Storage conditions for garlic in a jar. In a cloth bag or mesh. Home storage

In the article we talk about how to store garlic in an apartment. Determine the best time to harvest garlic. You will learn how best to store garlic and prolong it beneficial features until spring.

In order for garlic to be stored for a long time and not spoil, you need to know the time for harvesting.... It should be remembered that there are two types of garlic. The time of its collection and features depend on it. temperature regime storage. Garlic planted in spring is called spring garlic. Garlic planted in autumn is winter garlic.

There are several ways to store garlic in an apartment.

When is the best time to collect? Let's look at the signs of maturity, storage conditions and harvest times for each of these species.

There are several climatic zones... So to find out the best time for garlic picking, look for signs of ripeness, not specific dates.

Winter garlic ripe if:

lower leaves turned yellow;
the skin of the inflorescences on the arrows is cracked;
the scales of the bulbs have thinned and become dry.

The best time to harvest winter garlic in middle lane Russia - end of July.

Spring garlic is best harvested in late August - early September. He is ripe if:

the lower leaves turned yellow, but in the center they remained green;
the color of the head of garlic has changed;
the upper flake is easily removed.

So that you have no doubts about the maturity of the garlic, dig out a couple of heads. If the head of the garlic is dense, covered with 2-3 layers of scales, the cloves separate from each other easily, then the garlic is ripe.

You need to collect garlic in short time, the whole process should take no more than a week... Dry and sunny weather is best for harvesting garlic. Dig up the garlic with a shovel or pitchfork, carefully remove the soil from the heads and put it to dry on the garden bed. You do not need to cut the tops off right away, because the nutrients from the stem will go to the head, and the garlic will be better preserved.

Weather permitting, let the garlic dry in the sun for a few days. If garlic is harvested in rainy weather, remove the entire crop in a warm, well-ventilated area for 1 to 2 weeks. It is necessary to trim the roots of the heads to dry them better. Remove the tops only when they are completely dry. If you plan to store garlic in an apartment in the form of braids, then you do not need to remove the tops.

We looked at the timing and timing of harvesting garlic, and also learned the signs of its ripening. Let's figure out how to keep garlic for the winter at home in an apartment.

How to store garlic properly

Garlic is a spice that we use almost every day. It does not take up much space, so it is often kept in an apartment. You need to know that winter garlic is poorly stored when room temperatureoften dries up or rots. Spring garlic will keep well and will not lose its qualities at room temperature.

To do this, you must fulfill some conditions and choose the right way storage. Below are some guidelines on how to store garlic in a city apartment.

Storing garlic at room temperature

A popular way to store garlic is to weave it into braids.

One of the most convenient and compact ways to store garlic in an apartment is by braiding. This method is suitable if you did not trim the tops of the garlic when harvesting. The optimal number of heads in the braid is 13-15 pieces.

Weaving garlic braids:

Take three stalks of garlic.
Braid from below, gradually add new stems. For strength, you can add twine or nylon thread to the braid.
Make a loop for hanging.

Garlic can also be stored in a container. Containers for storing garlic should be well ventilated. For this, cardboard boxes, wooden slatted boxes, linen bags, nylon stockings are perfect. Transfer the well-dried heads of garlic to a container and store in a cool, dark place. Remember to pick garlic at least once a month. It is necessary to remove dry, rotten and sore heads.

Storing garlic in a jar

Above, we gave examples of where and how to store garlic in an apartment in boxes and bags. Another good way Is the storage of garlic in a jar.

To do this, you need to do the following:

dry the heads well;
wash and pasteurize the jar;
fill the jar with heads of garlic;
close the lid.

For better preservation of the garlic, you can add flour to the jar. To do this, lay out the garlic in layers and sprinkle each layer with flour. To prevent air from entering the jar, upper layer flour should be at least 2 cm.

Storing garlic in the refrigerator

You can also store garlic in the refrigerator. To keep garlic for a long time:

dry the vegetable well;
put the heads in a paper or linen bag;
add salt or husk to the bag for better preservation.

No need to freeze garlic, as it will lose taste qualitieswill become soft.

How else can you store garlic?

Storing garlic with salt

For better preservation of garlic, salt is added to it.

Salt absorbs excess moisture, has an antiseptic effect, prevents rot development. Therefore, the shelf life of garlic in salt is longer. If you are in doubt whether the garlic has dried well enough, then we recommend this method.

