Topic: Drying garlic know how ?

[gwynleg]

Hi. I’ve harvested rather a lot of garlic today, hardnecks, soft neck and elephant. I’ve looked up how to dry them out for keeping. The RHS says to dry them in the greenhouse in the light but others say to dry in the dark and cool. Not sure if some of this maybe due to different locations? I’d prefer greenhouse but can make space elsewhere cooler/darker. Advice please? Presume also that you dry them before plaiting/ hanging in old tights?!!

[Tiny Clanger]

I have no dark place tontry, but have always used tge staging from the greenhouse put at tge side of the house. There is a stream of air passibg over it and tge garlic is protected under a canopy.  Never tried drying in the dark 

[Tee Gee]

My Way:

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/G/Garlic/20-Harvested%20and%20laid%20out%20to%20dry.JPG

This is how I used to grow it!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/G/Garlic/Garlic.htm

[gray1720]

Interesting to see that they recommend growing where the porevious crop was manured. I thought that it appreciated being a bit starved, so mine has always gone in where the spuds were (which has the extra asset of being the first bit of ground available), and usually does well. Three of my four varieties have given really nice looking big bulbs this year (the fourth collapsed and died all together, quite suddenly), so it can't be that wrong, can it?

[ancellsfarmer]

I'm surprised that your crops are yet ready to harvest. Mine went in 29/10 and will be left at least 2 more weeks, probably to 'see out' the promised rainfall.(Only had 3.2mm since April 23rd)
Once lifted, they will hopefully enjoy a week or so of warm June sunshine laid out on a suspended chainlink panel otherwise used to 'roast' buttercups etc. before composting. Then cleaned, tied up in bunches ard. stored in dark, airy shed.

[gwynleg]

They may not have been ready tbh! Some of them (red duke) were splitting and I read that that meant they had been harvested too late. I then decided to take them all up but white ones might not have been ready

[lottie lou]

Drat. Wish I had labelled mine.

[gwynleg]

Another question- do you wash the garlic before putting it out to dry?

[gwynleg]

Teegee- it didn’t look like you washed yours !

[Tee Gee]

Teegee- it didn’t look like you washed yours

Why wash them? The whole idea is  to DRY them not wet them!

In my case I found that when the bulbs dried the dried soil rubbed off quite easily,as did the roots!

Then again,  if that was not enough we could always remove the husk to expose the cloves which after all is the part we want to eat, not that I ever had to do that.

[gray1720]

I've never washed mine - I suppose if you were showing it it might be needed, but there's so much husk between the dirt and the clove why bother?

Adrian

[gwynleg]

Thanks very much for all this know how. I read somewhere to wash them before drying, which did seem counter intuitive! Very happy not to do it. I dont know what I’m doing as have never successfully grown garlic before and now have rather a lot! Now need to re-read those posts about how to preserve garlic

[BarriedaleNick]

I you dry and cure garlic it will last for months hanging in a shed or garage - I finished mine off in March this year.  Alas a rubbish crop this year but there is always next..

[Tee Gee]

Alas a rubbish crop this year but there is always next..

In my opinion: I put this down to the mildish winter we had!

It was never cold long enough to split the original cloves

[Obelixx]

Maybe need to think about other varieties?  We don't get serious frosts here and yet I get good garlic.   

This last winter was wet more than cold so it'll be interesting to see how that affects the crop when I lift it in a few days.   Rain of almost biblical proportions today so it'll need a day or three to dry out.

[gray1720]

I'm still eating last years - the cloves are now beginning to "go", I've thrown several bulbs becaues they've gone soft and nasty, but still have about four with salvageable cloves.

Adrian
 

[Obelixx]

Last year's harvest went soft very quickly.  No idea why but I have now set up a pallet on an old metal table base and put wire mesh across it so I can try Teegee's method for initial drying before I string them up for longer storage.  I'm also going to confit at least half the crop in olive oil just to be sure.

Should be ready to harvest in a few days - if the rain stops!  Lovely amounts of wet stuff which s most unusual here in June but very welcome.

[gray1720]

I realised two days ago, when I pulled the first row then checked which variety it was, that all my softneck has decided to be hardneck... Hmm, wonder what happened there?

It's not a bad crop thus far - not great, but moore than adequate. I'll take that, and this weather will help it dry off too.

[Obelixx]

I harvested mine last week and hung it upside down using Tee Gee's pallet method for just over half the crop.   One week later it's drying beautifully and the bulbs feel firm.   Newt week I shall start plaiting it.

The rest of the bulbs have has been peeled and slow cooked in olive oil at 90C and is now in jars ready to use.  Much easier that nroasting the bulbs and squeezing the cloves once they've turned to a purée.

[gwynleg]

More expertise needed! My red duke garlic are nearly all split so there isn’t a lovely covering over All of them. I presume this means they won’t last so long ( for example by plaiting and hanging)? Any guesstimate of how long they would be ok for? I want to know if I need to otherwise preserve them soon or if I have a bit of time. Thanks all you garlic gurus!