Garlic grows underground and it is not easy to tell when the bulb is ripe. How do you know when to harvest garlic? How to store it and how to braid a garlic braid?
Garlic is a healthy food that is loved by many thanks to its delicious taste. But you should know a few important tricks for harvesting garlic. If you’ve grown it, harvested it properly, and stored it, you can have tasty vegetables all winter long.
Harvesting Garlic: When is the Right Time?
Garlic is one of the best long-term storage vegetables, used in cooking as a flavorful spice for a variety of dishes. It is very easy to grow, but when it comes to harvesting, timing is important. In this article you will find out when it is ripe and how to dry and store it properly.
When should you harvest garlic?
With most root vegetables, it is difficult to tell when it is time to harvest. If you harvest garlic too early, the cloves will shrink and they won’t store well. However, if you leave them in the ground for too long, they will burst out of their shells, making them more susceptible to disease. Therefore, it is very important to recognize the right time.
The simple rule of thumb is that when the garlic leaves start to turn yellow and dry up, then it’s time.
The garlic leaves start dying from the bottom up and when 3 to 4 of the leaves of the plant are dry, you should prepare the harvest.
First, check one or two plants to make sure the bulbs are big enough. Just remove a bit of soil around the stem to get a good look.
Then stop watering for a few days to allow the soil to dry out a bit and harvest is easier.
How is it harvested?
The bulbs of garlic are not very easy to pull out of the ground. Therefore, choose a dry day and gently loosen the soil with a digging fork to dig up the bulbs. Pull out the tubers by the stems. Gently tap most of the dirt off, but wait until the onions have hardened to fully clean. Be careful not to injure the bulbs as this can affect storage.
Dry garlic and store properly
Drying garlic is very important for its preservation. You need a lot of air and a cool place.
Tie the tops of the stems with twine in bundles of five to ten and hang in a dark, dry, well-ventilated place for about three weeks. Another way to dry the onions is to lay them on a grid.
When the whole stalk is brown, cut off the stalk about an inch above the bulb and remove the roots.
After the garlic dries, carefully clean it by removing dirt, debris, and the outer dried layer.
Store the dried onions in a cold and dry place. Don’t forget to set aside a few of the largest, healthiest bulbs for fall planting.
Never store garlic in the refrigerator, as light and moisture will cause it to mold and sprout.
Braid garlic braid
Braiding is a traditional way of storing garlic, which makes it last longer and looks much more aesthetically pleasing. To make a garlic braid, you should first dry the garlic but do not remove the stalks.
Take three of the larger dried and cleaned tubers, cross them over and tie them together. Two of the onions should form an X over the middle one. Add a fourth onion, placing it right in the center and crossing the right stem over it. Repeat the process with two more onions. When all the stems are lined up, start braiding. Take the two stems from the right side and cross them under the middle two stems. Then take the two stems on the left and cross them under the two middle leaves. Repeat the process one or two more times. Once you’ve started the braid, add another three onions and repeat the process until you’ve used all of the onions. Then braid the remaining stems into a simple braid and tie with a piece of twine.