Almost all amateur gardeners grow garlic on their property. Only sometimes problems arise with storing it.
It would seem that the vegetable, rich in phytoncides and acting as an antimicrobial agent, is itself susceptible to the influence of pathogens. Therefore, the question of how to properly store garlic for the winter does not arise so rarely.
Correct preparation of the product and rational organization of its storage will help you cope with the task.
How to properly store garlic for the winter
One of the main nuances that is important to consider is proper preparation of the heads for wintering.
For this it is recommended:
- Dig up the harvest on time. For summer varieties, digging is considered optimal after the foliage has completely dried (at the beginning of August), for winter varieties - after the leaves have yellowed and the inflorescences have cracked (at the end of July);
- Do not pull out, but rather dig up the garlic, removing excess clods of earth with your hands. Under no circumstances should you knock the heads, knocking down the ground. Bruised heads will begin to rot;
- It is recommended to dry the collected heads by hanging them by the stems in a ventilated area for a week;
- After the garlic has dried, sort out the damaged heads and separate them into groups by size. Large ones are best for long-term storage.
- Damaged or too small heads should not be thrown away. They are not suitable for long-term storage without additional preparation, but they can be dried, salted or placed in the freezer.
How to store garlic in the cellar in winter
The best option for storing garlic is a cellar.
However, it is important to consider that in order for the crop to be stored as long as possible, the room must meet certain requirements:
- The temperature should not fall below 0 C, but also not exceed +5 C;
- Humidity at 50-80%;
- There must be good ventilation.
When placing garlic, it is recommended to take into account that it should not be placed next to other vegetables, with the exception of onions.
It is optimal to hang the onion from the ceiling, for this you need:
- Do not cut the stems, but weave them into braids, hanging them from the ceiling;
- In nylon stockings or vegetable nets. In this case, the stems will need to be cut off.
- Under appropriate storage conditions and the absence of pests, you don’t have to worry about the safety of the crop until next year.
Premises requirements
There are no particular differences between placing the presented vegetable in a basement or cellar. Therefore, almost all the requirements for arranging the presented premises for storing garlic coincide.
When arranging a basement or cellar for storing the described vegetable, you must comply with the following requirements:
- The temperature should range from 2 to 5 degrees Celsius. If there is a lower temperature, the plant will freeze and then lose its beneficial properties and taste. At higher temperatures the plant will begin to grow;
- Humidity levels should not exceed 80%;
- Before storing the product, the premises in question must be treated with special solutions against fungus, pathogenic bacteria and viruses;
- To increase the lifespan of the plant, you need to ventilate the premises daily. The ideal option would be to have ventilation.
What is the best way to preserve garlic until spring and summer:
How to store garlic in a city apartment
For keeping crops in an apartment, the option of hanging them from the ceiling is not always suitable; it is recommended to select containers. Regular nets, jars, and boxes will do.
To preserve the vegetable, you can freeze it, pickle it, or put it in jars. The last method is widespread.
To store heads in jars you will need:
- Sterilize the container;
- Without chopping, put garlic in it and seal with a plastic lid;
- To keep the heads longer, it is recommended to sprinkle them with flour.
You can store vegetables in your apartment in jars, but if you have a balcony or pantry, you can use the same methods as for basements. If the braids under the ceiling don’t bother you, keeping it on the balcony is one of the best options for an apartment.
Preparing the premises
In most cases, cellars and basements are not prepared for storing garlic, so you need to perform the following manipulations in advance:
- You need to check the walls and ceilings of the room. These actions are performed in order to make sure that when the snow melts or rains, the vegetable does not flood with water;
- Having identified rodents or insects, it is necessary to immediately install traps and also carry out treatment with special means;
- If mold appears, it must be destroyed using smoke bombs;
- If there are ventilation breakdowns, they should be repaired. This is explained by the fact that disruptions in ventilation will lead to rapid spoilage and loss of presentation of the vegetable, and its taste may deteriorate.
The premises must be disinfected once a year.
If the room is not warm enough, then for insulation you can use polystyrene foam, hay or straw, which will help increase the warmth of the basement or cellar.
