It is not enough to grow garlic, you need to save it until the next harvest. Under normal room conditions, the vegetable is poorly stored: it germinates, dries. In order for the garlic to be well preserved, it is necessary to dig it up in time and properly prepare it for storage.
The keeping quality of garlic depends on its ripening and the quality of the bulbs. Spring garlic is harvested when the leaves turn yellow, around the third decade of August. The time for harvesting winter crops is determined by the opened garlic arrow, approximately mid-July. Garlic is harvested in dry weather, the bulbs are dug in, pulled out of the ground and laid out to dry. They can be brought indoors at night. After 2-3 days, when the garlic dries well, the roots are cut off, the upper dirty scales are cleaned.
How to store spring garlic
The stems can be trimmed, leaving a stump of 3-10 cm, or not trimmed. Uncut heads are braided and hung. Garlic with short stalks is tied in bunches or poured into nets and stored suspended in a dry room. To prevent the bulbs from sprouting, the place where the roots grow is burned with a candle flame, lighter, gas.
It is not difficult to store spring garlic in an apartment; it is more suitable for long-term storage. The optimum temperature at which it is maintained without loss of marketability is + 16-20˚C, humidity is 50-60%. The heads are placed in a shallow container, boxes, baskets, boxes with holes will do. They are placed away from heating radiators and from time to time they sort it out, removing the spoiled ones.
How to keep winter garlic until spring
Winter garlic dries quickly, so the question of how to store it is relevant. Suitable conditions for its preservation are temperature + 2-4˚C and humidity 70-80%, under such conditions it will remain without problems until spring. For storage, an underground in a private house or a loggia in an apartment is suitable. If the temperature on the loggia drops below zero, the garlic is covered with something warm. You can also keep the garlic for 2-3 months in the refrigerator, in cloth bags.
Another reliable storage method is glass jars. Garlic is poured into dry jars, each layer is sprinkled with flour or salt, covered with plastic lids. In this way, winter garlic can be preserved until summer. There are also exotic storage methods: the heads are dipped in melted paraffin; pour in vegetable oil; covered with ash.
But there is nothing to be wise. Healthy, ripe, without damage, garlic will be perfectly preserved until the new harvest and in the simplest way, you just need to sort it regularly, remove the spoiled heads.
