How to Store Garlic Indoors

Did you grow a lot of garlic this year? I know I did! It's great, but now I need to figure out a way to keep the garlic fresh. Here are my best tips on storing garlic!

Store garlic in wax paper.

Here are a few of the garlic bulbs I grew this year. Do you want to know more about how to store garlic at home? Keep reading!

 

Garlic is probably one of the easiest vegetables you can grow at home. Another great thing about it that it's very easy to store. Some vegetables need to be cleaned, parboiled and are very sensitive to hot or cold temperatures. Not garlic though. Garlic bulbs are perfectly happy in room temperature. It makes no difference if you live in an apartment or a drafty old house. It really doesn't take much to keep garlic fresh.

 

Storing Garlic

You start by drying the garlic after you harvest it. The fresh and sometimes damp, thick skin around the bulbs should dry up completely. The same goes for the garlic leaves that start to curl up when they dry. It's very important to keep your garlic fresh by putting it in a dry and airy spot. Make sure that it doesn't get damp, since this can cause a mold outbreak. You might not be able to store garlic properly after it gets wet either.

It takes a few weeks for the garlic skin to get completely dry. This is also the time to cut the leaves/stalks. Don't do it before the skin dries though!

 

Read more: Make a garlic braid

 

Keeping garlic fresh in a garlic braid.

I made three garlic braids this year. We eat around four times as much garlic now that we grow it ourselves, so it's good to have a nice stock of it. Especially varieties that can be stored long-term of course.

 

Room Temperature

You can just keep the garlic in room temperature once the bulbs are dry. It's such a convenient way to store garlic! There's really not that much else to think about. You don't need to worry about picking the perfect spot or finding s. I can store garlic in room temperature for a long time. The protective layers of skin surrounding the bulbs and the cloves help keep the garlic fresh until next fall.

 

How to Store Garlic – Options:

 

  • baskets
  • cardboard boxes
  • hanging in bundles
  • making garlic braids
  • airy paper bags

 

I have a few garlic braids hanging in the kitchen right now, as well as a few bunches in my cottage (one in the hallway and a decorative one by my desk too.) I also keep a large paper bag filled with garlic bulbs with the leaves cut off.

This is because some garlic varieties can't be braided. I generally try to pick the ones with leaves/stalks that you can braid, simply because it's an easy and convenient way to hang them from the ceiling. Last year, I tried a few new and hardy Russian varieties with unbraidable leaves though.

 

More about garlic: Growing garlic in pots

 

A large bundle of garlic.

I didn't even clean this large bundle of garlic, and just hung it on a door post to dry. This is how to store garlic at home.

 

Read more: Planting garlic in fall

 

If you haven't planted your garlic yet, then you might need to wait for milder weather before you try putting the cloves in the ground. It's going to get warmer here in zone 3 next week, which is when I'm going to plant mine. I prepared a 20 ft (6 meter) long and 3 ft (around 1 meter) wide bed for my garlic next year. Is the ground already frozen where you live? No worries, you can put the cloves in a plug tray or similar and put it in the greenhouse with a pile of leaves on top.

I hope you give these methods of storing garlic a try in your own garden!
/Sara Bäckmo

 

20. November 2022

2 responses to “How to Store Garlic Indoors”

  1. Bill Smith says:

    How long do your garlic last before they become unusable? In reference to the unbraid able garlic, I think that variety is a hard neck which will send up a scape about a month before harvest. I grow 14 different varieties myself and am keeping track to see which will last the longest before they shrivel up or sprout. I grow mostly hard neck with a few soft neck varieties.

    Last year, I had a few varieties last until May. I think this year will be better because I waited too long previously such that many garlic split open which will cause them to not last as long.

    • Sara Bäckmo says:

      Oh! Usually I grow only a few varieties, because I have a problem to keep them separated, he he. I go for one that can be stored until next harvest season beging, and one that don't seem to last that long. I love the French variety Clédor, it usually last indoor until June. ?

Leave a Reply to Bill Smith Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *