dig around one bulb to check its size. If it looks plump and firm, it’s ready to harvest. If it’s still small, leave it for a couple of weeks – garlic tends to sit and not do much for most of the season, only swelling up properly in the last few weeks.

Where possible, hold off watering garlic for two weeks before harvesting, and harvest garlic on a dry day.

How to harvest

Use a small garden fork to gently loosen the soil and lift the bulb out. Never pull the leaves to lift the bulbs from the ground – if you do this, sometimes you can accidentally pull the stem off.

Brush off excess dirt and avoid knocking the bulbs together – bruised bulbs won’t store as well.

Sort your harvest into two piles – bulbs in good shape and everything else. Damaged bulbs (for example, ones you’ve stuck a garden fork through) or bulbs that have already started splitting are best eaten fresh rather than cured.

Diseased, mouldy, soft or rotten bulbs should be discarded. If you harvest an entire crop of diseased bulbs, avoid planting garlic in the same spot next year.

Curing

Properly drying garlic (called curing) is what makes garlic last. Thankfully, it’s an easy task to do.

Lay your harvest (full, undamaged bulbs with their roots and leaves still attached) flat in a dry, well-ventilated spot away from direct sunlight, for 3–6 weeks. Keeping bulbs out of direct sun stops them from being burnt.

I’ve found the easiest way to cure garlic is to lay it out as a single layer on a couple of old wire oven racks under my carport or a covered porch. Hardneck varieties tend to cure quicker than softneck.

Once the outer skins have turned papery and dry, your garlic is ready to store. Trim the stalk to about 2–3cm above the bulb, cut back the roots and brush off any remaining dirt.

Store in a brown paper bag, mesh produce bag, or cardboard box with holes, in a cool, well-ventilated spot.

As softneck varieties have soft, pliable stems, they can be plaited and stored on display, or trim and store as above.

Pick up Issue 169 of ABC Organic Gardener in stores now to read the rest of this story on harvesting, curing and storing garlic, or subscribe at mymagazines.com.au to get every issue delivered straight to your door.