Music garlic ready?

[danzeb]

Planted mine Oct 26. I also picked my softneck first about 5 days before the hardneck. Mine are also mostly decent size. I planted some smaller cloves so those bulbs were smaller. Sounds like our growing conditions were similar.

[Olin]

How so clean? Are those washed?

[odin.9]

i’ve never grown garlic before, but really want to try this year. Anyone have a quick and dirty guide for growing garlic? (zone 9a/8b).

[hoosierbanana]

Garlic is super easy, you can wing it. I planted Music early spring for green garlic and just pulled the heads I didn’t harvest for garlic scallions last week. They don’t divide when you plant them in early spring but that is fine, less peeling and if you want to use them for seed in the fall they will make a huge head next year.

[Ruben]

Here is mine, just pull them out couple days ago. I planted mine in February, this was my first time planting garlic and do not know what kind are this but would like to try again with a good variety. What do you all suggest?

[Olin]

I would love to size up 25%, but I also deal with moist soil. I’ve left them longer and they didn’t store well, they got some pink mold on the wrappers. Last year I harvested July 4th in Central MT; this year maybe I’m a little early at the 8th.

[Fusion_power]

I harvested garlic today with about 50 heads of 3 different types. It is in a bag to be spread out and dried tomorrow. One of the varieties is elephant garlic which my mother has grown for about 60 years. It reliably reproduces and thrives here in the deep south. I also have Ivans J16 which does surprisingly well for a hard neck variety. The last is a soft neck garlic but I don’t know the variety name.

[marknmt]

. I’ve left them longer and they didn’t store well, they got some pink mold on the wrappers.

I’ve had a little mold on some of the wrappers too. Maybe not curing them right?

[danzeb]

One of the varieties is elephant garlic which my mother has grown for about 60 years.

For those that don’t know, elephant garlic is related to leeks and not a true garlic.

[J.D]

i grew those last year. great garlic! mine had a reddish tinge to the wrappers. maybe my soil.

They are starting to color up some now that they have hung for a few days. May be a sign that they were pulled a little early?

How so clean? Are those washed?

Yes, I softly sprayed them with the garden hose before hanging. I know they don’t recommend doing so, but it help keeps the mess down when the dried soil falls off during the curing.

[moose71]

come to think of it, they did darken as they cured. mine all looked like that big dark one on the right.

[Kellogg_Hill_Farms]

Once dug, tie them in bundles and allow to air dry for a couple weeks. Leave the tops on and don’t wash the heads. Hang them in an area that is out of direct sunlight and gets a light breeze if possible. Mold on the heads sounds like the environment that you are curing them in is too moist.

[BG1977]

Is a garage ok?

[moose71]

thats where i cure mine. i even put a small fan on them on low.

[Kellogg_Hill_Farms]

I used to dry mine in an old shed that had screened windows and a screen door. It got up to about 100*F during the day, and the ventilation helped remove moisture from the building and allowed a slight breeze. I think the garage should be fine, depending on if you can keep them from drying out to quickly. I’ve seen people that try to rush the drying process and haven’t liked the results they’ve gotten.

[moose71]

i use a fan on mine because my garage has moisture issues. so much so if i don’t keep the doors open in the spring the concrete is wet all the time. if drying anywhere else i wouldn’t think you would need a fan.

[BG1977]

I’m also seeing the purpling after a few days of drying.

[Drew51]

Some are red, others brown, garlic skins come in many colors.
I usually add some new strains, but only take the biggest so I’m not even sure what they are anymore? I do grow this huge strain of soft neck, Most soft necks come out small here, but a few really make hard neck size bulbs. Here is one I’m saving for seed. I save 7 hard and 7 softneck bulbs for seed. I don’t use them all. I may try other purchased seed(cloves) too.

[BG1977]

So only two of 35 Music bulbs had any splitting of the skin. One of those two, it was so minor that I’m almost not even worried about it. Basically a half inch long slit in the skin. The other one has enough of a break to see the top and side of one clove.

[BG1977]

So when I harvest and cure onions (and now garlic), the outer skin/wrapper is often dirty and fragmented, with a “clean” layer underneath. Is it ok to remove that, or should I leave it at least until the bulb is pulled out of storage?

Usually with onions, I leave it, then when I pull some out to use, if there is a partial, dirty outer layer, I remove it for “curb appeal” in the kitchen, so it exposes a nice, clean layer.