×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

12 Tips for Curing Garlic So It Lasts Longer

12 Tips for Curing Garlic So It Lasts Longer

Love garlic? Then you'll love these tips for curing garlic so you can enjoy it forever and ever.

By Amanda MacArthur | December 1, 2022

curing garlic

Okay. Maybe not forever and ever. Still, curing garlic does make it last a lot longer. And as far as I’m concerned, you can never have too much garlic on hand. 

Garlic is easy to grow. It’s pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it plant. You place your cloves in the ground in the fall, and then like magic, you have fresh garlic in late spring or summer! Plus, garlic makes a great garden companion as it repels a lot of the pests that like to munch on other early vegetables. It also repels vampires, so it’s really the perfect garden crop.

The only drawback (if you can call it that) is that you might end up with a whole lot of garlic all at once. Certainly, you can enjoy fresh garlic. But if you don’t intend to eat it all right away, curing garlic is the key to longer-term storage.

Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

curing garlic

Making it last: 12 important tips for harvesting and curing garlic the right way

Before we get into curing garlic, let’s talk about harvesting garlic. Like many vegetables, the variety and weather both impact harvest time. Most garlic is ready to harvest when the lower leaves of the plant turn brown, but the upper leaves are green. Here are some tips for harvesting garlic.

1. Dig it out with a trowel or potato fork. The University of Massachusetts Extension Vegetable Program points out that pulling garlic without loosening the soil could result in tears around the stem, leading to fungal infections. Instead, use your garden tools to gently dig and pry up garlic bulbs. Once the soil is loose, you can pull them by hand. 

Here are two I like:

  • Tierra Garden DeWit Potting Trowel
  • Radius Garden PRO Ergonomic Stainless Steel Digging Fork

2. Be gentle. Fresh garlic is tender and can bruise easily, which also opens the door to infection. 

3. Brush garlic bulbs clean. Remembering to be gentle, brush or shake off any loose dirt. It’s okay if you don’t get all the dirt off. We’re going for generally clean here, not perfect. 

4. Keep garlic bulbs out of the sun. On hot, sunny days, garlic can get sunburned!

Once you’ve harvested your garlic, set aside some to enjoy over the next week or two. With the rest, let’s start curing garlic! Here are some tips for doing so.

5. Be patient. Curing garlic takes three to six weeks, so make sure you have a space that’s out of the way where you can let your garlic hang out undisturbed. 

6. Keep it dark. Dark spaces are generally preferable for curing garlic or any vegetable for long-term storage. 

7. Keep the air flowing. Good ventilation is important to help decrease moisture.

8. Use chicken wire. Chicken wire or a standard window screen are great surfaces for curing garlic, as there is plenty of airflow around the bulbs that way. Just be sure the screen is elevated and relatively level.

9. Hang garlic bulbs to cure. Instead of chicken wire or a screen, you can also hang garlic bulbs to cure. The same tips apply otherwise: You still want a dark space with plenty of ventilation. But this is another option if you don’t have room to lay out a harvest of garlic bulbs. 

10. Check back in about two weeks. While curing garlic can take up to six weeks, it may only take a couple of weeks if the conditions are just right. You’re looking for dried stems and that brittle, papery skin that garlic bulbs develop. 

11. Remove tops and roots. Once your garlic is ready, remove the stem and the roots, leaving about 1 inch of the stem on top and about 1/2 inch of roots on the bottom. 

12. Store your garlic appropriately. Under these same conditions (comfortable temperatures, moderate humidity, and good ventilation), your garlic will be good for another month or two. For longer-term storage, keep your garlic just above freezing, with relatively low humidity and good airflow. Your garlic will keep anywhere from six to nine months. 

Do you have any garlic curing tips to add to this? I’d love to read them in the comments.

Note: Food Gardening Network contains links to affiliate websites, including Amazon and Rakuten Affiliate Network, and we may receive a commission for any eligible purchases made by you through links on this page. Any reviews are based on honest reviews of the products.


Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

« How to Make Natural Compost from Everyday Food Waste
The Best Type of Manure for Vegetable Gardens »

Related Posts

  • How to Store Potatoes for the Winter
  • How to Store Leafy Greens and Other Produce Without Plastic
  • How to Make Preserves as Gifts

Tags

curing garlic, digging fork, garden tools, garlic, garlic bulbs, harvesting and curing garlic

Comments
  • Chaya A. December 1, 2022

    I mince the garlic and freeze in small jars. I use it as needed all year round.

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart

Browse Topics

  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Easy Healthy Recipes
  • Food Preservation
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tools
  • Growing Fruits & Berries
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Pests & Diseases
  • Seeds & Seedlings
  • Soil & Fertilizer
  • Spice & Herb Gardening
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Watering & Irrigation

We will be attending the following shows in 2023:

  • MANTS in Baltimore, MD
  • Connecticut Flower Show
  • Vermont Flower Show
  • Philadelphia Flower Show
Click here to schedule a time to visit with us at the show!

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.

Go to mobile version