|
When to Harvest Garlic
Deciding when to harvest your garlic crop is not an exact science.
In the USA and much of Northern Europe garlic is usually harvested in the
summer months. Garlic harvesting begins in July and picking can continue all the way through
August.
The best guide to when to harvest your garlic is to look at the leaves.
The base of the leaves will form the layers wrapped around the garlic head
once picked.
As summer progresses, these leaves will gradually brown and die off. If you
harvest too early, the garlic will not be ready. If you leave it too late
and too many leaves have died off then there will be insufficient protection
left for your garlic and it will not store well.
Different locations, different varieties of garlic and different weather
conditions will need different harvesting dates. As a rule of thumb you
should consider harvesting when about half of the leaves are green and the other half
turning brown and dying off.
Don't immediately pull up all of your garlic at this point! First gently
pick out one or two plants and make sure that the heads have reached a decent
size. If they are still small and tightly wrapped in too many layers then they probably
need to be left a little longer. If there are too few layers and the bulbs are
beginning to split then you have probably left it too long and need to
get the garlic picked as quickly as possible.
One your garlic harvest has been picked, don't leave it laying on the ground. Too much sun
can "burn" the garlic and cause its taste to deteriorate. Instead get it inside
quickly, brush off the soil (don't wash it!) and leave hanging in a
dry place for a couple of weeks.
Please read the site terms of use.
| 
