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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] storing garlic
  • Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:52:32 -0500


On Feb 23, 2010, at 2:14 PM, Marty Kraft wrote:

How do you cure garlic? How long should it hold? Mine from last
summer is mostly rotten by now.

Marty Kraft
Kansas City

Hang in small bunches, or spread out in shallow trays, out of direct sunlight but with good air circulation, for two weeks or longer.

Then you can clean it (remove roots, and enough outer layers from the bulb to remove the dirt with them, but not enough to expose individual cloves). You can cut the tops off at that point; or leave the tops on and braid it, if it's softneck; or tie it up in something vaguely resembling a braid if it's hardneck; depending mostly on how you want to market it. We sell most of our softneck as braids, and most of the hardneck as individual bulbs or as topped bulbs by the pound.

Store it anywhere with good air circulation that's out of direct sun; cool room temperature is fine. It will probably actually keep longest at just above freezing -- but if it's been held for a while at that temperature, it may either sprout or break down very fast once it comes out of cold storage; so unless your customers will use it immediately it may be better not to keep it that cold.

What keeps longest for us is usually softneck in braids, which most years will keep well until March, sometimes till May, and often is at least semi-usable till the next crop comes in; then loose hardneck, which keeps till somewhere between February and April generally; then loose softneck, usually around February or March. The weather at harvest and during curing is a factor -- if we were too wet during that period it won't keep as long. We don't have humidity-controlled storage for the curing and have to rely on opening and closing the barn doors.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale







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