Harvesting 2008 Garlic Crop

We harvest our garlic when the first 3 bottom leaves of the garlic have turned brown.  The hardneck varieties are very easy to harvest, a quick pull at the bottom of the plant and it slips right out of the ground.  If you plant softneck varieties, which we do to make garlic braids (softneck garlic tends to have a longer shelf life than hardneck garlic) you may need to use a small trowel to dig the bulbs out.

We transported the garlic to the barn in the back of our vehicle. 

In 2007 we planted 250 lbs of garlic and our yeild was 1400 lbs. 

Drying the Garlic

We dry our garlic in the upstairs of our barn on benches.  We have the windows open with fans pushing the air in one window and out the other - this ensures that the garlic will be well ventilated.  We build the drying tables out of chicken wire and wood.  The garlic is placed on the chicken wire allowing the air to freely move around the garlic.