How to Store Garlic
Three Easy Steps for Storing Garlic:
Ideal curing conditions are different from ideal storage conditions. Once your garlic is cured, you need to prepare it for long-term storage. Southern growers have to store their garlic longer than northern growers. Learn some important tips on keeping your garlic fresh for both eating and replanting. How to store garlic from your garden, how to store garlic cloves, and more!
1. Prepare Bulbs for Storage
If you cured your garlic with the stalks intact, cut off the stalks before storage. Leave about 1/2" of neck on top of the bulb to keep the bulb from coming apart at the top. For hardneck varieties, cut straight across the neck rather than at an angle to avoid leaving a painfully sharp point. Inspect all bulbs for mold or rot, and dispose of any soft or damaged bulbs. Brush off dirty outer layers if needed, but be careful to not remove too many layers or the bulb can come apart.
If you cured your garlic in a braid and have room to hang it indoors, no special treatment is needed. Simply move the braid indoors to your storage area without cutting the bulbs from the necks.
2. Choose the Right Storage Container
Garlic needs to breathe for long-term storage. One of my favorite storage containers is an old-fashioned wicker basket. A basket of your fresh garlic makes a lovely dining table centerpiece! Other ideas are wire shelving racks, or recycled produce mesh bags.
Pantry moths can damage garlic. These tiny moth are commonly found in homes, and if you store a lot of garlic or onions they can damage the crop during long-term storage. Pantry moth pheromone traps really help reduce an infestation. Storing the garlic in a fine-screen box that lets in airflow but keeps out the moths is a good preventative method.
If you have more than one variety of garlic, be sure to label them if you plan to save them for seed! Many varieties are hard to distinguish from each other by sight.
3. Use the Right Storage Conditions
Airflow: Garlic needs to breathe but not be in direct airflow. Early in our production, we stored our garlic in a small store room that was closed off from the rest of the house. To compensate for the lack of airflow, we used upright air-purifying fans. This experiment resulted in a lot of dehydrated garlic and high seed loss. Garlic seems to do best in an area with natural airflow rather than direct or forced airflow. In a basket on the kitchen counter works great.
Humidity: Garlic stores best with humidity levels between 45% and 65%. If humidity is too high the garlic may sprout prematurely. If humidity is too low the garlic may dehydrate. For this reason refrigeration of garlic seed is not recommended for long-term storage.
Temperature: Ideal storage temperature is between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower temperatures may trigger premature sprouting and higher temperatures lead to bulb loss. Northern growers may be able to store their bulbs in a shaded outbuilding or shelter and find the garlic keeps well through their short summers. In the south, temperature-controlled storage is necessary.
Quick Facts
If cured properly, garlic should remain viable until planting time in the fall. Northern growers only have to store their garlic about three months. For southern growers it can be six months or longer. So southern growers have to take extra measures to keep their garlic viable longer.
Softneck variteties tend to keep longer than hardneck varieties, and certain softneck varieties keep longer than others. If you grow in the south, it is helpful to choose a variety that is long-storing so that your seed will keep through the long summer storage time.
Small bulbs keep longer than large bulbs. With luck, we hold our large bulbs until planting time, but our small bulbs will often last an entire year. Don’t throw away your smaller bulbs…they are your ticket for a year-round supply of fresh garlic.
Bulbs store longer than cloves. Once cloves are separated from the bulb, they have a limited shelf life. Store whole bulbs rather than cloves.
I hope this answers your questions! Grow your own beautiful garlic with our top-performing seed garlic! Garlic is a nutritious and delicious addition to every garden and kitchen. Free Shipping on Every Order!
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