I have harvested all the garlic bulbs from the garden. YAY. After harvesting I cleaned them and hung them up inside to dry. This took a lot time and towels. Garlic grows underground so this is dirty work. I prefer to rinse clean the garlic before hanging it to cure. This is because the only place I can hang it up is in the house. At this point I trimmed the roots and older looking greens off but I left most of the greens attached. I wanted to make sure the bulbs stay dry and have good air flow.
After about two and a half weeks the whole plants were dry enough that the stalks were brown and brittle. At this point the garlic bulbs are also much dryer and start to resemble the dried bulbs found in the stores. The garlic can be kept hung loose. But the stalks are very messy and unsightly. Small pieces would break off and litter the floor too. I began to think this is how the tradition of garlic braids came to be.
The garlic braid was made famous by vampire movies in the 20th century. The term still brings to mind images of old world markets, Eastern European villages, and scary movies. Other than movies I could not remember actually seeing a garlic braid in a store or anywhere else. So, I decided to give creating one a try.
The preferred type of garlic it the soft neck variety. Unfortunately, I grow the hard neck variety of garlic and the stalks are thick and not very flexible. This makes it impossible to braid as green stalks. But, once the stalks are dried out, I found they are easier to bend and braid. It also helps to take some food grade twine to help hold the bulbs in place as we braid. I first sorted the bulbs by size and started with the three largest on the bottom. I tied them with twine and then added three more above those and tied them all. Then I started braiding the stalks. After each time I braided a stalk, I added another bulb to either side or the middle and worked that new stalk into the braid. The braid is always worked from the bulb end toward the stalk end.
And that is biggest secret to braided garlic, the finished braids are traditionally shown hanging upside down. When we think of braiding hair, we think about starting at the top and working down. The garlic braid was started at the lowest bulb on the bottom and was braided up from there.
Regardless of the direction, the result is a much more attractive way to store our garlic for later use. This braid has 58 bulbs of various sizes. The largest bulbs are on the bottom and the smallest are on the top. It weighs about 2 pounds (0.9kg) and I have two hooks holding it up.
We do eat a lot of garlic and this should provide enough garlic till our next harvest. And we should even have some extra bulbs to divide and plant in the fall or to ward off vampires if needed.
The preferred type of garlic it the soft neck variety. Unfortunately, I grow the hard neck variety of garlic and the stalks are thick and not very flexible. This makes it impossible to braid as green stalks. But, once the stalks are dried out, I found they are easier to bend and braid. It also helps to take some food grade twine to help hold the bulbs in place as we braid. I first sorted the bulbs by size and started with the three largest on the bottom. I tied them with twine and then added three more above those and tied them all. Then I started braiding the stalks. After each time I braided a stalk, I added another bulb to either side or the middle and worked that new stalk into the braid. The braid is always worked from the bulb end toward the stalk end.
And that is biggest secret to braided garlic, the finished braids are traditionally shown hanging upside down. When we think of braiding hair, we think about starting at the top and working down. The garlic braid was started at the lowest bulb on the bottom and was braided up from there.
Regardless of the direction, the result is a much more attractive way to store our garlic for later use. This braid has 58 bulbs of various sizes. The largest bulbs are on the bottom and the smallest are on the top. It weighs about 2 pounds (0.9kg) and I have two hooks holding it up.
We do eat a lot of garlic and this should provide enough garlic till our next harvest. And we should even have some extra bulbs to divide and plant in the fall or to ward off vampires if needed.
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