How to store garlic in salt:

take a suitable container;
pour salt on the bottom;
lay out a row of garlic;
sprinkle with salt;
repeat the procedure until the container is full.

Storing garlic with iodine

Storage solution for garlic with iodine:

boil 0.5 l. vegetable oil;
add 10 drops of iodine to the oil;
rub the heads of garlic with a solution;
dry the garlic and store in a dark place.

How to dry garlic

You can also store garlic in a dried form. Dried garlic is convenient to use as a seasoning for dishes. It doesn't require much storage space. Before drying, you need to peel the cloves from the husk. Washing the garlic is not worth it, because its drying time will significantly increase. Put on rubber gloveswhen you chop the garlic for drying. Its juice is very corrosive to the skin. There are two ways to dry garlic:

on air;
in an oven or electric dryer.

How to air dry garlic:

peel the heads of garlic;
cut lengthwise into 2 parts;
spread on a baking sheet with the core up;
dry in the sun for 5 - 7 days.

To dry the garlic in the oven, do the following:

peel and cut the garlic into petals;
line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the garlic in one layer;
preheat the oven to 60 degrees;
dry the garlic with the door slightly open for 30-45 minutes;
cool at room temperature.

Dried garlic is completely cooked when it crumbles and crunches. When drying garlic in an electric dryer, follow the manufacturer's instructions.

For more information on how to dry garlic, see the video:

Storing dried garlic

To preserve dried garlic, you need to protect it from moisture and loss of flavor. Therefore, store it in a glass jar with a lid or an airtight plastic container. You can grind the dried garlic in a blender to make it easier to use.

What to remember

Look for signs of ripeness to see if the garlic is ready to harvest.
To keep the garlic for a long time, dry the heads well.
Store garlic in a ventilated container.
For better preservation, add salt or treat with iodine solution.
Store dried garlic in containers with a tight lid.

Garlic is our food and medicine. Under the right conditions, it can maintain its nutritional and medicinal value for 8-10 months. But how to store garlic at home, and organize correct storage garlic in the apartment in order to preserve the maximum amount of useful components in it? And how to keep garlic until spring? There are many ways to store garlic for the winter, but we must not forget that only healthy bulbs, not affected by pests and not mechanically damaged, are successfully stored, which are properly grown, removed in time and carefully prepared for storage. So let's start in order.

Choosing a variety

Summer (spring) and winter (planted in autumn before winter) root crops differ in terms of ripening and storage conditions.

Spring varieties are stored better than others. Spring garlic is better stored in a warm room (+ 16- + 20 ° С) They should be chosen for winter storage. Good root vegetable should be stored not only until the new year or until the end of winter. If you create a suitable spring variety, the necessary conditions storage, it will lie until the beginning of summer.
It is more difficult to store winter garlic at home until spring, it is capricious in this regard. Especially if these are glassy types of root crops. It is better to store winter garlic in a cool room (+ 1- + 3 ° С) Although planting before winter gives large heads, but they are not suitable for winter storage.

In order not to be confused, there is a simple and reliable way distinguish between spring and winter varieties... In spring crops (suitable for long-term storage), there is no inner stem between the denticles. Winter crops have an inner stem

Preparing home crops for storage

To ensure long-term storage of garlic for the winter so that it does not deteriorate before harvesting, you must follow some rules:

Before harvesting, you must stop watering (10-14 days).
After digging out the heads, they must be well dried. This can be done in the sun for 3-4 days. Or in the shade for 7-10 days. If wet dew falls out during the drying period, then at night the roots are brought into the room, and in the morning they are taken out into the street.

What should be the conditions inside the store, how to keep the garlic for the winter? Let's consider the answers to these questions further.

High-quality drying is the key to long-term storage.

Rules and conditions for storing garlic

Every summer resident, having received good harvest bulbs, thinking about how to properly store garlic in winter, how to keep it juicy until spring. Compliance with the conditions of humidity, illumination, temperature ensures storage of the heads for the whole winter. So that it does not deteriorate and dry out, it is necessary to create the right conditions storage:

To preserve garlic in winter, keep it dry. Optimum humidity air should be 70-75%. It is best to measure it with a special device - a hygrometer.
The temperature must be maintained for storing the garlic. Distinguish between warm and cold storage. When warm, the roots are kept at a temperature of +20 +25 ° C. When cold +1 +3 ° C.
If the bulbs must be stored until mid-spring, care must be taken to limit their contact with air. For this, cans, bags are used, which are filled with bulk substances (salt, ash), or the heads are coated with paraffin, clay.
For long-term storage, a dark place is required. sunlight promotes the appearance of sprouts.

