It has been MANY months and we have finally harvested about half the garlic. “Why only half?” you ask. Well, some varieties have matured quicker than others. Really this is a blessing in disguise since we do not have enough space to cure any more than what we did harvest. The curing process involves hanging the garlic to dry somewhere dry and cool and out of the sun. So even with new fancy curtains, the greenhouse is flat out as a location. We had old metal shelves and we attached them to the walls inside the back door. These racks are now full with 113 heads of garlic.
Now, when I planted, I made a map of what I type I planted where. This has become very important now that we harvested. This map shows me what I am harvesting at the time. As I strung them into groups for hanging, I attached a simple paper tag with the name on it. These tags all function and does not have to be fancy. These tags will be in the garden and will get dirty. Later, after the garlic is cured and cleaned up, we can attach a pretty tag to it. The twine is plain food grade twine. But the twine ball will also get dirty so do not plan on using the rest for anything other than outdoor garden use.
Now, when I planted, I made a map of what I type I planted where. This has become very important now that we harvested. This map shows me what I am harvesting at the time. As I strung them into groups for hanging, I attached a simple paper tag with the name on it. These tags all function and does not have to be fancy. These tags will be in the garden and will get dirty. Later, after the garlic is cured and cleaned up, we can attach a pretty tag to it. The twine is plain food grade twine. But the twine ball will also get dirty so do not plan on using the rest for anything other than outdoor garden use.
We have harvested the California Softneck, Music, Pioneer Softneck, Deerfield Purple, and Krandasger varieties. The Duganski, Silver Rose, and Chesnok all appear to need a couple more weeks.
In the mean time this has opened up nearly half the garden and I have replaced the garlic with peppers, tomatillos, and tomatoes.
In the mean time this has opened up nearly half the garden and I have replaced the garlic with peppers, tomatillos, and tomatoes.