When do i know garlic is ready to harvest

In Canada and the Northern United States, garlic is usually harvested from mid-July to mid-August depending on the region and type of garlic being grown.

In warmer regions like the Southern United States, the garlic harvest can start as early as June. Although calendar dates can help determine when to harvest garlic in a certain location, they should only be used as a guideline. Garlic maturity and harvest times can be heavily dependant on weather conditions and locations.

Spring emergence, summer temperatures and moisture conditions all have an effect on when the garlic plants mature and when they will be ready for harvest.

This means that garlic harvesting dates can shift by up to one or two weeks from year to year. It is not a surprise that different garlic varieties are ready to harvest at different times. This can make things tricky if you have a number of different types of garlic in your garden or field. Although knowing the type of garlic you are growing will not give you a specific time when to harvest, it can help you to be prepared for when to start observing the plants.

Generally, Asiatic and Turban garlic varieties will be harvested on the early side. They tend to mature very quickly and need to be harvested before they lose too many bulb rappers and split open. I had an interesting experience where I had some scapes in my kitchen I never got around to eating. Bulbils that you mentioned above maybe? They were like miniature cloves and delicious on pasta. Is my first year growing so thank you on the harvesting advice!

These full grown bulbils harvested in late July can be planted on mid October, exactly the same as planting clove. It take much less space, in other words, much sense and can save cloves to use as seeds. By next July dig these out the size of a quarter, rap in the paper and replant in October, again all the same time frame, this will grow as a full bulb in the July second year. I live in western Minnesota have both clove and bulbils growing.

Hi, Carol. I usually cut when it has made a circle and a little bit, but before the scape gets tough. My garlics are a hardneck variety, left in the garden overwinter to seed my sister gave me some shoots last spring and they fully died back before I could harvest them. While they were the first thing to grow in the spring, they did not produce any scapes except one whose stalk did not fully emerge before the flower opened from the center of the plant.

What am I doing wrong? This was my first year successfully growing garlic and I missed the right harvesting time. Is there anything I can do to save them or have I ruined my harvest? Hi, Megan. Like this. Plus around now I make all my tomato sauce and various soups with fresh produce to freeze for offseason use…and some of my garlic crop goes into those. Many thanks. Totally new to growing anything but decided last October to plant cloves from this really great local garlic I bought. For the future in Zone 6 should I have waited until late July, early August?

Im in zone 4b and have been growing hardneck garlics for several years. Once they turn brown, they wither so check at ground level. We are newbies planting garlic and harvested last night after cutting off the scapes a few days ago.

Have great stalks which I will cut and use…. I planted my garlic last fall SW Mich. I have a shoot on top that is kind of curling around and seems to be growing a head on it. Do I leave them in the ground yet, is that growth on top going to hurt the garlic bulbs? My first time growing garlic.

Cut it off, chop it up and put it in stir fry or vinegar to use as a dressing. Once you cut it off, you will have a couple of weeks to a month until your garlic is ready to be harvested!

Well, its a SW Michigan get together!!!! My goal is to find the ones that grow best in our climate. Those scapes taste great in a simple pesto recipe. Spread it on bread for garlic bread or over some noodles.

We also make scrambled eggs with scapes chopped up in them. I might give those another year and then remove them from my arsenal if they show no signs of improvement.

I have only pulled one of mine from the ground and it was very small. I do not know what kind of garlic it is. Hoping the remainder has gotten some growth on them. We planted garlic last November and we got really busy this summer. We never had time to harvest all of it. Can we leave the bulbs in the ground until next summer? Or do we need to harvest them now and then what do we do with the sprouted cloves?

I always store it in a canvas shpping bag. All but last year it keeps great. Last year i hung the bag in a closet and i believe that is why it didnt keep as well. I live in Western NYS and have planted garlic for years. In these parts, Bastille Day July 14 is the day to harvest the garlic. I store my garlic in my basement and no matter what by early April it starts to rot.

I read a few months ago to store the garlic about 6 bulbs each in small paper bags with holes punched in it. Has anyone ever tried this? I hate losing any of my garlic, but worse than that is buying garlic in the grocery store; it has no taste. I planted my first crop of garlic in October. When do you plant it that it is ready July 14th?

Most northern climates should have garlic in the ground by the first frost no later than early November. It takes about 8 months to mature. Ainniz, I have been planting garlic for 18 years. Have tried storing cool and storing warm. Tried hanging in small bunches etc. What I do now is at first of the year, peel all garlic while still very firm.

Put in food processor and mince. If need to add some good olive oil while mincing. I use a paper punch and punch a lot of holes in a large paper grocery bag and store my garlic on the top shelf in my pantry.