The storage area should not be too dry as the bulbs begin to dry out. Too high humidity too bad. With a large amount of it, it is absorbed by moisture and can become moldy.

Now let's talk about how to store garlic in a city apartment? And how to provide the necessary conditions.

How and where to store garlic in a city apartment

Few people can boast of their own good vegetable store. Even summer residents, having collected big harvest, in the fall they decide whether it is possible to store garlic at home? Is room air suitable for storage? How to store garlic in an apartment until late spring? And what is the best way to store garlic - in bags, boxes or jars?

Storing winter garlic in an apartment begins with choosing a container that limits too dry air and creates a microclimate around the garlic heads. Bags, wooden boxes are used as containers, plastic containers, glass jars. For better preservation of root crops, salt, ash are placed in the container, sawdust... We will describe in more detail the methods that allow you to store garlic in the winter in an apartment until mid-spring.

Store in containers with salt

You can store garlic for the winter at home in containers with salt. The heads are placed on a layer of salt and covered with salt. For apartment storage, it is important not to let the garlic dry out. Storage in salt creates optimal conditions for bulbous roots. In addition, the natural mineral performs two functions: absorbs excess moisture, neutralizes pathogens (prevents the appearance of rot, mold). The same way you can store garlic bulbs in ash. You can also store them in paraffin (melt a candle and dip each head in it).

How to store garlic in the refrigerator

Can garlic be kept in the refrigerator? You can - subject to one condition. It must be placed at the very bottom. refrigerator cabinet... Do not place the bulbs at the top under the freezer, as this can freeze them. Young summer garlic heads are stored in the refrigerator.

The stored root vegetable must not be frozen, otherwise it will quickly deteriorate after defrosting.

How to store garlic in a jar

Another possible way - storage of garlic in glass jars... For such storage, it is necessary that the stored garlic is well dried. Banks are covered on top natural fabric... However, they must not be covered with lids. You can store it under a tight lid only if air has been pumped out of the can and a vacuum has been created (with a special device).

Storing peeled garlic in oil

Sometimes the crop turns out to be spoiled and it is necessary to clean each head and separate the good cloves from the soft, rotten, spoiled ones. In this case, the question arises, how to keep the peeled garlic until spring? We offer one more interesting option storing garlic in oil. Olive, sunflower, etc. we choose according to your taste. As a container for such storage, it is necessary to use containers made of inert material - glass jars.

It is necessary to clean the heads immediately before placing them in the jars. How to store peeled garlic in a jar? Keep refrigerated or warm dark place? Better in the refrigerator. But you can also just put the jar in a cool, dark place (under a table or under a cabinet).

Basement storage

Can the bulbs be folded in the cellar for the winter? It is possible if there is good ventilation inside the underground storage and the humidity is limited to 70%. Keep winter garlic in a damp basement - wrong. he does not tolerate dampness, with a large amount of it, the garlic will quickly become soft, germinate and rot. Therefore, a basement without ventilation is not suitable for storage - it's too damp.

Storing garlic at home for the whole winter is a task that can be solved even in a city apartment. If you know how to store garlic in winter, it can stay fresh and fragrant for a long time. You just have to choose optimal way and create the necessary conditions for storing the crop so that it does not deteriorate. After all, proper storage of garlic in winter guarantees vitamins on your table until the first summer days.

Garlic has long been an essential ingredient in the kitchen. It spices up dishes and has a disinfecting effect. It contains over 400 vital ingredients to help prevent various diseases and overcome them. Therefore, every housewife strives to make stocks of garlic from autumn, unfortunately, it is not always stored until the next harvest.

Not infrequently, a number of problems arise during storage, as a result of which garlic deteriorates. The most common are:

Mold and decay. Mold appears on the heads as a result of fungal infection. This problem can arise when storage conditions are violated, storage of an infected vegetable or damaged by pests - nematode, onion fly. If the room where the garlic is kept is high, and there is damage on the head, then soon mold will form on it.
Germination. Occurs if the head in the place of root growth was not burned before storage.
The teeth are dry. This problem occurs when stored in a dry room with a lack of moisture.

