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Garlic is one of my favorite vegetables to grow. I love that I get two harvests from the bulbs I plant in the fall. The first harvest, because I plant hardneck garlic, is the long, loopy garlic scape. Then a few weeks later, I pull the garlic bulbs to dry and store through the fall and winter. In this article, I’m going to share tips on trimming the scapes, as well as when to harvest garlic.
I usually spread my garlic crop out over a couple of my raised beds. If I still need space, I’ll pop a few extra here and there in an ornamental garden. I generally plant hardneck garlic, because it’s better suited to the climate where I live. For warmer climates, there is also softneck garlic. We have an article that explains the differences between hardneck and softneck garlic.
Before we talk about when to harvest garlic, let’s first discuss how to harvest garlic scapes and ensure they don’t go to waste!
When to harvest garlic scapes
Garlic scapes in my cold climate garden usually start to make their appearance sometime in June (this may differ if you’re in a different growing zone). Not all of my varieties are always ready at the same time, which is nice because I can harvest garlic scapes in batches and enjoy them for longer.
Garlic scapes are easy to discern from the rest of the plant because they kind of look like green onions with a long elf hat (the bulbil) at the end. You’ll know your scapes are ready to pick when they form a spiral. Simply cut the scape (I use my garden scissors) at the base where it comes out of the stalk. If the scapes become straight, after they’ve gone through their curling phase, they’re past their prime. They’ll be tougher than a younger fresh scape and taste more bitter.
Once I have a handful of scapes, I usually whip them into garlic scape pesto (some of which I’ll freeze in ice cube trays). I snip off the “elf hats” and simply use the stalk. If you don’t cut your scapes and leave them on the plant, the bulbils turn into flowers and seeds. Even if you don’t intend to eat your garlic scapes, it’s still a good idea to snip them at the base of their stalk so that all the energy can go back into growing the bulb underground.
When to harvest garlic
After you cut the garlic scapes, you have about a month or so until the garlic itself is ready. Keep an eye on your garlic as you’ll see some of the bottom leaves start to die back. The tips of the leaves may also start to turn yellow and brown in color. When there are two dry, dead leaves at the base of the plant with a third starting to die, this is when you should pull your garlic.
It may be hard to see the first leaf. The bulb is wrapped in several leaf layers. As a leaf dies, the soil bacteria help it to decompose.
How to harvest garlic
The best way to remove a garlic bulb depends on the variety you’ve planted. For Turban, Artichoke, and Silverskin varieties, you might want to use a sturdy trowel or even a small shovel. Make sure you place the tip of your tool slightly away from where the bulb is. You don’t want to damage it underground. Gently lift the soil beneath the bulb. Usually this nudges the bulb up a bit, loosening the soil enough to pull the stalk. Gently remove excess dirt, being careful not to bruise the bulb. Bruising affects the storage life.
If the soil seems reasonably loose, I’ll try pulling hardneck varieties, like Rocambole and Porcelain, because the stalks are super-thick and sturdy. You want to avoid breaking off the stalk because then you’ll need to go searching underground. Without a winter mulch, I’ve found myself before with a broken stalk in my hand and a clove of garlic still hiding beneath the soil.
Sometimes the soil and bulbs need a little coaxing. I’ve found that when I mulch my raised bed with straw in the fall, the soil is much looser than if I just leave the bed exposed for the winter.
What if you pull garlic too early?
It’s sometimes hard to know if a smaller head of garlic will keep growing, even if the bottom three leaves have died away. There is a rapid growth stage just before garlic is ready to harvest, so a few days could make a significant difference. But then sometimes a bulb is just going to be a runt no matter what.
Keeping squirrels away from your garlic
Even if though they don’t like garlic, squirrels seem to have special radar for disturbed garden soil. I’ve gone out to the garden to find a perfectly good clove laying on top of the soil. A layer of straw mulch helps to deter rodents. You can also lightly sprinkle hen manure over the site to deter squirrels.
