Remember back in Sept when I first got the bulbs?I need to pick your brains about growing Garlic : ) Temporarily they will hang out back in a large net laundry bag. We will be away pretty much all of tomorrow and Saturday so Sunday I will spread them out on newspaper, brush the dirt off and hang them better. Not nearly as large as the bulbs I bought to plant, I think there are about 2 dozen bulbs of varying size. They say ignorance is bliss and since this is my first time with garlic I am blissful over my crop. First garlic crop ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden )
Yummm... garlic! I've been wanting to try to grow some since I use it in everything! I think it looks great! And now that you are experienced at it... I know who to come to with questions next year. That is... if you remind me to plant some! 8)
Congrats Toni, I think any harvest is a good harvest and yours sure looks good. I have had some garlic growing for over a year now and still haven't harvested them yet. I don't know if I will this year or next, but I hope there are plenty of bulbs to grab.
A congratulation is in order for a job well done Toni. CONGRATULATION. Now I want to try to plant garlic again, remember mine look almost like "Scallions on steroids"
Hhmmm how did you know they were ready? I have garlic planted and like KK said they do resenble scallions on steriods. My stalks started to get a lil purple on them. I noticed yesterday. I think when I come home from work I will dig one up to see. Congrats Toni...
Toni, your garlic looks very ready. The cloves look just right. We have been digging one up now and again, checking to see if they're ready. I would say, almost. We dug one row out so I could set out some bean plants that were languishing in pots.
Thanks for liking my garlic harvest. They have been hanging out in the back room for exactly two weeks as of today. Time to check them for dryness? The back room sure smelled good for the first few days but as they dry the fragrance isn't as strong. Mrs. G. I was told not to harvest until after the leaves are dry and brown. You can dig one up to use fresh from the garden but if you want to have them ready to store a few months then wait.
Toni, as a confirmed garlic grower I can assure you your garlic looks great! I've found home-grown garlic is a little more potent than the grocery store variety. I think it's something to do with the drying method.
If it hadn't rained today, I would have dug garlic. The scapes have all fallen, it is ready to come out. I don't want to work in the mud to get it harvested. A couple of weeks drying, and time to pickle!
I have read that we let the leaves turn brown about half way up and the scapes should curl around. Seed Savers Exchange says, Harvest after leaf die back begins, and there are still 5 green leaves remaining on the plant. Do not wait too long or the bulbs will begin to separate in the ground. They also say the scapes should be cut off when 10 inches long as they will inhibit growth if allowed to grow. I have cut about a third of mine off.
Thanks for the encouragement you all. Garlic is something that was never used in my Mom's kitchen...salt and pepper and that was it. The first pizza I ever had was nothing but crust (from a box mix), a can of tomato sauce and dried Parmesan cheese. There was always a can of Paprika but that was for sprinkling on potato salad. We had our first ever homegrown garlic in supper last night, used 3 small cloves and the taste was wonderful. Actually it had a taste, stuff from the grocery store was usually pretty bland. My main concern about the harvest was the small size of the bulbs. The ones I bought to plant were huge so I was kind of disappointed that mine are all so small. But the taste is great so I am not going to let it bother me anymore. I am already planning growing more this year!!
This is an unusual year, weatherwise, so I'm sort of in limbo with garlic harvesting. One looks ready, another looks too closed. To take up or not to take up, that is the question. One head at a time, I reckon.
Nice looking harvest Toni! Did you cut the scapes off? If they are left to grow, they take the energy away from the plant to make a larger bulb. Here's a good link on them...they're tasty too! http://gardening.about.com/od/herbsatoz ... Scapes.htm