In order for the garlic to be preserved until the next harvest, it must be properly prepared for storage for the winter, taking into account the following recommendations:

Observance of the harvest time is obligatory. Winter garlic (planted in autumn) must be dug up in late July or early August. Spring garlic (planting was carried out in spring) to remove from the garden in late August.
After digging, remove the rest of the earth.
Good drying is important. It is necessary to dry the vegetable from seven to ten days, spreading it out in the beds in sunny weather. If the weather is cloudy, drying is best done under a canopy. You need to dry it along with the stems.
Shorten the stem to 15 cm.
Trim the root, leaving no more than 3 millimeters.
Burn the remnants of the root to prevent germination.

Selection and temperature regime

After preparation, the garlic can be stored, having previously selected the unusable one. A vegetable that has:

the teeth came off and the head crumbled;
the husk covering the head is cracked;
new roots sprout.

An important condition good storage is the observance of the temperature regime. It is better to store winter garlic at home in a cool room with a temperature of + 1-3 degrees. Spring is stored in a warmer place at a temperature of + 17-20 degrees. Air humidity should be 50-80%.

Home storage

First of all, you need to decide on the storage location. This could be:

cellar;
balcony;
fridge;
in the apartment (not a damp room).

Storage methods

Among the storage methods, the most common are:

Storage in braids. The stems, dried with their heads, are braided and hung in a dry place with limited access to light. For these purposes, a pantry, wardrobe, attic are suitable. This method is very convenient and does not require much space, since the braids are suspended from the ceiling.

In bunches. The stems should be tied into bundles with rope and suspended in a dark, dry room. This method differs from storage in garlic braids only in the ease of knitting. Both methods can be used as facade decoration.

In a rag bag. First, the bag is placed in a saline solution (for 1 liter of water, 100 grams of salt). After soaking, dry well and fill with garlic. Storing in this way will protect the heads from disease and prevent excess moisture. However, you need to empty the garlic from the bag once a month and examine it. If damage is found, remove the head.

In nylon stockings. Stuff nylon stockings with well-dried garlic and hang from the ceiling. Air penetrates well into the stocking and this makes it possible to preserve the vegetable all winter.

In baskets. The basket must be prepared before placing the garlic. If it is new, then it is enough to dry it in the sun. If garlic was previously stored in it, then you need to process it with Bordeaux mixture. The concentration of the mixture is 2%, the consumption is 0.5 liters per basket. After processing, dry thoroughly in the sun. Put well-dried garlic in the processed basket. Due to the fact that the gaps between the vines allow air to pass through well, the heads do not deteriorate and can remain at room temperature almost until the next harvest. Check them for rot once a month. If damage is detected, remove the head from the basket.

In onion skins. Dry onion husks are poured into the bottom of a cardboard box with a capacity of 1.5 kilograms. 1 kilogram of garlic is spread on it and all the remaining empty space is filled to the top with onion peel. Close the box, make holes so that air can flow inside. The teeth must be checked once a month.

Important! When storing garlic in an apartment, in order to prevent it from drying out, each head must be wrapped in two or three layers of cling film.

Unusual storage methods

TO unusual ways can be attributed:

Storage in salt. Well-dried heads are placed in layers in a cardboard box. Each layer of garlic must be covered with salt so that the heads do not come into contact with each other. Holes must be made in the boxes so that air can enter the box. There should be no more than 4 layers in the box.

Important! The top layer must be well covered with salt so that the layer on top of the heads is 3-4 cm thick.

This method is also suitable for storing garlic in glass jars. In this case, cover the bottom of the jar with dry salt. Disassemble the garlic into cloves and lay in layers, sprinkle each layer with salt.

Important! Salt absorbs moisture, so you don't need to close the jar in order not to dry out the garlic!

In oil. It is necessary to disassemble each head of garlic into chives and peel them. Fill a sterile jar with refined sunflower oil up to half. Put the peeled cloves in the oil, filling to the top. Close the jars tightly and store in the refrigerator. Garlic oil acquires a peculiar piquant taste. It can be used for salad dressing.

