That make a lot of sense.
I'd say most or ours match that criteria but the stems are not at all dry
and 1/2 inch in diameter.
Is it still OK to pick.
Will the stems dry and shrink after picking or will the garlic rot through
them?

Thanks


wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:02:15 -0400, " Frank" wrote:

Planted the garlic end of last summer in central NY.

Just picked one and it looks very nice except that the stem is still green
and big diameter.

Usually we wait until the stems die down but when we then pick them the
outer skins have cracked and do not look good. But the stems are dry and
easy to twist closed.

How can I tell if I should pick the garlic?


We are just in the process of harvesting our garlic.
The system that works for us is to harvest the garlic when many of the
lower leaves have turned brown but, when there are still 4 or 5 green
leaves left at the top of the plant.
Each of these top green leaves translates to one layer of the wrapper
around the bulb. If you wait until all the leaves have turned brown
there will be no protective wrappers and the cloves will all be
exposed. In this condition the bulbs will store very poorly.
Another point, when you are harvesting your garlic, don't leave the
bulbs out in the sun for more than a few minutes. Store them in a
shaded area with lots of ventilation.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada.
AgCanada Zone 5b
43º 17' 28.63" North
80º 13' 28.55" West
To email, remove the "obvious" from my address.