Learn how to cure and store garlic for long term storage. With this simple, traditional process, you’ll be happily reaching for your own home grown garlic all winter long.
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Growing garlic is one of the easiest things to grow in the garden, plus it’s one of my favorites. It’s usually the first thing popped up in the garden in the spring after the long, cold winter, promising hope of harvest to come. And it also gives you garlic scapes- and awesome by-product of the garlic’s growth (and a great base for pizza!).
Once the garlic leaves begin to turn yellow (about 30%-40% yellow), it’s time to start preparing to cure and store the garlic for long term storage. This traditional process of curing garlic for long term storage is pretty straightforward and mostly-hands off. When the process is done, you’ll have garlic that tastes as fresh as you pulled it all winter long.
Table of Contents
- What does it mean to cure the garlic?
- Steps on how to cure and store garlic
- Using cured and stored garlic as seed cloves
- Save this Post!
- More Posts to Check Out
What does it mean to cure the garlic?
Curing is a traditional process used to preserve food for longer periods of time by salting, drying, or smoking. In the case of most produce, curing involves keeping the vegetable within a certain climate condition for a short amount of time so that it can dry, and then storing it in another climate condition long term. The process of curing garlic involves drying the garlic in a well-ventilated, shaded area, then moving into a cool area with low-humidity for long term storage.
Steps on how to cure and store garlic
Once you’ve picked your garlic, there are just a few simple steps for curing it to store long term.
- Gently remove excess dirt from your garlic cloves, though note that the dirt will fall off during the curing process if you miss any. Do not wash or scrub your garlic bulbs.
- Gather your garlic in groups of 5-7 bulbs. Tie the tops together using a strong string.
- Hang your garlic in a well-ventilated, shaded area off the ground. We tie ours to chairs on our covered front porch, and we’ve always had great success with curing.
- Allow the garlic to cure for at least 2 weeks. The garlic will be ready for long term storage once the skin of the bulbs and the leaves have turned brown and crispy.
- After the garlic has been cured, cut off the leaves and root hairs.
- Store the garlic in a cool area with good air flow. A basket in a cool, dry basement works well. Humidity can cause mold and/or sprouting from the garlic.
- Properly cured garlic should last in ideal conditions for 8-10 months.
Using cured and stored garlic as seed cloves
Late the following fall, if you still have any garlic leftover, consider using it as seed cloves. We have had success with this, and saving your own seed means not needing to rely on the store!
To plant your garlic, simply remove each clove from the bulb and place it with the pointy top facing up into a shallow hole in the ground. Cover it with a layer of mulch and in the spring you’ll have a new crop of garlic ready to start the whole process over again. That’s pretty cool!
Save this Post!
Be sure to save this post to Pinterest so that you can always have handy how to cure and store garlic on your own homestead.
More Posts to Check Out
Looking for more on growing and preserving food from the homestead? Check out some of these posts!
- WHAT TO PLANT NOW IN JULY IN WISCONSIN FOR A FALL HARVEST
- WHAT TO PLANT NOW IN AUGUST IN WISCONSIN
- HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN STOCK FROM WHOLE CHICKEN CARCASS
- STRAWBERRY JAM FOR CANNING | LARGE BATCH, NO PECTIN
- CANNING FOR BEGINNERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING HOME PRESERVATION
- EDIBLE NUT TREES FOR YOUR COLD-HARDY HOMESTEAD
- CHOOSING COLD HARDY TREES FOR YOUR SMALL HOMESTEAD ZONE 4 ORCHARD
- THIS IS WHAT AND HOW MUCH TO PLANT FOR A SELF-SUFFICIENT GARDEN THIS YEAR
- VEGETABLE AND FLOWER COMBINATIONS TO TRY IN YOUR GARDEN THIS YEAR
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