In flour. Fry the jars well in the oven (it must be sterile and completely dry). Disassemble the heads into teeth. Pour flour on the bottom (it should be without signs of dampness), layer thickness -2 cm. Lay one layer of cloves and sprinkle with flour. Thus, we fill the jar to the top. We cover with a nylon lid and store in a dry place. Once a month, sift the contents of the jar through a sieve to check the condition of the garlic and select the spoiled one, if any. Flour can be reused if it is not damp. If it nevertheless turned out to be damp, it must be dried, or replaced with a new one.

Waxing. Dip the head into the heated paraffin. Allow excess paraffin to drain and cool. After that, put the garlic in the boxes. This method increases the shelf life and prevents the appearance of fungal diseases (such as black mold, white rot, bacteriosis, fusarium).

Cold storage

There are several ways to store in the refrigerator:

Storage under vacuum. The peeled garlic cloves are folded into plastic bag... All air is drawn out of the bag. In such a vacuum, garlic will be well stored in refrigerator compartment.
In the bank. Cloves are placed in a sterile jar, tightly closed with a lid and stored in the refrigerator. This method works well for small amounts of garlic.
Canning in dry wine or wine vinegar. Peeled teeth are placed in sterile jars and salt is added at the rate of 1 tablespoon per glass of liquid, and spices. Pour everything with dry white wine or vinegar. Close the jar with a lid and shake well its contents. If signs of mold appear, the liquid must be discarded.
In paper bags. Put well dried garlic in paper bags. Small holes must be made in the bags. Store in the refrigerator separately, away from other food.
Freezing. Freezing can also be considered a type of storage, but this is not the best way. It should be borne in mind that when freezing, garlic partially loses its aroma, and the taste after defrosting deteriorates, moreover, it becomes a mushy consistency. Therefore, it is better to freeze the vegetable in a chopped form. Peeled garlic is cut into small slices and laid out in plastic bags or plastic containers. Finely chopped herbs (parsley, dill) and carrots can be added to the garlic slices. Cap the containers tightly and place in the freezer.

Cellar storage

In order for the vegetable to be well preserved until the next harvest, the cellar must meet the following requirements:

absence of rodents;
storage temperature should be from +2 to +5 degrees;
humidity - 50-80%;
the room must be well ventilated;
absence of diseases and fungal infections.

You can store garlic in the following ways:

in wooden or cardboard boxes;
in nylon stockings;
in grids;
in boxes of pine sawdust.

Balcony storage

If the garlic is stored on an unheated balcony, then it must be well wrapped in a dense warm cloth, since it does not like temperatures below 0 degrees.

In the heated balcony, you can store the garlic bulbs in sterile 3-liter jars. Divide the heads into cloves, pour into dry jars and close the lid tightly.

How to increase retention periods

As a rule, the shelf life of winter garlic is shorter than that of spring garlic. But, experienced gardeners it is recommended to store well-dried winter garlic in a sterile 3 liter jar at a temperature of 14-15 degrees. You don't need to cover the jar. Well dried garlic can be stored in this way until spring.

You can avoid problems by maintaining the storage conditions and properly preparing the garlic. Using one of the above methods, you can eat this healthy spicy vegetable until spring.

Even if it is not a must-have vegetable, garlic is nevertheless extremely popular in our "backyard" households. Everyone grows these sharp and fragrant cloves. But growing is half the battle. I would also like to preserve the harvest obtained, at least until spring, and even better until summer, and to do this in an apartment, saving space in the cellar for other vegetables.

How to store garlic so that it does not dry out, germinate, or mold?

First of all, the heads must be removed from the garden in time, dried well and, if possible, prepared for storage.

Winter garlic (the one that was planted in autumn) ripens in late July - early August, and spring garlic (planted in spring) - closer to the end of August.

It is best to dig out the garlic with a pitchfork on a dry and sunny day. The heads peeled from the ground, together with the stems, are laid out in the garden to dry. It takes five days to dry the garlic. If five dry and sunny days in a row is not about your local weather, then you can dry the garlic under a canopy, in a gazebo, in a terrace, even in a greenhouse. The main thing is not to forget to ventilate the room well.

After drying, the roots of the garlic are cut with scissors or pruning shears so that about 3 millimeters remain, then the stem is cut off, leaving up to 10 centimeters.

Preparing garlic for long-term storage

If the garlic is properly prepared for storage, you can practically not worry about it. further destiny... Whichever storage method you choose, processed garlic will last much longer than untreated garlic.

