Picking Garlic from My Garden
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, July is garlic picking time - when the bottom leaves of the plants start to die back and turn brown, but the top leaves are still green.
Knowing when garlic is ready to pick can be tricky. If it’s harvested too soon, the cloves are small and underdeveloped. If done too late, the clove heads begin to separate, making them more vulnerable to decay. This week, my gardeners picked our crop of hardnecks, noted for their stiff central stalk, fewer cloves, and intriguingly complex flavors. All from our friends at Keene Garlic, a family-owned farm in Wisconsin.
Enjoy these photos.
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- It’s always exciting when the garlic is ready to harvest. Garlic is a popular spice in many cuisines and traditional medicine. Do you know… Americans consume about two to three pounds of garlic per year? And consumption continues to increase because of the many flavors and health benefits. I plant a lot of garlic every year to share with family and friends.
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- Garlic is planted in the fall. The next several photos are from a sunny, mild October day of last year. I’ve been planting Keene Garlic for quite some time, and am always so pleased with their growth and taste.
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- The majority of garlic in the US is planted from mid-October through November before the ground freezes. When planting multiple rows of garlic, the rows are at least one-foot apart.
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- it is also important to give each clove enough room to grow and develop. These are at least two to three inches from each other.
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- Cloves should be at least three inches deep. The tip of the clove is faced up, and the root side faced down.
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- After each clove is pushed into its hole, it is gently backfilled. If the soil is well cultivated, this is a quick and easy planting task.
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- In June, one can see the scapes beginning to form. Garlic scapes are the flower buds of the garlic plants. They’re ready about a month before the actual garlic bulbs. Scapes are delicious and can be used just like garlic.
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- Here is the bed in mid-June when the scapes are beginning to curl.
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- Scapes can be cut when the center stalks are completely formed and the ends are curled.
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- By early July, all the scapes are gone and the stems continue to brown.
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- And then last week, it was time to pick. The right time to pick garlic is when the top of the garlic plant begins to die back. It is important to wait for a dry day to harvest – this allows the soil to dry out, helps to prevent rot, and makes it much easier to pull the stalks and bulbs from the ground.
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- Garlic bulbs are several inches deep, but if the soil is soft, the garlic can be lifted straight up. If not.
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- Each garlic is pulled out from the base of the leaves so that the head comes out completely. I love to experiment with the different types to see what grows best in my garden.
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- The whole garlic is called a ‘head’, a ‘bulb’, or a ‘knob.‘ Each small, individual segment of a garlic head is a clove. Garlic is both delicious and nutritious. It is known to lower cholesterol, decrease the risk of coronary artery disease, and is an excellent source of minerals and vitamins, such as vitamins B6 and C.
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- As the garlic is picked, it is placed in trays. Ryan keeps track of what grew well, so we can plant the same varieties in the fall.
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- Ryan shows just two bunches of freshly picked garlic – and there is so much more!
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- Look at the bounty! But it is not ready to eat just yet. It must still dry.
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- All the garlic is now in one area of my carport where it can cure for several weeks. Curing is a process of letting the garlic dry in preparation for long-term storage. There’s no need to wash garlic – the point is to dry them out.
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- Soon, the garlic will also be cleaned and trimmed. Finally, once the garlic is cured, the most beautiful heads with the biggest cloves will be set aside to use as garlic seeds next season.
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