Drying and storing garlic
Curing garlic basically means drying it out. You want lots of air flow and a cool place to cure it. Drying racks are great options because you can use them for other veggies and herbs, as well. I made my own drying rack out of screen stapled to a scrap wood frame. I place it on a stack of bricks or buckets in my garage so air flows underneath. In years past, I’ve also hung my garlic in bunches, secured by twine around the stalks, in the garage. You can braid the stalks to store, as well.
After my garlic has dried, I’ll “clean” it by gently removing dirt and debris, and perhaps one outer dried layer, over a bucket. I’ll trim the long stalk off, so I have a clove like what you’d see at the grocery store. I learned a clever storage trick from Jessica. She stores garlic in egg cartons.
Hi Tara! Thanks for this informative article. I’ve been growing garlic for about a decade and I still learned some great tips! Have you ever seen scapes start to grow, then wither? That happened with a few of my plants once the scape was a few inches long. That’s a first for me. Any ideas?
Hi Karen, I’m having issues this year, as well. I think I might have an issue with onion maggots in a couple of my scapes, but a couple of other garlic pests include thrips and nematodes.
I like fresh garlic, how long can I leave it in the ground? Do I have to harvest it all at once or can I keep it in the ground for a month or so? I’m growing Purple Russian in Vancouver BC Canada
Hi Ang, you need to harvest the garlic all at once when it’s ready and store it for when you want to eat it.
What Type of garlic is usually bought at the grocery stores in Ontario. I planted cloves last year that started to sprout from grocery store garlic. Since I don’t know the variety I’m wondering if I should be looking for scapes or not and when to harvest. I actually wasn’t expecting anything to grow this year, but it did.
Hi Debbie, I’m not sure, it probably varies from grocery store to grocery store. I live in Ontario and my scapes aren’t up yet…
It looks like I have multiple dead leaves at base on garlic that has not scaped; do they always scape?
Hi Bardy, it seems as though you probably have a softneck variety. They are harvested the same as a hardback, but do not produce scapes. https://savvygardening.com/hardneck-vs-softneck-garlic/
Can I use the garlic that I grew to plant for the following season?
Hi Kristin, Absolutely you can replant this year’s garlic harvest!
I planted 15 hard neck in late fall. Only one did not produce a scape. I just harvest all And they look fine & smell great! Ofc to dry them…
Should hardneck (chesnok) be harvested before the scapes grow, even if bottom leaves are turning yellow?
Hi Trar.
Can you Grow garlic in a pot in the house? I live in an apartment with no balcony but I am interested in growing garlic. This is my first year without a garden. I do have some oregano and thyme from my garden that I brought with me, which is still growing from last summer. I am going to try several other herbs this year in the house and I would like to try garlic.
Hi Suzanne, You can, but from what I’ve read, you won’t be harvesting a full head of garlic, but rather the garlic shoots.
I am in the phillipines..is there much difference growing garlic here where there is no winter?
Hi Ernie, It does seem possible. This video from Cali Kim might be useful. She talks about growing garlic in warm climates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2fQ-w58p0
Great article
Hi Janet, It usually keeps for most of the winter in my garage before it starts to sprout.
How long does your garlic keep for?
The garlic I grew last year and harvested in July is still in storage in my pantry and in perfect shape
Depends on the type and how well they were cured and temperature and humidity in storage.
Does scapes come on ever garlic or do some garlic just have the brown leaves that turn down as you mentioned?
Hi Judith, Yes, there is hardneck garlic, which produces the scapes, and softneck: https://savvygardening.com/hardneck-vs-softneck-garlic/
Hi there,
I just found a bunch of straight garlic scapes in my backyard (it’s my first year in this house)
I know you said they are past their prime, however do you think pickling them might work?
Hi Jacqueline, I’ve found that the older they get the stronger and woodier they become. But it’s worth a try!
Excellent post, Thankyou! When is the best time to plant garlic shoots?
Hi Pete, you can plant garlic that has sprouted in spring, but you won’t get the same harvest as you would if you had planted your garlic in the fall.
I just harvested my scapes. They were 1 or 2 curls on them. Should I have waited till they were curled 3 to 4 times around? Just wondering from the pictures I saw in this post.