The first step is to singe the roots of each head on a stove or on a fire to prevent the germination of the bulbs. In order to prevent mold and other diseases, garlic can be processed as follows: boil half a liter of vegetable oil on the stove for two hours, add 10 drops of iodine. Then dip the garlic in the oil and dry it in the sun.

These preparatory procedures are desirable but not required. Say, if you are not sure that the garlic is dried enough. Or it turned out that you dug it up in wet weather. Or overexposed in the garden. In these cases additional protection bulbs will not hurt. But when you have done everything “according to the textbook” - you have harvested the crop on time and dried it well - you can immediately proceed to choosing a place and method of storage.

How to store garlic: proven methods

Spring garlic is better kept warm (+ 16- + 20 ° С), and winter garlic - in a cool room (+ 1- + 3 ° С). But in practice, gardeners choose how and where to store garlic based on the volume of the harvested crop.

After all, garlic is not the main product, but a seasoning - you don't need much of it. Usually, the harvest of garlic of an average summer resident is such that it can be safely stored in an apartment, without embarrassing the owners. If you are a garlic fan, and collect more than one box, you will have to connect a cellar or an insulated balcony.

So, for those who grow a lot of garlic and collect decent harvests, it is recommended to store it in wicker baskets, cardboard boxes or wooden boxes in a cool room at temperatures from + 3 ° C to -5 ° C and humidity 50-80%.

It is quite another matter if you do not have enough garlic to take it to the cellar. For such a case, experienced gardeners have come up with several options for storing garlic directly in the apartment.

Storing garlic in pigtails, bunches

The most ancient way of storing garlic involves weaving braids from the heads dried together with the stem and hanging them in a dark, dry and cool place (for example, in a vestibule, closet, or in a closet). It requires certain skills, time and labor, but allows you to save space in your home storage, because garlic braids are suspended from the ceiling.

Another way that does not require a lot of space. Garlic heads are filled with nets, which are then again hung higher. For this business, the nets in which the pomelo is sold are perfect.

It is worth noting that both in the net and in the braids garlic should be viewed and discarded spoiled from time to time: these storage methods do not save garlic from drying and germination.

But the garlic stored in salt is quite capable of surviving the winter without loss. Someone is putting garlic in wooden box in the holes, sprinkling each layer with dry table salt. Someone stuffs sterilized jars with garlic, filling the voids with salt. The main thing is that both the bottom and the top of the container have an impressive layer of salt (about 2-3 centimeters high).

Many people store garlic in regular white flour. The fact is that flour absorbs excess moisture very well. A layer of flour is poured onto the bottom of a saucepan, jar or any other dish with a lid. Then garlic heads are rolled in flour, placed tightly in a container, sprinkled with flour again on top and the lid is closed. Garlic keeps its freshness until summer.

Happy owners of a summer cottage can use ash to store garlic. Into the usual cardboard box it is necessary to sprinkle the ash with a layer of 2 centimeters and put the heads of garlic tightly on top. The next layer there will be ash again, then garlic and so on. The topmost layer should be ash. The box completed in this way can be safely stored right in the kitchen.

Storing garlic in onion skins

If you have huge onion yields and a lot of onion skins are left over, why not use them to store your garlic? Onion peel you can pour the garlic in a bag, basket or box and put it somewhere higher on the mezzanine.

Storing garlic in cling film

Each head of garlic is tightly wrapped with cling film in two layers. The film protects the bulbs well from drying out.

Paraffin candles must be melted in a water bath, dipped heads of garlic in molten paraffin in turn and allowed to drain. Paraffin forms on the surface protective film... It will prevent moisture evaporation and will keep pathogens out of the garlic.

Storing garlic in sterile jars

You can put garlic heads in regular glass jars without falling asleep. They say that even without any “fillers”, garlic in a jar winters well, does not dry out and does not germinate. But for safety reasons, the banks should be sterilized and dried.

Storing Garlic in a Cloth Bag

Garlic is well stored in an ordinary linen bag from natural material, especially if the heads are previously held for a minute in a very concentrated saline solution, and then dried. This treatment minimizes the risk of mold and other diseases.