How to store garlic so it doesn't dry out for a long time
There are many methods for storing crops at home.
However, to prevent it from drying out before time, it is recommended to adhere to a number of rules, which include:
- Summer species are more suitable for long-term storage;
- If a winter variety has been chosen for storage, it is important to avoid temperature fluctuations and increased humidity, which lead to rotting;
- It is important to consider that drying out is caused by increased temperature and dry air. If you take these two indicators into account, the problem of drying will fade into the background.
Long-term storage without drying out is not a myth, but a completely accessible reality that does not require much effort. It is enough to follow a few basic rules.
Useful tips for storing garlic for the winter, watch the video:
Saving periods
Garlic can be stored throughout the winter period, but only in proper conditions, maintaining a certain temperature and humidity. But it is also worth considering the variety, proper cleaning and preparation for storage. If all the presented points have been taken into account, then the plant can be stored for 3-6 months.
If you store the presented plant in a basement or cellar throughout the winter, it will delight everyone with its taste when added to various salads and dishes.
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As a rule, a plant can be stored in a basement or cellar for no more than six months, and therefore it makes sense to calculate the consumed volumes of garlic and leave for storage the amount of vegetable that will actually be eaten.
The positive side of such storage is that the heads retain maximum useful properties throughout the entire storage period and do not lose their attractiveness in terms of appearance.
Video on how to store garlic in a bag with nettles:
The most appropriate way to store garlic will depend on its type and variety, storage location, and your capabilities. Garlic will be fresh and healthy all winter, whether in an apartment or in a cellar, if you follow the basic recommendations for storing it in accordance with the conditions. Winter garlic is stored much worse than summer garlic, so it is mainly used for planting in late autumn, and eaten first. Cellars, basements, and vegetable stores are considered the best places to store garlic. But even at home, garlic can remain intact all winter.
Garlic storage conditions
With any storage method, it is important to observe the basic storage conditions for garlic:
- Garlic should be stored separately from other vegetables, because their storage conditions may not be the same;
- First of all, use damaged, dried out or frozen heads for food; frozen garlic heads cannot be stored;
- be sure to periodically do an inspection in order to detect shrunken, diseased or damaged heads in time.
- Follow all recommendations and storage rules.
How to properly store garlic
Garlic can be stored cold or warm. If you store garlic in a cool room - cellar, basement, vegetable store - it is important to maintain temperature and humidity conditions. When storing in an apartment, you need to find the coolest and most humid place possible.
The main reason for poor storage of garlic is drying due to loss of moisture.
Maintaining indoor air humidity to 50-70% is a primary task. If the humidity is above these limits, the bulbs may either become infected or germinate.
Winter garlic, being more capricious and demanding on storage conditions, will not be stored well in your apartment. But summer varieties will overwinter well at home.
How to store garlic in the cellar
The method of storing garlic in a cellar, basement or special storage is called cold. In the cellar, garlic is well stored in any form: either in bulk or in any container, you can hang it in braids and wreaths.
Garlic is placed in cool rooms with a temperature no higher than 3-4 °C and air humidity of 70-80%. These are optimal conditions under which even winter garlic can be preserved well.
How to store garlic in an apartment
If you have to store garlic in an apartment - this method is called warm - you will have to find the best option so as to preserve the vegetable and not take up too much space.
For storage at home, it is better to choose the coolest places protected from light: near the balcony, in the hallway, in the closet. The temperature should not be higher than 20 °C. It is also important to take care of hydration.
Storing garlic at home
Every zealous housewife can tell her own secret of how to properly store garlic in an apartment so that it stays all winter as if it had just come from the garden. I offer 10 proven methods, which are one way or another found in the arsenal of most gardeners, and allow you to keep garlic fresh and healthy until the next harvest.
Storing garlic in braids
Heads of spring garlic, woven into braids and hung in the kitchen, will become not only a convenient way of storage, but also a wonderful decoration for your interior. It is advisable not to make the braids too long and dense, because... The quality of the heads may decrease. It is enough to weave no more than 15 large or 15-20 medium-sized heads. In this form, garlic is perfectly stored until next year. For strength, you can weave twine along with the false stem or leaves.
