Time to clean and store the garlic

In my post from 7/20/10 titled "Garlic Crop for 2010" I mentioned that after hanging I test the bulbs for dryness every week. Well they were dry, so this Sunday in the blazing heat we are having finally I cleaned the garlic for storage.

Tools needed for the job. I use the screened bottomed nursery flats to store the cleaned bulbs.

The first bundle cut down from the drying rack

I cut a one inch stem just to check that all are dried and it makes for easier handling

I then use a box cutter to trim the roots off

I use rubber gardening gloves to clean the bulbs of dirt also removing the soiled first layer of skin

And after a trim and a rub you have the finished product ready for storage or gift basket.
This one is the Hood River variety called 'Purple Glazer', a hardneck variety.

Last year we had five trays crammed full, which proved to be far more then we could use.
So this year I cut the crop in half and this gave us these three trays. I have three variety of garlic. The Purple Glazer hardneck, originally from the Republic of Georgia, produces 9 to 12 cloves per bulb. Second we have 'Brown Tempest' also a hardneck and is a great roasting garlic with plump 5 to 9 cloves per bulb. And last we have 'Georgia Crystal' which is a porcelain variety great for salsa and pesto and is mild when eaten raw.

And patiently waiting in the wings is my golf partner, Grandson Brooklyn who thinks garlic is yucky!