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?



Thank

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?



Thank



I wait until the majority of the stems have browned. I put
mine in last October in Poughkeepsie (zone 5b), NY and
pulled them the first week of this month. Not sure why yours
would be so far behind but shrug.

--
Steve

Are the outer skins cracked or smooth like in the stores?

thanks

"Steve Calvin" wrote in message
news
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?



Thank



I wait until the majority of the stems have browned. I put mine in last
October in Poughkeepsie (zone 5b), NY and pulled them the first week of
this month. Not sure why yours would be so far behind but shrug.

--
Steve

Frank wrote:
Are the outer skins cracked or smooth like in the stores?

thanks


Mine were smooth


--
Steve

Thanks for the info

"Steve Calvin" wrote in message
...
Frank wrote:
Are the outer skins cracked or smooth like in the stores?

thanks


Mine were smooth


--
Steve

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.

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.

On Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:27:04 -0400, " Frank" wrote:

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


After you dig up your garlic, leave all the roots, stems and leaves
intact. Tie them into bundles of about 10 plants each and hang them in
a shaded airy place with good ventilation.
They will take at least three weeks to cure properly. After that you
can trim off the roots and cut off the stems. Store the cured garlic
in mesh onion bags, indoors in a cool dry area. DO NOT store in the
refrigerator as this will make them sprout.

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.

On Jul 23, 9:02 am, " 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?

Thank

You know there are two kinds of garlic, right? Hard-neck garlic and
soft-neck,depending on whether they make that hard dead stem in the
middle?

z wrote:
On Jul 23, 9:02 am, " 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?

Thank

You know there are two kinds of garlic, right? Hard-neck garlic and
soft-neck,depending on whether they make that hard dead stem in the
middle?

ya know, that's a hellova good point. I just "assumed" that
Frank was referring to hardneck varieties but that could be
a bad assumption.

--
Steve

I grow Garlic (Soft neck californian Giant) in UK and pick while stems and some leaves are still Green as this (as mentioned earlier) ensures good "paper" coverage and hence good keeping. I guage when to pick on date and condition of lower leaves discolouring and use thickness of stem to guage what size of bulb the plant has.

I move my crop into my drying shed (I have a 20" x 12" shed used for everything just change its name to suit purpose) and lay the garlic on shelves, over hung up ladders on a table anf on the floor.

I have just harvested this years crop of about 120 plants and still have about a dozen Garlic left in store from last year but will now ditch as the new crop is now here.

I also grow Elephant Garlic which is "hard Neck" and still growing - I have grown some of this from saved cloves but these have produced small bulbes about the size of a golf ball but solid - no cloves - any ideas why?

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 09:52:11 +0100, JNTDAD
wrote:


I also grow Elephant Garlic which is "hard Neck" and still growing - I
have grown some of this from saved cloves but these have produced small
bulbes about the size of a golf ball but solid - no cloves - any ideas
why?

Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum) is more closely related to leeks
than it is to either soft-neck garlic (Allium sativum ) or hard-neck
garlic (Allium sativum var.ophioscorodon).
Quite often, elephant garlic requires two growing seasons. Plant the
solid cloves this fall and you should get much larger bulbs with a few
individual cloves next year.
We grow it more as a novelty as it has no real garlic flavour to speak
of, more like "garlic for people who don't like garlic".

Ross.