Garlic Harvest2013

Dateline: 11 August 2013
(click pics to see enlarged views)

July 3

I grew one wide-row of hardneck garlic in my garden this year. I planted it with a template, as explained in The Planet Whizbang Idea Book For Gardeners. The straw mulch (applied after planting) kept the weeds in check.

July 19

I dug the garlic after only a few of the bottom leaves had died. The tops were still mostly green. A lot of people wait too long before digging their garlic.

August 11

Immediately after digging, I tied the garlic into small bundles and hung them from the rafters of my wood shed. They were sheltered from rain and out of direct sun, but had lots of air flow. The picture above, taken three weeks after digging, shows the garlic plants have dried down nicely.

The tool in the background is an inexpensive bandsaw I bought years ago. It is not a necessary tool for cutting dried garlic roots and stems off the bulb, but it sure does do the job fast and easily.

August 11

The picture above shows my garlic harvest in a Whizbang wood-and-wire garden tote. That tote is now several years old and it has been a very handy tool. Instructions for making it are in The Planet Whizbang Idea Book For Gardeners. You can also purchase an inexpensive ($1.50) pdf download of the plans At This Link.

August 11

Since the garlic cloves in the tote are for home use, I did not put a lot of effort into peeling away the outside wrappers. But if I were selling them, I would take the time to peel away the outer wrappers to reveal the clean, rosy-hued inner layers, as the picture above shows. The toothbrush is a big help when peeling. 

I'll separate out the largest cloves for planting come October.