When to Harvest Garlic, Plus Curing and Storage Tips

Are you growing your own garlic? Good for you! Come learn exactly when and how to harvest garlic or garlic scapes, along with tips on how to cure and store homegrown garlic to make it last as long as possible. We’ll also explore a few ways to preserve garlic too.

Harvesting garlic at the right time is key. If done too early, the cloves and protective skin may be underdeveloped and unable to be cured for long-term dry storage. (Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to use and preserve immature green garlic though.) If done too late, the overripe bulbs will start to break open and also not store well.

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RELATED: Want more garlic tips? Don’t miss our guides on how to plant and grow garlic or five easy ways to preserve garlic, including how to make homemade garlic powder or this fermented garlic honey recipe.

When to Harvest Garlic

Garlic takes a long time to grow! It is usually planted in the fall, and is ready to harvest in late spring to mid-summer the following year. The exact time depends in the variety and growing conditions, but is usually about 8 to 9 months after planting cloves in the fall.

• You’ll know your garlic is almost ready to harvest when the lower leaves start to turn yellow-brown. Don’t wait until the tops totally die back though! About one-third to half of the leafy tops should be yellow-brown come harvest time.
  
  
• If you gently explore below the soil, you should be able to feel good size garlic bulbs have developed and have obvious shoulders.
  
  
• The garlic stalks may even start to to tip over or lay down.
  
  
• For hardneck varieties, garlic is typically ready to harvest about a month after harvesting tender garlic scapes. If you didn’t harvest the scapes, they will straighten and point upward again once the bulbs are mature and ready.
  
  
• Still not sure? Test harvest a bulb or two and see how they look! If cut in half across the equator, individual cloves should be developed, full, and have their own papery wrapping (though they’ll still be wet at this time).

Stop Watering Before Harvest

Once it looks almost ready, stop watering garlic for a week or two prior to harvest. This signals the plants to put their final bits of energy into developing nice big cloves, and helps the bulbs begin drying out to cure. It also makes harvesting garlic easier and cleaner, as you’ll be able to simply brush or shake off dry soil from the bulbs and roots.

Our DIY raised bed drip irrigation system has a shut-off valve at each bed, so we simply turn off the garlic bed for a couple weeks before we harvest. If you’re in a climate that gets routine summer rain, try to wait at least a few days after the last rain to harvest.

How to Harvest Garlic

It’s best to harvest garlic by gently digging it up rather than pulling it out by the stem. If the green stalks accidentally break and separate from the bulb, they won’t cure and store well. Instead, use a small garden trowel to dig down alongside the garlic bulbs to loosen and pry them out of the soil.

Be careful digging though! The bulbs will likely be several inches deep in the soil and wider than the stems. Take care not to puncture or bruise the bulbs, which will make them rot faster in storage. If you do happen to nick one, or if you have some smaller underdeveloped bulbs, set them aside to use or preserve soon instead of cure.

Just like harvesting onions, do NOT wash the garlic or remove the roots or green tops yet!

Harvesting Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes are a long, tender, edible stem produced by hardneck garlic varieties as they near maturity. Scapes grow up out of the center of the garlic leaves, starting off small and straight and eventually curling back down. If left to grow, they eventually become a flower that produces seed. Softneck garlic doesn’t grow scapes.

It’s best to harvest garlic scapes when they’re young and tender, once they’ve made a nice curl. To harvest, simply cut or snap the scapes off at the base where they emerge from the leaves. Scapes will become tough and woody if you wait too long to harvest, especially once they start to straighten and stand back up. Failing to harvest scapes in a timely manner can also negatively impact garlic bulb development, since the scape (and eventual flower/seeds) steals energy away from the bulb.

Garlic scapes have a fresh green garlicky flavor, but are more mellow-tasting than garlic cloves. They can be sautéed, stir-fried, added to pesto, pasta, quiche, or any other meal where a hint of garlic is welcome! I like to think of them as a garlic-flavored green bean.

Curing Garlic

Don’t skip this essential step! Curing garlic is the process of drying garlic post-harvest to prepare it for long term storage. Without proper curing, garlic will rot and spoil much sooner.

• After harvesting garlic, keep the roots and leafy tops attached. The bulbs continue to draw energy and nutrients from them while they dry and cure! Again, avoid washing your garlic. Simply brush off the soil after it dries.
  
  
• Cure garlic in a dry, well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight for two to three weeks after harvest, such as in a basement, garage, temperate shed, shady covered porch, or other dry protected location. We’ve even hung garlic braids in our spare shower to cure! The ideal temperature for for curing garlic is 70-75°F.
  
  
• Lay garlic out in a single layer on a wire rack, screen, slotted shelving, or other breathable surface in a desirable curing location. If you’re feeling fancy, you can also braid and hang your garlic. Softneck varieties are easier to truly braid, but you can still tie hardneck varieties into a similar form.
  
  
• After a few weeks of curing, clean the garlic bulbs up for storage by removing the leaves and roots. Use scissors to cut off the roots, but leave the protective papery skins intact! On the other hand, you could keep the leafy tops attached to braid (or tie) and hang the garlic if you wish. 

How to Store Garlic

• For the maximum shelf-life, it’s best to store garlic at room temperature in a cool, dry, dark location such as a root cellar, pantry, basement, or spare closet. The optimum storage temperature for garlic is 50-60°F.
  
  
• Resist the urge to refrigerate garlic, as colder temperatures stimulates the garlic to break dormancy and start sprouting. Garlic sprouts rapidly between 40-50°F.
  
  
• Store garlic in an open container to promote good airflow and dry conditions, such as a mesh bag, woven basket, wire racks, or open cardboard box (but not in a deep pile).
  
  
• The time garlic lasts in storage depends on the type, variety, and storage conditions. Properly cured hardneck garlic should last about 3 to 4 months in storage, while softneck varieties can last 6 to 9 months.
  
  
• Routinely check on your stored bulbs and give them a squeeze. Make quick use of any that are going soft or starting to sprout. Yes, it’s okay to eat garlic that has sprouted – or plant it!
  
  
• I like to store our hardneck garlic separate from our softneck garlic varieties since they have varying shelf lives. That way, I can focus on using or otherwise preserving the hardneck garlic first.
  
  
• Even more, I recommend labelling and storing your garlic separated by variety if you hope to use the cloves as seed to plant in fall! Always plant your biggest, best cloves.

Ways to Preserve Garlic

Whether you had to harvest your garlic too early, or your mature garlic is starting to go soft in storage, there are a number of easy ways to preserve garlic.

One of our favorite ways is to dehydrate it and make homemade garlic powder. We also love honey fermented garlic, which is fantastic to have on hand during the cold and flu season! You can also freeze garlic or pickle it.

We also like to add cloves of homegrown garlic to other preserves like quick pickled green beans, crunchy refrigerator dill pickles, easy roasted tomato sauce, fermented beets and more.

All in all, I hope these tips help you enjoy your homegrown garlic to the full extent possible. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. If you found this information to be useful, please spread the love by pinning or sharing this post! Otherwise I hope to see you around, garlic breath.

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