Gourmet Garlic from the Ground Up

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Try to let the soil dry out for about a week before harvest. Garlic develops rapidly just before harvest time, so do not cut off the water too soon.

6. Cut off the scapes (flower stalks of hardneck varieties) after they have curled down, but before they uncurl to grow straight up. If you don’t remove the scapes, the bulbs will be smaller. (Use them in stir-fry, soups or salads.)

7. Harvest garlic when about five to six leaves remain green. Garlic leaves die from the tip inward and from the lowermost leaf upward. To harvest, first loosen the soil with a spade or fork. Then, gently pull the bulb from the ground; gently rub the soil out of the roots. Keep harvested bulbs out of direct sunlight, and do not rinse them with water.

8. Cure bulbs in a well-ventilated area, out of the sun. With twine, tie the garlic in bundles of six to 12. Hang the bundles to dry and cure, bulb portion downward, for several weeks—until the leafy portion above the bulbs is completely dry. Trim the leafy portion about 1 inch above the bulb; trim the roots to about ¼-inch long. Brush soil from the roots with a toothbrush. Remove the outermost dirty bulb wrapper with your thumb or the edge of the toothbrush.

9. Store garlic in netted bags, such as those used for onions, so that air can circulate around the bulbs. Keep your bagged garlic in a cool, well-ventilated area but do not store it in the refrigerator or below 50 degrees or it will sprout. Ideal storage conditions are 56 to 58 degrees, with a relative humidity of 45 to 50 percent, similar to the conditions of a good wine cellar. If you don’t have these ideal conditions, don’t worry. Garlic stores reasonably well in a wide range of conditions, as long as the area is not too hot or too low in humidity.

Editor’s note: This article has been adapted from The Complete Book of Garlic: A Guide for Gardeners, Growers and Serious Cooks by Ted Jordan Meredith (Timber Press, 2008), available at www.TimberPress.com. Meredith’s previous book Bamboo for Gardens (Timber Press, 2001) was awarded the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Literature Award and The New York Times Editor’s Choice "Best Books for Gardening." Meredith has grown more than 70 garlic cultivars at his home in Washington.

Ready to try growing your own garlic? Please see "A Few of My Favorite Garlics."

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