Topic: Whats happened to our garlic!!!

[ncd72]

Yes..it is a shame..but..that's why it is so expensive to buy proper 'seed' garlic as they should be stored correctly and be problem free stock to start with.
Rather than buying new stock every year,,why not invest for once and start saving part of your own stock for 'seed'. I always grow roughly 1/3 more garlic than I use..then I have plenty to choose and pick the best bulbs and cloves for cropping next year. Once you get into habit your will never be without garlic anymore.
I'be grown my garlic from my own bulbs for..ohh..10+ years without problems. Does anybody else in your site grow garlic that maybe could spare few for you to start with?

Hi sorry to jump in  - i planted some of the proper garlic from our local center in Nov - 3 types - lautrec, solent wight and another - cant remember the name - anyway my plan is to save quite a few cloves for next season - so what's the ideal way to store them so they will be a success?

Many Thanks

[tim]

Cut the stems of the bulbs to some 6" (or leave them whole) & hang in a warm, dry place.

[goodlife]

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so what's the ideal way to store them so they will be a success?Once you lift the garlic..cure/dry them with their stems on until 'crispy' dry ..maybe in GH or under temperary shelter away from rain. After that you can trim the tops off, but it is not necessary, just looks tidier.
Keep them in dry conditions..that's all. And do not separate the the planting cloves from bulbs until you are ready for planting..that keeps the cloves in optimum condition.
As for rest of the garlic that you are going to eat..keep in dry and frost free space. Nothing fancy about storage...but for sometimes commercial sources keep the bulbs in certain temperature and humidity to prevent the garlic sprouting too early..extending the 'shelf life' and that will mess up with the the growing points inside the cloves.
It is quite complicated story..but basically certain temperature changes trickers certain kind of growth changes within the cloves..the clove in photo looks like its 'blown' prematurely and it's growing points producing 'wrong' kind of growth.
I dry mine on bread trays outside..if there is rain in forecast I just lift them in GH or put sheet of plastic over for little showers. Once dry I tidy the bulbs and put them in smaller blue 'mushroom' trays that are easy to stack up. Ikeep them like that in GH under staging and take them into house for winter. Biggest and best cloves are used up for planting a new crop and rest are used for cooking. Easy..

[tim]

Oh, dear - brilliant reply!!

Wish I'd had the energy to go the whole hog.

[RenishawPhil]

After having a look on various sites, we are going to dig the lot up, remove the roots and freeze the lot, and just use them whole.  I know that freezing may degrade the garlic but better to get the most of it i can out it.  

Unless anyone recommend any other way of storing them?


Edit just looked again and it seems Drying it may be a way to go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUzgTqWaMpY

[goodlife]

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Wish I'd had the energy to go the whole hog. ;D I do carry on with my reply's some times.. ::) ...and yet OH get the short grunts.. ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Drying is traditional, and it keeps for months. I take a few bulbs at a time, put them through a blender with a little water, and freeze them in a cube mould. It saves chopping garlic every time, but drying is still my main method.

[RenishawPhil]

Drying is traditional, and it keeps for months. I take a few bulbs at a time, put them through a blender with a little water, and freeze them in a cube mould. It saves chopping garlic every time, but drying is still my main method.

How do you find the quality of garlic when using it ?,does it also keep?

[BarriedaleNick]

Garlic keeps well in the freezer.  I dry most of mine and get my OH the plait them and hang them in the garage.  They generally last through the Winter till Feb/March when they start to sprout.  What I do then is to peel, blend with a little oil, heat then cool and keep in the fridge or freezer.  I am still using last years and have picked most of this years!

[ncd72]

Blimey - there's some tips there - thanks for all the replies.

First time growing garlic but looking forward to tasting it - they look really strong and healthy at the moment - when's the best time to lift them?

Thanks Again

[tim]

Try this............".Garlic is normally ready for harvesting when most of the foliage has turned yellowy-brown - this will be around mid August time
Problems will occur mainly in wet summers as the yellowing will take longer, and if they are left in wet ground, they will become diseased
If the weather is wet in early August, pull up one bulb and see how many sheaths (very thin papery layers around the bulb) you can peel off the bulb
If there are more than four layers, it is advised to wait another two weeks or until the leaves have turned brown
When harvesting garlic bulbs, gently ease them out of the ground with the assistance of using a trowel to loosen the surrounding soi".l

 Others say when 1/3 of the foliage has yellowed. and harvesting time obviously depends on variety.

Good luck!

= Tim

[ncd72]

Thanks Tim - good advice!

[1066]

interesting reading Tim  :)
I find mine is ready to be pulled towards mid June, planted in Nov. I guess both variety and location impact on this

[manicscousers]

Ours has now got rust, just taken off the scapes to cook in the stir fry, bulbs look a decent size , just got to wait until the foliage dies off  :)

[tim]

When we grew Garlic - before the White Rot affected every inch of the garden - Solent Wight lifted about mid-July.

DO remember the long rotation time for safety.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I lift mine as soon as a few stems have fallen over. If I leave it any longer than that, the skins turn grey and start to rot.