Store your garlic bulbs the right way and they will last till the next harvest! Last night Teresa and I made homemade broccoli cheese soup and I wanted to add my prize garlic from my special stash area. We were surprized to see it so fresh. ONE OF MY SECRETS FOR LONG TIME STORAGE IS: * Cut stalks and hang them by themselves or in onion sack. * A cool, dry, and dark area. * Let them cure: Under good home storage conditions a solid, well-cured, well-wrapped garlic bulb will keep 6 to 8 months or longer. The actual keeping time is affected by variety and other factors. Store garlic at a cool, stable room temperature. A temperature of 15 - 18°C (60 - 65°F) with moderate humidity and some air circulation works well. * We hang our garlic in mesh bags unpeeled we store separated bulbs in paper bags. Dont separate cloves, leave on the bulb (cluster) and use as you need them! You can also gather the garlic into bunches, tie them up, and hang them from their stems. If you’re feeling crafty, you can even braid the stems, just like the beautiful ones you see in Italian restaurants. * Do not remove the leaves while the garlic is curing. The bulb continues to draw energy from the leaves and roots until all that moisture evaporates. Keeping the leaves intact also helps to prevent fungi or other lurking garden contaminants from spoiling the garlic before it’s fully cured. * After a month (or possibly up to two months, if your weather has been humid), the roots should look shriveled and feel stiff like a bottle brush, and the leaves should be completely brown and dried. Its time. In this area (picture below) I have some of my garlics still hanging on the original stalk. This has been hanging along with some others since last July. It was fresh and tasty. I will harvest new ones this July and start the cycle again. Oh, by the way this is NOT a bulb its just ONE clove from the bulb beside one of our farm eggs! Need to click on pictures and advance arrow to see the hanging bulbs. This gives some ideas of how to do it, but not all: wikihow/Store-Fresh-Garlic
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 18:43:38 +0000
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