bernie-woman
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drying garlicBig celebrations in this house at the moment - we have had oour first success at growing garlic. It was definitely last chance saloon with it - we would not have bothered again if it was not successful.
I now have our bulbs on the floor of the greenhouse to dry - is that right?/
Where do you all dry your garlic?
Is there a best way?
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tahir
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I usually hang e'm off a clothes horse thingy in the garage, it might get too hot in the greenhouse
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Behemoth
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The advice I've read is to dry them in bunches of about 10 in a dark/shaded, cool, airy, place under. Direct light was said to risk 'burning' (?) them. The drying process will take about three weeks and after that trim off the desicated foliage and keep in old onion nets or plait if you want.
Mine they are now hangig at the top of the cellar steps filling the hall with a deliciously garlic smell.
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moogie
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Sorry feeling a bit dim today, but why do you want to dry garlic? I can't think of a single reason to. Well, I probably can, but none that spring immediately to mind.
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Aled
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How do I know when to dig them up? I planted them in October and the foliage seems to be dying, although they've pretty much looked like that for three months. For some reason I was under the impression that they needed to be in the ground for 12 months.
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tahir
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It's not drying as in as a dried spice, it's more curing for storage to stop it getting mouldy and rotting before you get a chance to use it, you need to do the same with onions too, dries out the surface moisture and toughens the skins.
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tahir
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| Aled wrote: | | How do I know when to dig them up? I planted them in October and the foliage seems to be dying, although they've pretty much looked like that for three months. For some reason I was under the impression that they needed to be in the ground for 12 months. |
Pull em up, now is about the time, 12 months is often bandied about but it's codswallop.
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Behemoth
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They'll not grow much bigger if you leave them in, 10 months seems to the norm. I've been told that if you should lift them when they start to die down, this is the plant saying the leaves have done their bit and pumped as much into developing the bulbs as they are going to do. If you leave them to go completely brown you risk spoiling the bulbs as they start using up their energy putting out new growth.
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moogie
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Ahhh, sorry, I thought you meant like drying them like herbs. I couldn't imagine why. Yes, of course, it all makes sense now!
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portwayfarm
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I'm sure I read that you have to dry them if you want to infuse oil for cooking / salads etc otherwise you run the risk of botulisum (spelt wrong). I do stand to be corected though 
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tahir
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There's definitely a risk of botulism if it hasn't been dried/salted beforehand.
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cab
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So now and the next month or two for planting garlic, then?
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Treacodactyl
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Take care with any mould, especially with the rain we've had recently as one year our garlic became tainted after a blackish mould grew on the outside of the crop.
We tend to plant ours in about October, if we remember!
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tahir
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Mine goes in between October and November
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