If the leafs of your garlic plants are beginning to dry out it is time to pull your garlic plants out of the soil to dry under cover. If you leave the garlic planted in the wet soil the outer parchment can spoil.

An experienced Italian American home garlic grower passes along valuable tips for helping us determine the best time to harvest your garlic garden.

“Once the top part of the garlic plant has begun to turn brown, pull one of them and peel back the sheaths one at a time. My grandfather liked to wait until there were 2 sheaths, but I’m more comfortable with 2 or 3 sheaths. The problem with only watching the top part of the garlic plant is that when the top part of the plant is that when it is very wet or very dry, the sheaths can reduce much faster than in other years.

For example, it was very wet this year in Pittsburg, PA. where I live and garden. The garlic plants had just started to turn brown when I checked the first one. It was already down to 3 sheaths! You might want to warn people what happens if they wait to long – the garlic opens up and it’s nearly impossible to get out of the ground.” – RC, Pennsylvania, USA

Clean your garlic bulbs and roots with clean water and leave them to dry inside for 5 or 6 days. Keep your garlic out of the sun as it will sunburn.

Once the garlic bulbs are dry trim off the roots and scuff off the outer parchment. Your garlic is ready for braiding and storage.