Mine doesn't have a soft enough neck to braid it. It must be hardneck then, I have to cut the stalk off with a pair of handpruners. Maybe the hard neck variety needs to be knocked over and not the soft neck, that will fall of it's own accord.
You are going to absolutely love home-grown garlic, Miss Liberty! I don't knock over the tops of the garlic because we plant so much that I don't want to have to harvest it all at the same time. By letting it fall over naturally, I can handle the pulling, cleaning, hanging in the barn to cure, and the (ahem) smell. If we start selling it at several outlets next year, I may knock and spend a week with my garlic. Be sure to mulch, as Carolyn suggested. It's very hard to weed garlic without disturbing the bulbs, and the fewer weeds, the better!
