Drying Garlic

Jasoncmor

Jasoncmor

Jasoncmor

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13 Feb 2010
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Bournemouth
Hi all.
Does anyone here grow garlic?
Just harvested mine and have just started the drying process.
I don't have anywhere ideal to dry it.
Ideal conditions so i've read is a cool dry well ventilated area, and also avoid sunlight.
So I've currently got it in a cardboard box in the garage with an old computer fan connected to a car battery to help the air flow, which should dry it out. The garage pongs of garlic which aint too bad to be fair :)

Anyone else have drying garlic or have any other ideas?







 
Get some tights (or stockings if you must) and put each bulb in and tie a knot after each one then hang them in the corner of a room, should work, it will take a couple of months to dry.

Or failing that platt the greens together and hang them.
 
I think well ventilated just means "not in a closed cupboard where they'll develop damp". As mentioned above hanging in a decent size room is probably fine.

Nice harvest! I'm not really into gardening but would love to do some basic veg and stuff like garlic :)
 
Hate to have to say it, but you have pulled them too early.
You want to wait until the tops are far less green. This time of year you shouldn't water, but if they get natural water fine, but leave them in the ground.

Ideally you want to wait until the majority of the top is dry then pull them, leaving them on the surface for a day or 2 if its going to be dry as that will help the outside to harden up as well.

When they do get pulled we hang ours outside under cover, they are very very few pests that will go after garlic, the french are the only ones off the top of my head ;)

Garlic is easy to grow and looks fine in borders etc, if I didnt have an allotment its one of the things I would grow in the garden personally.
 
We just took ours out, rinsed it off (controversial I know), and left it laid out on a rack in the glasshouse for a few days. They got dried out in the sun, then put in a paper bag so they wouldn't get damp. Last year the bag just sat out in the kitchen, this year my wife has it hanging in a cupboard.

Yours do look good, but I'd agree they are out a bit early. The green leaves on top should be yellowing and dying back before you pull them out of the ground.
 
Cheers for your replies guys.

There was a number of yellow leaves on the garlic that also died back and I assume got blown off due to the wind, it's quite windy in my area.

Hopefully if I did pull them too early they are going to be alright, good learning curve though as it's the first time I've grown garlic :)
 
Jasoncmor said:
Cheers for your replies guys.

There was a number of yellow leaves on the garlic that also died back and I assume got blown off due to the wind, it's quite windy in my area.

Hopefully if I did pull them too early they are going to be alright, good learning curve though as it's the first time I've grown garlic :)
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They should be fine you just need to be careful for a week or 2 until they have dried out more. Did you plant them spring or last winter?
The only reason to leave them in longer is that they are drier when pulled and hence they are easier to keep with far less chance of mould etc.
Unless you have a risk of rain I would get them outside for a few days and get the sun to dry them.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
They should be fine you just need to be careful for a week or 2 until they have dried out more. Did you plant them spring or last winter?
The only reason to leave them in longer is that they are drier when pulled and hence they are easier to keep with far less chance of mould etc.
Unless you have a risk of rain I would get them outside for a few days and get the sun to dry them.
Click to expand...

I planted them in spring :)
Once they have dried out, they aren't going to last long as garlic regularly in our house hold lol.

Cheers
 
Grown crops for last couple of years and just pulling when leaves are browning and drying.
Laid for a day or two whilst weather was good then plaited and hung in the kitchen out of direct sunlight.
Last year's crop should be nearly finished when I harvest this lot.

First crop was bulb from the super market which did well, but have since switched to Picardy, mersley and Solent Wight.
 
Small update

Think they are ruined!

They have been drying now for nearly 6 weeks, the outer skin is all wrinkly and the inside is all soft and squidgy, should have left them longer!
Oh well, first time growing garlic and it was fun, just will know better for next year.

Cheers
 
My wife harvested our Garlics whilst i was out of the country (about 5 weeks ago now), she just trimmed them and laid them on an upturned veg tray for ventilation. That seems to have done the trick.

I've recently harvested all our onions (probably about 30 or 40 in total), Plaited them and hung them up in our shed/outbuilding to dry them out.

Jasoncmor said:
Small update

Think they are ruined!

They have been drying now for nearly 6 weeks, the outer skin is all wrinkly and the inside is all soft and squidgy, should have left them longer!
Oh well, first time growing garlic and it was fun, just will know better for next year.

Cheers
Click to expand...

This is our first time growing our own Veg, A little trick i was told for garlic was to plant them on the Shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest.
 
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I've started pulling some of the garlic I planted last October/November. Once up, I get as much mud off as possible and leave them in a seed tray in the greenhouse for a few days. Once dry, they move to the garage to be cool & dark - stores pretty well in there.
 
Will be planting some out October time to give them a go.
Yet to pick and dry my onions, the tops are bending and have folded them down so nearly there!
Only seriously got in to growing veg this year with a raised bed and a number of 50L tubs.
The initial expense was relatively high for my yield this year but now apart from a few seeds, the next few years should be almost nil (diy compost and freebie manure from stables down the road.)
 
gort said:
Will be planting some out October time to give them a go.
Yet to pick and dry my onions, the tops are bending and have folded them down so nearly there!
Only seriously got in to growing veg this year with a raised bed and a number of 50L tubs.
The initial expense was relatively high for my yield this year but now apart from a few seeds, the next few years should be almost nil (diy compost and freebie manure from stables down the road.)
Click to expand...

This will be the 2nd time I've got into growing veg, first time was when I was living at home I made some raised beds, but after the first year, my job meant I had no time for it anymore, so now I've moved out and got a new job, I am using containers, and have built multiple planters out of wooden pallets, so they has reduced some costs for me, although I've spent a fortune on compost.
It's been a fun season, I've put a lot of effort into growing stuff this year, the first year of getting back into growing my own, and still have onions, potatoes, herbs, chilli's, peppers, and a few other small things growing.
Would love to make my own compost, did it years ago but since moved out so haven't got the space where I currently live, so will probably have to buy a load more next season.
 
Noakesy85 said:
My wife harvested our Garlics whilst i was out of the country (about 5 weeks ago now), she just trimmed them and laid them on an upturned veg tray for ventilation. That seems to have done the trick.

I've recently harvested all our onions (probably about 30 or 40 in total), Plaited them and hung them up in our shed/outbuilding to dry them out.



This is our first time growing our own Veg, A little trick i was told for garlic was to plant them on the Shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest.
Click to expand...

Cheers for that, I will have to remember that for next season!
 
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