New Season Garlic

The last of the 2012 vintage.  And a little soft!

Nearly three week later than last year because of the endless rain, but just in the nick of time as we have but a single head left, we have completed the annual garlic harvest.

Growing garlic is a doddle.  Put on woolly hat and coat in December, venture outside, poke cloves into the ground and retreat back into the warmth.  The next day, return back outside and carefully replant the ones pulled out by the birds.  And repeat.  In a week or so the shoots will appear and, defying the cold temperatures which it will adore, it'll continue to grow slowly throughout the winter.  All you need to do is gently weed as garlic sulks if it has to compete.  But let's face it, your average dandelion and creeping buttercup has headed (further) south for the winter so weeding is simplicity itself.


By June the garlic has done its growing, the leaves start to yellow and it is time to lift.  You need to be sure of a good spell of dry weather before lifting and I got this badly wrong last year; it got rained on a couple of times and we had a spell of damp overcast weather.  Consequently my garlic didn't dry completely and we lost perhaps 20% of the harvest due to rot over the course of the year.  As the kitchen is too warm and the shed and garage are not frost free, I store my harvested winter veg like pumpkins and garlic in my study over the winter.  Shutting the door and shutters means the room stays cold right through the winter months - I relocate to the sejour and warmth from the log-burner - and is perfect for storage.  But popping in for a new handful of garlic heads warned me of trouble; my study should smell of books and not slightly rank allium.

But despite losing some of the harvest, we certainly didn't scrimp on our garlic eating.  Probably eating garlic curry the day before you have to stand in line at the supermarket is unwise, but boy is it good.

Ready to harvest, indicated by the yellowing leaves

So yesterday was garlic harvesting day.  It was ready last week, the leaves starting to yellow and even a few stalks flopping over.  But with rain forecast for Wednesday this week, then followed by a rare enough event this year, a prediction of heat and sun for the foreseeable future, Thursday had to be the day.  Harvesting is a quick enough job, just being careful not to bruise the bulbs or break off the stems.  Or stick or fork straight through which I did once.  I leave most of the earth stuck to the roots.  It'll come off more easily when it has dried.

The heavy clay soil has already started to heave and set like concrete.

The garlic will lay out on the gravel in full sun by day and will be carefully returned to the wheelbarrow and the shed at night.  I'm not even taking chances with the dew this year.  Hopefully, in a couple of weeks all will have become dry and rustly to the touch and I can make some pretty plaits.  Or just chuck it in a string bag to overwinter.

The first row and some nice sized heads.

This weekend we'll start eating the fresh garlic so some recipes may follow.  Juicy, new season garlic is so different to its dried cousin, subtle and not in the slightest bit harsh.  You can (and we will) eat loads of it, although the side effects for those around us will probably be much the same!