Storing garlic in baskets
A good solution for storing garlic can be wicker baskets or thread nets like “Avoska”, if anyone has them, of course.
Storing garlic in jars
A fairly practical way is to store garlic in glass jars, previously sterilized. There is no need to heavily clean the heads, you just need to sort them out well and dry them. To be safe, you can mix the onions with flour. Tightness is not required, just close the jars with nylon lids.
Storing garlic in salt
Sometimes this method is called dry salting. For such storage, low boxes or boxes with small holes for air access are used. This is followed by alternating layers of garlic in one row and layers of salt until the container is completely filled. Salt is poured into the bottom in a layer of about 3 cm; there should also be a layer of salt on top. Due to its high antiseptic properties and good hygroscopicity, salt absorbs excess moisture and destroys all harmful microorganisms.
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Storing garlic in bags
Linen bags must first be soaked in a saline solution, allowed to dry and put garlic in them. Salt perfectly absorbs excess moisture, preventing the germination of bulbs. In drier rooms, you can also use ordinary linen bags, pouring onion peels into them. Salt and onion peels will provide reliable protection for garlic heads from various infections and pests.
Storing garlic in paraffin
The paraffin coating method is quite labor-intensive. It is necessary to melt the paraffin (1-2 candles) and immerse the whole garlic heads in it one by one for a while, then wait for the paraffin to completely harden. It is advisable to store garlic in this form away from radiators. The paraffin film will help retain moisture, prevent the heads from drying out, and the carbon dioxide released and retained inside will prevent the development of diseases.
Storing garlic in oil in the refrigerator
It is not difficult to preserve a small amount of garlic using any vegetable oil. To do this, place completely peeled garlic cloves in a sterile, dry jar and fill with oil. This way, in addition to preserving fresh garlic cloves, you will have a flavored garlic oil that can be used in salads or for medicinal purposes. Garlic can be stored this way for a long time, but always in the refrigerator.
Storing garlic in the ground
Some summer residents store garlic right at their summer cottage. In late autumn, a hole is dug in the garden bed and dried healthy heads of garlic are placed in it, placed in a sealed plastic bag. Everything is carefully wrapped in 4-5 layers of newspaper. The top is covered with earth and covered with leaves and tomato tops so that the ground does not freeze. In winters with little snow, you can insulate this place by shoveling a large amount of snow. This way the garlic will be preserved without loss throughout the winter. The main thing is to mark the place where the garlic was buried so that in the spring you don’t accidentally dig up this area.
Storing garlic dry
Harvesting garlic by drying is not very common, because such storage significantly reduces the content of useful substances. Peeled garlic cloves are cut into thin slices and dried until completely dry. You can dry garlic on radiators, on a stove, in an oven or in an electric dryer, as long as the temperature does not exceed 60 °C. After this, it is enough to grind the resulting garlic “chips” to a powder in a mortar, blender or coffee grinder and, after mixing with salt, store in a dry, glass, closed jar.
Storing garlic in tights
This “grandmother’s” method has not lost its relevance - it is still convenient and economical to store garlic in old nylon stockings or tights.
Almost all amateur gardeners grow garlic on their property. Only sometimes problems arise with storing it.
It would seem that the vegetable, rich in phytoncides and acting as an antimicrobial agent, is itself susceptible to the influence of pathogens. Therefore, the question of how to properly store garlic for the winter does not arise so rarely.
Correct preparation of the product and rational organization of its storage will help you cope with the task.
Storing garlic in salt
Another method of storing crops in apartment conditions is sprinkling with salt.
To do this you need:
- Choose dried and undamaged vegetables;
- Scatter finely ground salt at the bottom of a pre-prepared plywood box and place the heads on it. It is important that the heads do not touch one another;
- Sprinkle with salt again and place the heads again. This way you can make several more layers;
- Place the box in a dry place.
So, with the help of salt, a supply of garlic for the winter is guaranteed to the inhabitants of the apartment, and without much expense or effort.
