When to harvest garlic. Harvesting garlic. Storing garlic Is it time to harvest winter garlic?

Garlic is a plant equally loved by culinary specialists, doctors and gardeners. It is not difficult to grow, it does not require any special conditions, and also - it grows both in winter and in summer. Properly harvesting garlic and then storing it can allow you to enjoy your harvest for a long time.

Winter garlic - one that sits down for the winter. It is usually harvested a hundred days after shoots have appeared above the ground. If we translate this into numbers that are familiar to us, then it is worth doing the assembly of winter crops at the end of July and at the beginning of August.

It is worth moving on to the collection when the lower leaves have dried up, and the upper ones have turned a little yellow, the shells of the air bulbs have burst, and seeds - bulbs are visible in them. Only rather large heads are recommended for digging, or it is better to sort them during the transition to saving blanks for planting.

The main thing is to be careful that your bulbs do not break too easily into cloves - this is a sign that the plant is already overripe.

A garlic harvester will help you speed up the harvesting process and improve its technology. This machine removes the bulb from the soil along with the stem, clearing it of clods of earth. Saving the haulm for long-term storage, she knits the garlic into bunches and rolls them out for easy picking.

When to Dig Up Spring Garlic

The second name of spring garlic is summer. It begins to ripen at the end of August, closer to the beginning of September. When you observe the yellowing of the stems and leaves, you can be sure that the garlic is ready for harvesting. The root neck dries up, the onion is hard and dried up. All these are signs of ripe spring garlic.

But, if you do not have specialized equipment, then it is quite possible to do the cleaning by hand. It is necessary to cut the arrows, dig up the bulbs a little and carefully, avoiding injury, remove the garlic from the ground. The crop is laid out in rows so that it dries out during the day. Then it is collected in a special room, where it is additionally dried for several weeks already with cut stems and roots. It is recommended to leave at least a centimeter of the stem, and when cutting the roots, do not damage the bottom.

Storage rules

Storing garlic is not much different from storing all other crops. It is necessary to prevent high humidity in the room in order to prevent the development of fungus or mold. The allowable rate is from forty to fifty percent. It is necessary to ensure that the room has adequate ventilation. Due to the fact that large bulbs are best stored, it is recommended to sort the crop by size before storing.

At home, this vegetable is stored in braids or wreaths, fifteen or seventeen onions each. An alternative to this method is storage in bundles, or small brooms. By tying the bulbs into small panicles, they are hung from the ceiling, choosing the least wet corner.

Video “When and how to harvest garlic”

From this video you will learn everything about harvesting garlic.

Garlic is grown in every garden and it is important to know not only how to plant it correctly, but also how to harvest it. Growing a vegetable is a simple matter, but the harvest time cannot be missed. A crop harvested at the wrong time will not be stored and will begin to rot or dry out in a short time. When harvesting garlic is carried out correctly, it is stored without loss of its quality until the next season.

Two types of vegetables (spring and winter) are harvested at different times, just like they are planted. This feature is also taken into account. By carefully observing your beds, it is easy to determine the moment when you need to start removing garlic from the garden.

What is the danger of early and late collection

If the gardener harvests an immature crop, then the teeth turn out to be soft and quickly deteriorate. The practice of digging up slightly unripe garlic, which will fully ripen already at the time of drying, takes place, but there are many risks with it. If the weather is damp, the heads will not be able to ripen and will disappear. Because of this, it is not worth taking risks and removing garlic from the garden ahead of time.

An overripe vegetable will also not be stored. In this case, there is a high risk that the teeth will grow even with proper storage. In addition, the husks of the heads will crack, and then the teeth will be left without natural protection, they will begin to mold and rot. The vegetable will also dry out earlier, since the moisture from it will evaporate much faster without the husk.

signs of ripeness

There are a number of signs of plant ripeness, focusing on which digging should be carried out. Such indicators mean technical maturity, after which the final formation of bulbs that can be fully stored occurs only after drying. The fact that it is necessary to harvest is evidenced by:

yellowing of the lower leaves;
the beginning of the drying of the films on the inflorescence and its opening;
shooter alignment - if a shooter variety is planted;
falling stems.

When these signs appear, it is necessary to dig up the garlic head and check it for the ability to separate into teeth. If it divides easily, then it's time to dig a crop.

signs of maturation

There is no exact date when the crop matures. Of course, there are general guidelines, but you still need to look at the signs of maturity. In the Middle lane, it is necessary to collect garlic planted in the fall from about July 12 - the day of Saints Peter and Paul and until the end of the month. To the north they dig up the crop later for 10-14 days. In the southern regions, the vegetable is harvested 2-3 weeks earlier. Dates are indicative only and may vary depending on the type of vegetable and the weather.

