Drying garlic

I pull the garlic, and lay it back down on the ground for a day or so. I do not wash it or cut off any roots.

After a day or so, then tie up in bundles bulbs down, and sort of staggered so that all of the bulbs are at slightly different lengths, eight to twelve to a bunch, and hang them in an open area, under a roof of some sort. (Like a porch or open shed.) Make certain they are not in direct sunlight . When the dirt is dry hand peel the dirt of the bulb and if you want cut the root section of .

By late summer, you can cut off the tops (although not necessary ), leaving a short piece of the stem above the bulb, store them in a cool dry dark place. If left in the light they will start to sprout by late fall, which is the time to replant some for next year.

Thats what works for me

They will dry out quite naturally .

That's what I'd normally do Bluesand, but we've got really unusual weather here right now - it's so damp that they will just rot outdoors. And i don't have anywhere suitable to hang them either indoors.

We've had constant rain for days .... my two new 500 litre water butts were filled to overflowing within a couple of hours. And the 250 litre one which was just freestanding, not under a gutter, has about 7 inches in it in two days. Anyone who things climate change isn't well and truly here is kidding themselves.

Thanks for the suggestion Diana, but if you saw the pile I have, you'd understand why I don't fancy peeling them all.

I've heard a rumour that some sun is heading our way, so I'll wait until the weekend with bated breath. they'll only need a day or two of good strong sun to dry them.

I'm going to bake masses with some diced tofu and have it on top of a bowl of tom yum and sticky rice. And I'll make a load of creamy garlic sauce to freeze. So it aint all bad

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeysuckle

I've got a load roasting in my oven now, with the first of my tomatoes and some salt, sugar and basil oil. My kitchen smells heavenly! I'm going to blitz it all, make some soup and have it with a fresh crusty baguette .... wish you were here??!

Click to expand...

Very effective vegan outreach!

So bluesand, why do you lay them on the ground for a day first? And not wash them? When I bought some fresh from the farmer for the first time this past summer, I ended up scrubbing the dirt off the outsides first, since I was already washing off the rest of my produce. (I like to do it using the overflow I always catch while watering the garden, so if there's water that has already rinsed some of the "cleaner" veggies & is about to be disposed of, I use it as an initial rinse for the still dirt-clad veggies)

I find that if I rinse all my produce when I get it from the farmer's market, then let it dry in the sun, I can put it away and it doesn't spoil nearly as quickly. When the weather cooperates, I do this all in one day, outside in buckets using water as as efficiently as possible. (first using any rainwater, then overflow from watering the garden, then using water caught from the final rinse of the cleaner veggies to do an initial scrub for yet-to-be-cleaned veggies, and finally dumping the water onto the flowers or compost pile)

Anyway, does not rinsing it at first keep it from getting moldy if it doesn't dry right away? And not trimming away the roots/tops at first keep the bulbs as protected as possible while the oils concentrate or something like that? Just wondering!