How do I know when to harvest my garlic? After the seeds are created at the top? Before then?
TIA
LAS
When to harvest garlic?
This is only my second year growing garlic but I understand if you have planted the hard neck variety you do not wait for seeds to form. When the hard scape forms and begins to curl cut it off. You can then cut it into pieces and saute it to add flavor to your dishes. Cutting off the scape supposedly forces more energy into the bulb development. I harvested my garlic in July when the leaves (tops) turned brown or died back. There should be 5 or 6 green leaves remaining to insure that there are enough papery bulb wrappers to protect the bulb in storage.
Dig up the bulbs carefully, loosening the soil under them with a garden fork, perhaps, and air dry in a cool, dry place on window screens, or tie two bulbs together by the stems and hang over the garage rafters. Part of this information was copied from a site that sells organic fertilizer and explained how to raise garlic. Hope this helps. I enjoyed my small crop last year but have planted 4 varieties this year so hope to have enough to carry me through a good 6 months!
Cut the scapes or the bulbs will remain small. Ask me how I know. :(
I wait until the leaves turn brown and fall over, then I lift them gently out of the soil and lay them on a table covered with an old blanket under my porch out of the sun until the end of summer. By then the soil has dried out and falls off easily. I remove the dried leaves, and store them in a metal basket in the dark.
Don't bump them together to remove the soil when you lift them or they will bruise and go rotten quickly.
Mine are usually ready to harvest around the end of June.
This photo was taken in June 2010.
HoneybeeNC has it right. It's how I know when to harvest garlic!
Yours look small like mine were. Did you not clip the scapes?
CajuninKy - the garlic I grew last year was smaller than usual. I was working last summer and didn't have as much time to take care of regular fertilization. I'm hoping this year's harvest will be better.
One good thing about last year's harvest, they stored remarkably well - I still have some left!
Mine are looking kinda yellow so I am going to add some goat manure to them.
I have just harvest the laregst cloves of my garlic.
cajun, at what point do you recommend cutting off the scapes? When still green?
I cut my scapes as soon as they start to curl. First they point straight up, then they curl, then they will point straight up again. Your garlic is probably way ahead of mine due to the zone, so you probably should cut the scapes now. Mine are ready for harvest some time after the 4th of July, but yours may be ready in June. Don't feed within 30 days of harvest or I have heard that they will not bulb up as good and also will not store as well. Small home grown garlic is still superior in taste to the stuff one gets at the grocery store. Good luck!
Yes, I plan to harvest in June. How far up from the base do you trim off the scape? Leave 2" - 3" of scape?
I was going to have to research it because I just found out about doing it. Now I know. Thanks for asking and thanks for answering. :) Great looking garlic, drthor. I only planted mine is Spring. I usually plant in fall and overwinter but that was not an option this time around.
Great looking garlic, drthor.
thanks
I harvested more cloves today ,,, for a total of 80s!
I am going to let them dry on a dark room and after braid the garlic and hang it in the kitchen , like we did in Italy
I cut the scapes on all of mine today and was thinking that I'll not be able to braid them. Oh well, hopefully I'll yield bigger bulbs, that was the point. Last year all the bulbs were pretty small.
MaryMcP ~ the scapes are only the bloom stalks. You should still be able to braid with the leaves.
ahhhh, sounds like I messed up. I learn best [and longest] from my mistakes! I thought scapes were the leaves. :-|
Ouch! I'm sorry. Please do post what happens to the bulbs. Perhaps they will grow more leaves.
Sorry to say, I have been there, done, that. The garlic did grow more leaves, but I think it used the energy from the bulb to do it, as the bulbs were small and "mushy." (or maybe the bulbs were small and mushy for other reasons?) I later learned that the scapes were the flower buds :-(
It's so nice to have company! ;-)) Maybe I should harvest now?
I bet Frostweed would have seen this post later but I thought just in case I would post her diary entry on Elephant Garlic that she grows. I got some from Josephine at a N Texas Round Up but only plant a handfull in comparison to her. Take a look.