Garlic planted in spring should be harvested from mid-August to September. It is stored better than winter, but requires particularly strict adherence to the harvest period. As soon as there are signs of ripeness of the plant, it is dug up.

What to do to improve the harvest

To get a quality crop, before harvesting the plant, it must first be properly prepared. This has been done since straightening the arrows of garlic. Preparation will improve the condition of the heads and accelerate their full maturation. The straightening of the arrows is an external sign of the beginning of the pouring of garlic. It is necessary that the plant spend all its energy on them.

Preparation can be carried out only in dry summer. In wet weather, it is necessary to leave the plant as it is, so as not to disturb the process of maturation of the heads, which can be complicated due to unfavorable conditions.

The heads will increase significantly in size if you tie the leaves in a knot. This improves the nutrition of the underground part. However, at the same time, the ripening period of garlic will increase by 10-14 days, and therefore it is necessary to know at least an approximate weather forecast. If rains are coming, it is better not to lengthen the ripening period.

Partial raking of the earth improves the respiration of the underground part of the vegetable and accelerates its ripening by 3-5 days. The method is appropriate to apply if necessary, early digging of garlic according to weather conditions.

Collection of spring (summer) garlic

You can harvest spring garlic as soon as its root neck begins to dry out. Since the last weeks of August are mostly rainy, the day for harvesting is chosen according to the weather. It should be dry and windy during cleaning so that the heads dry out faster.

There are special harvesters with which they dig up garlic, but gardeners usually do without them. They dig with a shovel or pitchfork, retreating from a row of 10 cm, so as not to damage the heads. With soft, loose soil, it is most convenient to pull out the garlic with your hands. Before you start pulling it out of the garden, you need to rake the earth from the heads a little.

Garlic is placed in rows along in 1 layer for ventilation.

Slightly dried heads are collected and tied in bundles, hung up for final drying. This is done under a canopy, if rain is not expected and indoors, when there is high humidity outside. It is more convenient to cut the roots before hanging the vegetable to dry. It is important to remove them carefully so as not to damage the bottom of the head. For this, it is more convenient to use scissors, not a knife. The stems are cut after the crop has dried. In order for the heads to be well stored, it is necessary to leave a stem 2-4 cm long. The entire drying of the crop, depending on the conditions and size of the bulbs, takes from 3 to 6 weeks.

Collection of winter garlic

The winter variety (the one that is planted before winter) should be harvested about 100 days after its seedlings appeared above the ground in the spring. In late spring or cold rainy summer, it is necessary to dig up winter garlic for 120-130 days for the crop to ripen.

Such garlic must be harvested in the same way as spring garlic.

Harvesting in the middle of summer greatly facilitates the process, since at this time it will be possible to dry it under a canopy, and this is better and easier than indoors.

Before drying, it is necessary to thoroughly clean all the heads from the ground and only after that hang them for drying. When dried with the ground, garlic is more often affected by fungal diseases and then it is not stored.

Drying rules

Gardeners dry garlic in different ways. Someone prefers to leave the crop outside if possible, while someone dries garlic only indoors. There is also a mixed drying method, when during the day the vegetable is taken out into the street, and in the evening it is brought into the room. This avoids dampness due to nighttime temperature jumps. More often this is done when harvesting a plant at the end of August, when the nights become cold.

When drying outside in the sun, the heads should be covered with leaves to protect against sunburn, due to which the keeping quality is lost.

Storage

Dry vegetables are sorted before being sent to storage. First of all, all heads that have begun to rot, or heads with damage, are removed. They should be consumed as soon as possible and kept in the refrigerator in a paper bag. The rest of the harvest is distributed by size. If a landing is planned in spring or autumn, then the largest heads are left for it.

Keep the heads in a dark, cool place with low humidity. You can put the vegetable in ventilated boxes and baskets, as well as paper bags. It is also convenient to tie the heads with a thread and hang them up. In this case, the risk of their decay due to lack of ventilation is minimal.

A stored vegetable should be sorted out once a month to identify heads that have begun to deteriorate. Usually, after proper drying, they can appear only at the end of winter.

Common mistakes

Beginner gardeners often make mistakes, due to which the crop is not stored well. The most frequent of them are:

drying heads without leaves;
complete cleaning of the husk;
early end of drying;
storage in plastic bags;
premature go belated digging.

Garlic Harvesting Video

Having become acquainted with all the intricacies of harvesting a vegetable, it is possible to avoid mistakes and the troubles associated with them.

Bulbs are not only as a spicy vegetable, but also as a medicine that has a powerful antiseptic effect. Proper cleaning and storage allow you to indulge in sharp teeth until the new season.