Until the next harvest is more difficult than growing it. The fact is that this bulbous culture does not have a high ability to lie down for a long time, it quickly grows moldy, rots, and closer to spring it begins to germinate and wither. What housewives do not come up with in order to store the heads of garlic all winter. The most different methods: from old and well proven, to relatively new, such as storage in glass jars.

Harvesting garlic

Many factors affect the safety of garlic, including correct (timely) harvesting and preparation for storage. So that the garlic heads can lie all winter and not rot, it is necessary to dig up the garlic in time, preventing it from overripe. It is important to know when which variety to dig up.

Everyone knows that garlic is winter (planted in autumn) and spring, which is planted in spring. Accordingly, the harvest time for both varieties is different. Winter garlic is dug up at the end of July. The main signs of its ripening are considered to be yellowed lower leaves, as well as a cracked seed pod on the arrow (experienced gardeners leave a couple of arrows in order to determine the maturity of the garlic heads later on).

The harvest time of spring garlic is determined by such signs as lodging of the stems, drying out and thinning of the scales covering the teeth. As a rule, this happens at the end of summer, and the garlic heads are removed from the garden at the end of August.

It is important to know that the timing of harvesting garlic is very limited. If not dug up in time, it will overripe and become unusable.

The fact that the bulbs are overripe can be recognized by the following signs:

the head easily crumbles into separate teeth;
the scales are completely cracked;
young roots began to grow in the root area.

Before removing garlic from the garden, it is necessary to carry out small preparatory work: stop watering 2–4 weeks before digging, and shake off the soil a little from the bulbs - this will speed up their ripening. Harvesting is carried out in dry and, if possible, warm weather. It is best to dig up the heads with a shovel or garden pitchfork. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage the teeth, and thereby prolong their storage. It is recommended to start harvesting in the morning so that the bulbs can dry in the fresh air until the evening.

Storage preparation

The dug out garlic should be peeled from the ground with your hands and, together with the stems, laid out in rows directly on the garden bed for further drying. The stems are left so that the plants can still receive useful substances from them for 4–5 days. Some gardeners leave the heads to dry in the garden for several days, citing the fact that such bulbs become more resistant to decay and can be stored longer. Others recommend harvesting immediately and drying it under a canopy or indoors.

You can decide for yourself how to dry the garlic bulbs. If the weather is hot, you can leave the harvest in the garden to ripen, but at the same time you need to cover the heads a little with leaves so that they do not receive sunburn... If the air is cool or rain is possible, it is better to dry the heads indoors, but it must be dry and well ventilated.

Indoors, garlic bulbs are dried for 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather. Peeling scales testify to their readiness, which by this time should become thin and slightly transparent. Now the bulbs need to be cut from the stems and roots. This procedure is performed with a pruner or scissors. The roots are pruned to 3 mm, the stems up to 5-10 cm.

There are several ways to store garlic bulbs in jars.

The first and easiest one. Whole heads are folded into a prepared jar of any size and closed with a nylon lid. In a cool place, such a product can be stored for several months.

Second way. The onions cut from the stems are placed in a jar in layers, sprinkling each with flour. A final layer 2–3 cm thick is poured on top. It must completely cover the bulbs, and thus prevent air from reaching the heads. This method helps to preserve the product for a long time, if, of course, the top layer of flour is not damaged.

Third way. The heads are folded into a jar in layers, by analogy with the previous method, but instead of flour, the layers are sprinkled with salt. Salt perfectly disinfects the product and allows it to be stored indefinitely.

Method four. The heads must be disassembled into teeth, cleaned, placed in a jar and filled to the brim with sunflower oil. Finally, shake the container a little so that the oil is evenly distributed and covers each clove. If desired, you can add salt, herbs, peppercorns to the jar - they will give the original taste not only to the cloves, but also to the oil, which can then be used for dressing salads.

The fifth method. The product prepared in this way is often used in Mediterranean cuisine. It involves pouring the peeled teeth with wine, it doesn't matter whether it is white or red. You need to store such a workpiece in the refrigerator.

And the last way is the sixth. The teeth need to be chopped, or twisted with a meat grinder. Next, put the product tightly in a prepared jar, pour a thin layer of vegetable oil on top. You also need to store the workpiece in the refrigerator, consume it as needed, without fear that the product may deteriorate.

It should be noted that methods 4-6 involve storing peeled garlic, so they are more troublesome to perform, but then such a product is very convenient to use.