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/frostweed/4151/
Wow, that is inspiring. I'll have to remember to look back at that next season. Thanks Sheila.
Josephine is a gret mentor.
I went ahead and harvested thinking it's probably the least of the two evils - ie: harvesting early vs letting them continue in the bed after the leaves were [prematurely] hacked off. Of the various types I grew, only the Chesnok Red seems to still be green. It's a purple stripe, although there is not much coloration in these, and my notes say it can be harvested midway through the local harvest season although som [hardnecks] mature late. I'm thinking Chesnok Red is a late maturing hardneck purple stripe.
All others are dry with hard bulbs.
It is what it is. Now I know what the scape is!
Still look like you have some good eats there! Gardeners, are, of course, eternally optimistic - so it's almost time to order garlic for next year! :-)
That's right Kmom....got *that* particular mistake out of the way so I won't make it again. :-))
Cut the scapes today on my hardneck garlic. Elephant garlic has not put any on yet.
Can you save the bigger bulbs and replant your own garlic cloves? I know we're discouraged from saving potatoes because of diseases, but does this apply to garlic?
Helen..... This is from Frostweed's blog...seems she does.
"Garlic is best planted in the Fall, I would say starting in September. If you keep garlic too long without planting it will sprout and start to grow, and then it won't be good for table use because it becomes hollow and spongy. That is why I freeze my extra supply, so it won't go bad on me.
Plant the cloves in a loose well prepared soil, with the pointed end up, and the point being about 1 inch below soil level, I normallyprepare the bed, level it out, and then push the cloves into the soil about 6 inches apart in all directions , that way I get a larger yeild from my space. Smooth the the surface ,spread a thin mulch to keep the soil from crusting, and water."
Thanks for all the help! I was starting to wonder about my garlic... it's getting HUGE. But no scapes yet, I'm assuming that's normal as I'm in a cooler zone than most of you.
I don't expect a lot from mine as I planted in Spring rather than last fall. I plant with bulbs from the previous season.
Thanks everyone. I've decided to save my biggest bulbs to replant. How many bulbs should I plant for 1.5 people (my son's in college). My affection for garlic will probably keep me from remarrying. Well, at least I've never seen any vampires. Just joking.
Just figure how long a clove last you and go from there...everyone would be different. Plus like Josephine you may want to share!
This is my first year growing garlic. I dug one today and now I realize I should have read about them earlier. I planted one softneck and one hardneck bulb. I am going to post pictures of the one I dug today and would like you to tell me where I should cut the scape and when I should have cut it. I planted them the end of Sept./first of Oct. I am in zone 5.
They are not as large as they should be, but I guess it is too late to fertilize now. I should have done it more when I prepared my bed.
Ok here is a picture of the bulbs (3) and I am sure I only put one clove in each space. So, why 3?? anyway, they may have gotten bigger if I had cut off the scapes? Each of these bulbs has their own scape.
Oh gosh, they smell so good right here on my lap. And I like garlic, but not real strong.
I just harvested about 1/4 of my 100 garlic that i planted last fall. They are decent size but I will leave the others longer. Mine never did make scapes this year, and are still quite green. I just plant grocery dtore bulbs, so don't know what variety they are.
I bought mine, 2 bulbs, at the farmer's market from 2 different people. One was hardneck and one softneck,. The softneck did not form scapes. Got the impression they don't. I will wait for them to turn brown I think. Sure wish I had fertilized better tho. Think that would have made bigger bulbs. But the scapes are beautiful!! LOL They look like I put a roller in them. A hair roller. :0)
I had to pull my garlic already as the neighboring squash plants have taken over and covered the garlic and onions. This is my first year for SFGing and it's a big learning curve. There wasn't any size to them so I will keep the biggest to plant in fall.
The two biggest round bulbs are elephant garlic. I was so looking forward to it.
Did you like the SFG Cajun? I thought I would maybe try the Elephant garlic later if I want to, but want to do better with the other first. Looking at the gourmet garlic site, there are a lot of different kinds. The garlic has been fun to try, and it smells sooooo good. Yours are beautiful. How long have you been growing it?