Garlic In The House

wire and wooden basket full of cured garlic bulbs

So here’s my garlic harvest and resulting stash for the year. I mostly planted the soft-neck variety Inchelium Red, but there’s a little California Early and a few Elephant Garlic as well. But Inchelium Red is definitely my favorite.

Now I know I’ve written a couple of blog posts already about garlic. You can read them both - “How To Choose Which Garlic To Plant” and “Growing Garlic: How Do You Know When It’s Time To Harvest? And Then What?” But here’s the thing - I LOVE garlic! I basically add it to everything that I make. It just adds that little extra special something to an otherwise good dish. So this post probably won’t be my last about garlic.

freshly harvested garlic in field

Freshly harvested garlic needs to cure for about a month. I hang my garlic in bunches of 10 from the ceiling in our basement - cool and dark is key. Don’t rinse your garlic when you harvest it, but gently brush off any excess dirt before hanging it to dry. Once it’s cured, you’ll removed the extra white wrappers, trim the roots and stem and brush off whatever dirt remains.

stored garlic hanging in mesh bags

Once my garlic is all clean and trimmed, I store it in these mesh bags in the pantry. I bought these mesh bags on Amazon - in a pack of 5. I’ve had them for 3 years and they’ve really held up well.

Usually my garlic will last a whole year - until the next bulbs are harvested and cured. A couple of times I’ve had bulbs last longer. That’s when I chop up the cloves, dry them in my dehydrator and use a coffee bean grinder to make garlic powder. Have to make room for the new harvest!

cover of garlic guide for your raised bed kitchen garden

So if you’re interested in planting garlic this year - I’ve got you covered. Get my free 12-page downloadable PDF guide - all about planting, growing and harvesting garlic. I promise - you can do it!

And you’ll need to place your garlic order soon. Lot’s of seed companies carry seed garlic, but they will sell out. Here are 2 of my favorite sources: Southern Exposure Seed Company and Irish Eyes.


Previous
Previous

Chronic Inflammation - It’s Everywhere

Next
Next

Garden Experiment: Hardy Annuals