Garlic….when to dig it

This is the first year I have had any sort of success growing garlic and its now over two feet tall. I know its harvested well ahead of many of the onion type plants but can’t remember when. Is it August or July, or September?

Usually in July we pull ours then it needs to cure for about 3 weeks. Most of the plant will look like it has died, and that’s when you harvest it.

Thanks dfresh.

I knew it got harvested earlier than say onions. Do you hang it to dry it?

Everyone has their way. We usually plant about 100 plants each fall. I hang mine in bunches and keep them dry and well ventilated. I think it takes about 14-20ish days.

I also cut the scapes off each plant before they bloom. You use/cook them to add garlic flavor to dishes if you want.

Like dfresh, mine are usually ready mid July when most of the leaves have turned brown (but not all of them). Be carful when you dig them up as they are down deeper than an onion.

Here’s a pic. As you can see, some plants were more ready than others, but they all turned out fine.

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Thanks Dirk! Both of you have been helpful. I appreciate it.

How about shallots. Either of you grow them? Mine appear to have done really well, like the garlic, but there’s still a ton of green in the leaves. I’m not watering so they should start to turn soon one would think.

On another note, the new Patterson variety of onions I planted as plants are getting seriously big…larger than a baseball. The stems are still standing straight up except a couple the wind knocked down. We use those that the wind got to but are letting the rest grow until the stems start to turn. I’ve made a drying rod that spans the two hangers for one of the garage doors that all these onions, garlic, and shallots will hang on to dry.

Sorry, I’m garlic only. But my garlic is coming out soon – real soon. Any day.