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How long should garlic cure before storing?
You have successfully grown and harvested your hardneck garlic this year but how are you going to be certain it keeps all winter long? Learning how to clean and store fresh garlic properly will allow you to enjoy your homegrown garlic until you have more ready next summer.
An important step in preserving your garlic is to hang your garlic to dry for 2-3 weeks before you clean it. I dry my fresh garlic for 3 weeks. You want to be certain the garlic has dried before moving to the next step. You will know when it is ready when the leaves are brown in colour, similar to the photo below.
How should you remove the roots?
Once your garlic is dry, take a pair of sharp scissors or garden shears and cut off the roots (they are at the bottom of the garlic bulb). Cut the roots as close to the bottom of the bulb as possible without cutting the bulb itself.
Next, cut the stock/leaves. Leave approximately 2 ½-3 inches above the bulb so you still have a stem in place. Leaving a stem in place helps to prevent moisture from getting down into the garlic bulb. This helps to prevent mold from developing and decreasing the storage life of the bulb.
You want to be certain to dispose of the stems/leaves in a green bin or garbage bin. Do not place the stems in your compost pile. This will help to reduce the risk of disease in future crops.
How do you clean garlic?
You do not have to wash garlic to get that beautiful white shiny skin. All you need to do is peel away 1-2 layers of the garlic skin. Try not to remove too many layers. The skin helps to preserve the garlic for winter.
To remove any left over dirt from the roots or bottom of the garlic bulb, you can use a scrub brush or even your hand. Clean the bottom of the bulb as best you can. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
If you would like to see exactly how I clean garlic, click on the video below!
Where is the best place to store garlic?
To store garlic you can either place it in a basket, vegetable bag or even a firewood bag. The bag needs to have good air flow. Last winter I stored my garlic in a reusable vegetable bag and a firewood bag. Both of these worked perfect.
If you can hang the bag on a hook in either your basement or cold cellar that is the best place for long term storage. I store mine in the basement. It needs to be a cool dark place. We live in Canada, so in the winter our root cellar gets too cold. The garlic would freeze and rot if I stored it in the root cellar.
How long will garlic last after cleaning?
If you harvest, cure, clean and store garlic correctly, garlic will last at least 12 months. I have garlic left from last summer that is still perfect to use right now.
Once you grow your own hardneck garlic you will never want to buy garlic from the store again. The flavour of fresh garlic is incredible.
Let me know in the comments if you can taste the difference between store bought garlic and fresh garlic from your garden? I would love to hear from you.
Have you started to preserve any food for this winter? How would you like to have locally homegrown beans all winter long? Make sure you check out this blog post “Freeze Beans Fast” to see how I freeze beans. There is no blanching required. This method is so easy, even for beginners.
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