Homeblog

Harvesting garlic

I’ve had enough, said the garlic, and flopped over into an ungainly heap of yellowed leaves. It’s a sure-fire way of getting my attention and telling me that the bulbs under the soil are ready. And just as well, as I used my last clove from last year’s bumper harvest this weekend.

These are ‘Marco’ bulbs, which are renowned for having a very strong taste. I’m a complete garlic fiend, and the stronger the taste the better, but I’ve also grown elephant garlic (which isn’t actually garlic at all, but a relative of the leek) for my husband, who is a little less enamoured with that fabulous fiery taste. Those bulbs will be ready for harvest in a few weeks’ time.

All members of the allium family store very well indeed if you ask them nicely. You just need to treat them with a great deal of respect when you harvest them, and you’ll be using some varieties of garlic a year after they come out of the soil. Harvest with a handfork, gripping the stem as low down as you can, and ease gently out of the soil. Treat the new bulbs like eggs: any bruising will cause rots.

Leave hanging in the sun or in a warm, dry shed for a week before bringing inside, cleaning and removing the first, dirty layer of papery skin. Store somewhere safe and dark - I have a little drawer lined with hessian where I tuck all my bulbs - and use the bruised bulbs first.

If your bulbs are disease-free, you can plant the biggest cloves next year. This means that over time, your strain of garlic will become beautifully adapted to your growing conditions and will be stronger and ready to fight off disease. And you’ll never have to buy garlic from the garden centre ever again.

One Response

  1. Nicki

    Nice harvest! I heard that you should plant on the shortest day and lift on the longest - clearly old wives tales since I’ve never had any that look that good

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.