Harvest garlic: You should pay attention to this

Contents

1.  There are a few things to consider when harvesting garlic. We will tell you the perfect time to harvest and how to proceed correctly. You will also find tips on how to store and preserve the healthy tubers.
   2. Harvest garlic: The most important facts in brief
   3. When and how to harvest garlic?
   4. How to store garlic properly after harvesting?
   5. Can garlic harvested in the garden be stored in the refrigerator?
   6. Our recommendation: pickle garlic and preserve

 There are a few things to consider when harvesting garlic. We will tell you the perfect time to harvest and how to proceed correctly. You will also find tips on how to store and preserve the healthy tubers.

freshly harvested garlic from your own garden is simply something great. 

The specially cultivated garlic cloves taste mild yet spicy, 

their aroma becomes even more intense the longer you store them. 

This makes it all the more important to harvest the healthy 

vegetables properly. With our tips, you can get the delicious 

onions out of the ground undamaged and do everything 

right when storing and preserving them.

Harvest garlic: The most important facts in brief

Garlic can be harvested as soon as the foliage has yellowed 

by two thirds - the time of harvest depends strongly on the planting date. 

Carefully dig out the garlic bulbs with a digging fork so that the bulbs 

are not damaged. In good weather, allow the garlic to dry either directly 

on the bed or in an airy and dark place. You can weave the yellowed 

leaves into plaits to hang the garlic - both decorative and 

practical - in an airy place in the house.

When and how to harvest garlic?

When it can be harvested depends on when you planted the 

garlic - and also a little bit of the variety. 

Garlic is usually planted in the garden in March or April. 

If the plant is planted in spring, the garlic cloves are 

ready for harvesting from mid/end of July. In areas that are not too cold, 

you can also plant the cloves in autumn from September to October. 

Then you can harvest the aromatic bulbs the following spring.

As a rule of thumb, you can harvest the garlic as soon as the 

foliage has yellowed two-thirds of the way through, i.e. the 

above-ground part of the plant has turned from green to yellow.

When the garlic is harvested, the skin around the tubers should still be firm, 

but the individual toes should already be pressing strongly against it. 

If you harvest later, the toes fall apart easily and are more susceptible to diseases.

Loosen the soil around the plants with a digging fork and pull 

the tubers out of the ground by their stems or leaves. 

In this way you do not injure the tubers. 

Harvesting in dry and sunny weather prevents the occurrence of (fungal) diseases.

To dry off, the harvested garlic can be left on the bed 

in dry weather for some time. Hanging the garlic in a dry and airy place, 

such as under a terrace roof, has proven to be very effective. 

When drying outdoors or in the air, 

good air circulation and low humidity are essential. Otherwise, 

the tubers rot quickly. Direct sunlight causes the vegetables to lose minerals.

How to store garlic properly after harvesting?

The storage of garlic is identical to that of onions, i.e. dark, 

cool and dry places are suitable. 

There the garlic bulbs generally keep for between six and eight months.

Weave garlic into braids: After harvesting and drying, 

you can use the dry and rustling leaves to weave garlic bulbs into 

decorative plaits. These can then be stored indoors in an airy, 

dry and cool place. 

The ideal place is one with zero to a maximum 

of four degrees Celsius and a humidity of about 70 percent.

Storing garlic in boxes or net bags: 

The harvested and dried garlic can also be stored in ventilated boxes 

with a maximum height of 20 centimeters or special net bags. 

To do this, you should remove the dry bracts.

Can garlic harvested in the garden be stored in the refrigerator?

In high humidity the roots sprout and the tubers spoil quickly. 

Therefore you should not store garlic in the refrigerator.

Our recommendation: pickle garlic and preserve

You can use the harvested garlic as a seasoning in many 

ways - either raw or steamed. Find out about the different 

varieties before you start growing. While some are particularly suitable 

for storage, others taste very tasty and aromatic when pickled in oil, 

vinegar or alcohol. 

Garlic is often used in combination with other spices 

and herbs to produce aromatic vinegar or oil. 

To do this, peel the cloves of garlic, chop them as required, 

refine them with spices and herbs and soak them in high-quality vinegar or oil.