Storing garlic is not a very troublesome business, but it requires certain knowledge. Let’s talk about how to cut garlic for storage and how to store it later. In winter, you will be pleased with the juiciness of the vegetable and its excellent taste.
Types of garlic
To learn how to properly cut garlic, you need to understand that garlic is different. In addition to the standard division into varieties, there is a difference in types:
- spring summer;
- winter.
They differ from each other in appearance. Winter garlic is planted in the winter, and in the spring, with the onset of heat, its growth begins with renewed vigor. This vegetable easily tolerates frost. Spring is planted in the spring, and the bulbs are harvested in August. It is often stored in cold weather for use as food.
In addition to these differences, there are also external ones: varieties of spring vegetables have a thin soft peel, leaves, but do not have a thick arrow-stem. This feature is typical only for winter arching garlic. The arrow stretches from the very roots and passes through the bulb. We present a table of differences of one type from another.
Table
Index | summer garlic | Winter garlic |
Appearance | without a stem, with a large number of cloves, the arrangement of cloves in a spiral | all teeth are the same size and are collected around the trunk |
Landing time | 2, 3 decade of April | September October |
Harvesting | end of August | July |
Frost resistance | not lower than +3 degrees | soil temperature can be up to -20 degrees |
Arming | does not shoot, except for the variety “Gulliver” | all varieties have an arrow |
Crop storage | at a temperature of +18 degrees | at a temperature not higher than +4 degrees |
In addition, winter garlic is larger and yields more. Before storing garlic, it is necessary to properly harvest and prune.
Harvest
Bulb harvesting begins at a time when the weather is warm, dry. You can not start harvesting immediately after the rain. It is best to dig up the garlic with a pitchfork rather than a shovel, as there will be less damage that way. It is important to maintain the integrity of the heads.
Damaged bulbs are not subject to storage. Having dug up the garlic, they hold it by the greens and shake off the soil. After that, the garlic must be dried for five days. To do this, spread out newspapers or cardboard and lay out the bulbs. Before this, the foliage is not cut off. Rain and high humidity are dangerous for the bulbs. If the sky frowns outside the windows, it is better to dry the garlic indoors. A large amount of garlic is dried in attics, sheds, loggias and so on.
Garlic pruning
To store the heads, you need to choose the right method in accordance with the type of vegetable. Spring garlic is well stored at the same time both in the cold and in the heat, winter varieties are stored only in a cellar or an unheated barn.
Pruning of bulbs is carried out both in relation to the roots and in relation to the tops. Anyone who has grown this crop on their own at least once knows that the roots of garlic are very long and strong.
Incorrectly cut bulbs can germinate during storage. This is especially true for warm storage. It is important for everyone not only to preserve the harvest until winter, but also to make sure that the vegetable does not lose its taste and aroma.
We cut the roots to dry the garlic. You can leave no more than five millimeters from the bottom. After drying and before placing the crop in storage, we set fire to the remains of the roots. To do this, you can use a regular candle.
It is not worth cutting off the tops immediately. After drying, you need to decide how exactly the vegetable will be stored:
- in braids;
- in bundles;
- in the refrigerator, jar, in boxes.
The tops of garlic are very long. Even when stored in braids, up to 30-40 centimeters are left, and the rest is cut off. Then the dried vegetable is woven into braids from the tops and stored in this way. Braids are simply hung in sheds, cellars or glazed loggias.
If the crop is to be stored in bunches, then you need to cut off the dry tops, leaving no more than 20 centimeters. These methods of harvesting for the winter are suitable for the happy owners of barns and cellars. Pigtails and bundles harvested in the summer are perfectly stored tied up.
In all other cases, you can leave only a short neck of 3 centimeters. Please note that this neck is dry.
It can be stored in the following ways:
- in wooden boxes with sawdust;
- in a large container with salt or flour;
- in cardboard boxes in a dry room;
- in nets for vegetables.
The main thing to remember is that this vegetable is afraid of moisture. Make sure the bulbs are completely dry before storing them. You also need to remove any damaged heads. Mold or traces of infection with a specific disease can be seen on them.
If the bulbs are stored in flour, sawdust or salt, it is necessary to check from time to time whether moisture has been absorbed into the dry product. In this case, the cut heads are simply taken out, shaken off and sprinkled with dry matter again. Throughout the winter, this process is repeated 2-3 times.
Other storage methods
In cut garlic, all useful substances are preserved, in addition, it will not waste energy on germination. But not everyone has the opportunity to store garlic in bunches or in boxes. For those who live in apartments, it is possible to save only a small part of a large crop. Nevertheless, there are a number of ways to preserve this tasty and healthy product in such conditions.
The first way is storage in vegetable oil. To do this, the garlic is peeled into slices. Now the cloves must be placed in a clean, sterilized jar and filled with oil so that it covers them completely. The oil will prevent the growth of bacteria. This method is very good.
The second way is to grind the product in a blender and make a fragrant gruel out of it. It can be poured into a clean sterilized jar, covered with a layer of coarse salt and closed. The jar is best stored in the refrigerator until winter.
The third way is to store the heads in a linen bag. But if you just put them there, they will lose moisture very quickly and dry out. There will be no benefit from such garlic. To keep such garlic fresh for at least three months, you need to resort to a little trick. Dilute coarse sea salt in hot water. 3 tablespoons per liter of water. Now we dip each head, holding it by the neck. This garlic must be dried, and then boldly placed in a bag.
Reader Experience
Our readers also have experience of cutting garlic.
Conclusion
Pruning garlic is a very simple and almost trouble-free matter. Even a beginner can handle it.