It works great. I save all my mesh bags—-from oranges etc—I planted in oct at 2 week intervals and just cut the scapes in june—-in surrey BC. Hi there. Thanks for a helpful post. One however seems to have had its top completely lopped off by a squirrel. Should I pull it out? Or can it survive without its top greenery?

Apologies for the late response to this question, but for future reference, you should pull out any garlic in that situation and use it right away. It will not continue to grow without its leaves. Can you leave a bulbs in the ground each year to keep dividing, and raise them as a perennial crop like multiplying onions? I have had garlic in same place for 36 yrs. I live in the south. I have no idea what the name of the garlic is.

This garlic comes up around January and then it will have large seeded blooms. I have an extensive garlic crop growing, and, I am waiting, but, I have found in my climate, you just keep planting it, and you will get a crop throughout the year.

I do use the leaves often in cooking. They are sweet, sharp and have the good garlic flavor, so, to me, the plant can be utilized before harvest. And, to germinate the cloves is easy. Stagger the planting, and over time you can have an abundance of garlic. I live in California zone 9. In your experience would my climate be suitable for year round garlic planting and harvesting? What I am doing is always germinating cloves to plant at any time of the year.

You have to wait though as the winter months have less sunshine and the angle of the sun in relationship to the Earth is such that any obstruction, tree, fence, etc, limits the available direct sunlight. So, the time to harvest does vary. Now, if you want to get your garlic ahead of things and know if you have a viable plant, do this.

Get the very thin kebab skewers and take single cloves, with the skin on, and rack them up. You will also see definite roots.

I did transplant some of the garlic from a big pot to a garden soil. That was a death blow! I harvested some, but, I am disappointed. However, I just keep germinating the cloves. And, the key is keeping them in the same soil. So, the really healthy ones failed…. But, I have to admit…. There was a large cat that decided to choose this area for napping!

Oh well……. Garlic leaves are one of my favorite things to cook with! What amazes me most is the number of crops you get off of it. Early in the year the leaves start growing, my grandaughter and I chop them off all the time and munch them raw. Pick the best ones for next years planting and start all over again.

I love your top-to-tail use of garlic. Nevertheless I generally get a good harvest. So we eat the over- and under-ripe garlic first, and the rest can keep in a cool place until around the time of the next harvest … although a few cloves will have sprouted or gone mouldy by then. We live on a small property. We have fruit trees, some espaliered, including apples, plums, peaches, citrus and feijoas. We have a couple of grape vines and some blueberry bushes.

I love to grow tomatoes in the season. It is winter here and we are picking lettuce, rocket, kale, swiss chard, parsley, mint and the leaves from some young broad beans. I have two questions. Thanks so much for your guidance. For the outdoor garlic, early sprouting can happen in the fall during especially warm spells. Once really cold weather hits, it will stop growing and resume in the spring.

I would add a bit of mulch to the garden straw or shredded leaves to act as a bit of an insulator for the winter. Hi Tara, thank you for this article.

I planted my bulbs about 2 weeks ago and just noticed that I have some shape. What should I do with them so that my garlic survives the winter? Hi Janelle, do you mean the garlic is sprouting in the garden? I put a layer of straw over my garlic bed as a winter mulch. Great article! Planted garlic for first time in fall. Interested in seeing how it does. Have extra space.

Every now and then, will have back to back days in the mid 40s. Is it too late to plant garlic now, in mid Jan? Thanks, Keith. There are tips on planting garlic in the spring! Hi, Thanks for the info ,my quastion is I have planted garlic last Septermber ,its servive the whole winter and still healthy but i dont know when to harvest.

Theres no scapes on the plant grow yet. Hi Naznain, My guess is that your scapes have started to come up since you asked the question.

If not, you could be growing soft neck garlic. The best time to plant garlic in Ontario is in the fall. Any advice for garlic problems? I just removed the scapes, but my leaves are fairly yellow, some streaky, but not yet brown. The bulbs are small but seem firm when I spot check. Another variety right next to it is still green. Any suggestions on what may be wrong, when to harvest? There could also be some deficiency in the soil. I live in NW Montana.

I planted some store bought garlic this spring since it started sending off green shoots. I would like to re-plant them in the fall. What do I need to do to prepare them for a re-planting?

Question: how often and how much should a raised bed of garlic be watered? But I would water about every three to five days if there has been no rain. Why is it necessary to wait for the scapes to curl? Would it be better to just snip them off and use them of course as soon as you identify them so the plant puts the energy back into the bulb? Thanks so much! Hi Darlene, One curl should be fine!

Tara, Thank you for the helpful site that I will use for my next planting season. This year I did not cut the scapes and all the leaves are brown at this time? An i still harvest the garlic, cure the bulbs and still use the garlic?