Harvesting is the most pleasant and painstaking work, because you need to do everything right and on time. In order for garlic to be preserved for a long time and of high quality, it is very important to collect it on time. Therefore, it is very important to know the main signs that indicate that the garlic is already ready for harvesting. Knowledge is also important, which will allow you to harvest not only on time, but also correctly. Due to this, the harvested crop can be stored for a long period, and it will be of excellent quality.

Harvest dates for spring and winter garlic

Depending on the type of garlic you grow, you need to know when to harvest spring and winter garlic. Signs that indicate that winter garlic is already ripe include:

yellowing of the lower leaves;
cracking of the inflorescence wrapper;
the scales on the bulb become thin and dry.

Depending on weather conditions, winter garlic is harvested in mid or late July. If the summer is dry, then the harvest is carried out earlier, if the summer is wet, then the harvest is carried out a little later.

Signs that indicate the ripening of spring garlic include:

yellowing of all leaves;
stem lodging;

In most cases, spring garlic is harvested in the second half of August.

Why is it important to harvest garlic on time?

When you harvest your garlic crop depends on its quality and shelf life. If you harvest at the wrong time, there will be a significant deterioration in product quality, namely:

The scales that cover the bulbs will crack and thus the garlic will quickly deteriorate.
The bulbs will break into teeth.
New roots will develop at the bottom of each prong, allowing them to burrow deep into the ground and take root.

If such bulbs or individual prongs are harvested, they will be of poor enough quality to be eaten and spoil rather quickly.

The most favorable days for picking garlic are dry and fairly warm days. In rainy weather, it is better not to collect garlic, especially if you want to store it for a long time. Also, it is desirable to collect the garlic in the first half of the day, so that during the other half it has time to dry out at least a little.
Harvesting garlic on time gives great hope that you can store the harvest for a long time. Therefore, it is important to monitor your plantings of spring and winter garlic well in order to notice signs of ripening in time and harvest.

Growing garlic is not difficult, but it has its own characteristics. They should be known and taken into account so that your garlic grows and tastes good. Today we will talk about when garlic is harvested for storage.

First of all, you need to distinguish garlic by planting time. It is planted both in spring and autumn. Moreover, in the spring you can only plant, and in the fall - both spring and winter (shooting). So let's find out how to know when to harvest garlic.

When to harvest winter (winter) garlic?

Shooting garlic is harvested approximately 100-110 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Depending on the climatic conditions in the region, this happens at the beginning or at the end of July. For example, in Ukraine and in central Russia, there is an unspoken rule among the people: winter garlic is harvested on July 12, on the Orthodox feast of the apostles Peter and Paul. By this time, it will be completely formed and will be ready for storage. You should not delay harvesting garlic, otherwise it will “sit out” in the ground and will not be stored well. However, it should not be removed before the deadline. Any garlic must be harvested in dry weather. Otherwise, heads of garlic dug out of damp soil will rot, and the entire crop will quickly deteriorate.

Remove garlic from the soil carefully, trying not to damage its roots. It is advisable to use a small garden shovel or fork for this. Shake off the earth from the roots, and then spread the garlic on the bed to dry. If your nights are damp or cool, then at night it is better to transfer the garlic to the room. It takes 2-3 days. Or you can bring the harvested crop under a canopy and hang it there.

Wait until the garlic is completely dry before cutting off the roots and stems. The fact is that the beneficial substances from them continue to “flow” into the bulb until the plant dries. The roots are cut off almost completely, and a cutting 10-15 cm long is left from the stem. However, this measure is not necessary: if you store the garlic tied in pigtails, the stems can not be shortened.

Store winter garlic in a cool, dark and dry place. You can hang it or put it in a box. Watch the temperature in the room: it should not be allowed to be too high. Then the garlic bulbs will begin to sprout, and such a plant will no longer be suitable for food. However, keep in mind: garlic will not lie for a long time. Winter garlic harvest is recommended to be eaten or used for preservation until the beginning of autumn, when it begins to deteriorate. Then spring garlic is used for food, which will be stored all winter.

When to harvest spring garlic planted in autumn?

The rules for collecting such garlic are similar to those listed in the previous section. But the timing will be different. Spring garlic is harvested when winter garlic is already harvested, 3-4 weeks later. This usually happens in August.

However, the weather is changeable, and sometimes the plant itself signals that it is time to dig it up. If its leaves turn yellow or completely die, and the arrow (inflorescence with small cloves) is cracked, then the garlic is ready for harvesting. A strong dry scale will also be a signal of its maturation - you will see it if you carefully dig one of the bulbs to check.

If this year's harvest is stored for a long time and does not deteriorate, and its taste remains at its best, then you have harvested garlic on time and store it correctly. Remember under what conditions it was done, and next year you will not have problems with it.

As you can see, growing and harvesting garlic is not difficult at all. If you have a summer cottage, be sure to plant garlic on it. It will make your meals tastier and healthier.