Where to store garlic in the winter at home. How to store garlic for the winter at home
Garlic is a wonderful vegetable. It gives sharpness and special flavor many dishes, is simple and accessible means strengthening immunity, used to treat a wide range of diseases in traditional medicine. His beneficial features are most pronounced at the time of ripening and may be partially or completely lost if the garlic is not properly stored. Create good conditions storing garlic is not difficult, you just need to know some of the nuances that will be discussed below.
Before laying garlic for long-term storage, it must be harvested. If you do it on time, not ahead of time and not later, then save it long time will be easy. Signs of ripeness of garlic are yellowing of leaves and lodging of tops. As soon as both signs appear, the garlic must be harvested.
There are two types of garlic: winter and summer. Winter is planted in autumn and harvested in July, summer is planted in spring, and it ripens at the end of August.
It will only be possible to store garlic for a long time in the winter if it has been properly prepared. After harvesting, the garlic must be dried well. In dry weather, this is done right on the street, in rainy weather - in a well-ventilated room. Drying garlic takes three to five days. You need to dry the garlic along with the leaves, then everything useful material from the leaves will pass into the head. The roots are removed from the dried bulbs, leaving a short tail, about three millimeters, and leaves, keeping the dry stem of a small length.
How to store garlic in winter
There are two main methods for storing garlic: warm and cold.
warm way- garlic bulbs are stored at a temperature of sixteen to twenty degrees, with little humidity. This method of storage is used for summer garlic.
cold way- storage temperature is from two to four degrees, the humidity is slightly higher than with the warm method. These conditions are easiest to create in the refrigerator. In this way, they often store winter garlic, though it is suitable for summer. In general, winter garlic is worse stored and more susceptible to various diseases.
Ways to store garlic in winter
- In a pigtail. It is traditional and beautiful way, which was used by our grandmothers. Garlic stalks are braided into a pigtail, weaving a rope into it for strength. Make a loop at the end and hang in a cool place. No more than twenty heads of garlic are usually woven into a pigtail.
- In the basket. Garlic stays fresh for a long time if you place it in a basket, and put the basket in a dark, cool place. Instead of a basket, you can use a wooden box or a cardboard box. In the box you need to make holes for air circulation. And do not forget to sort out the garlic from time to time and remove the spoiled bulbs.
- In a double bag. Dried garlic is placed in a canvas bag, tied and placed in an open plastic bag. Such a double shell allows you to maintain the correct level of humidity if the temperature does not exceed twenty degrees.
- IN glass jars.
The jars are sterilized, dried, dry heads of garlic are placed in them and covered with plastic lids. Another option is to sprinkle the garlic with flour. Wherein upper layer flour should be large enough - about two centimeters to prevent air from entering the cans. A lid is not needed in this case.
- In nets and nylon tights. Too known way. Garlic should lie freely in the grids, that is, it should not be too much in one grid. It is best to use this method for storing garlic in the cellar.
- In salt. A layer of salt, two to three centimeters, is poured into a wooden box, the heads of garlic are laid out in one layer, salt is poured again, so that the heads are completely closed, and the salt rises above them no less than a centimeter. Then again a layer of garlic and a layer of salt. This continues until the box is full. The last layer of salt should be the same thickness as the first. If in this way you store garlic in a cool room, then it will keep everything desired properties within eight months. If the box will stand in a room with room temperature, then no more than four.
- Oil coated. To protect garlic from premature spoilage and disease, it is covered with sunflower oil. The oil is pre-boiled and a few drops of iodine are added to it. Garlic heads (unpeeled) are dipped in this oil and quickly removed. Or apply oil on garlic with a brush or cotton swab. Garlic is laid out in the sun so that the oil is absorbed and dried, after which it is transferred to storage boxes.
- You can store peeled garlic in oil. Garlic cloves are peeled, placed in a jar in dense rows and poured with any vegetable oil. In this state, garlic retains all its qualities, as well as taste and aroma.
- In wax or paraffin. In order to keep the garlic longer, its roots are dipped in melted wax or paraffin. You can cover the entire head, then it definitely will not deteriorate. Such garlic can be kept in open glass jars.
- In a paper bag. But it should be kept in the cold, for example, in the refrigerator.
- Burn the roots. This is an old rustic way to increase the shelf life of garlic. After the excess roots are trimmed, the garlic is held over the flame for a few seconds so that the roots are slightly charred.
- In bags with onion peel.
Small cloth bags are taken, filled with dry onion peel, then garlic is placed in these bags. It is better if these bags are kept hanging.
So that it does not dry out and does not deteriorate, does not lose weight and juiciness, so that it does not germinate, so that the clove is juicy - it turns out that it is easy to store garlic correctly. Ancient tricks and tricks - note to the hostess.
Background: why garlic does not store well
Garlic does not spoil - it is a natural process. And essential oils, phytoncides, alliin, amino acids, oxidizing in the light and in the fresh air, are to blame. Garlic does not spoil - it is preparing for germination.
How to store garlic? Just don't let it grow.
In winter varieties, more juicy due to thin integumentary scales, more essential oils, which determine sharpness, the shelf life is 4-5 months, for spring garlic - about six months.
Medium-late, late varieties of any type are suitable for long-term storage.
Spring garlic is stored for up to 5-6 months, until May, at t + 15 ... + 17 ° C at a humidity of 50-70% - the so-called. "warm" storage.
It is believed that winter garlic needs “cold storage” + 2 ... + 4 ° C and humidity 70-80%.
But rumors about its unsuitability for storage at home are exaggerated: healthy, undamaged, cleaned on time and dried winter garlic will last for six months.
Suitability for storage of purchased garlic of an unknown genus-tribe is determined by the color of the scales and the shape of the head. In winter, the teeth are arranged in one row, in spring - in several rows. Winter garlic is more often with light scales with a small number of lilac stripes, in spring garlic the scales are more often painted in an intense lilac color.
Have you properly prepared the garlic for storage?
We clean on time
Suitable for sampling garlic with stems that begin to lodging, withered foliage, softened false stem.
Garlic harvested at the wrong time will not be stored: even suspended, even in salt, even in paraffin.
If the stems are dead, and the head begins to unfold, it’s already too late: it won’t lie for a long time.
We dry correctly
Garlic is dried for about 10 days at t +25 C with a thin embankment. In properly dried garlic, the root lobe is overdried and easily separated by fingers.
If possible, hang it in a bundle: nutrients and the moisture will go down to the bulbs.
Leave the stem
Do not cut the garlic until the end of September - until October, and when pruning, leave a stem 10-15 cm long: it will protect it from drying out, will not allow the scales to peel off, which means that the teeth will germinate.
He needs roots!
The best pruning time is October. The roots are cut to 3-5 mm at least: the appearance is “not marketable”, but the safety is excellent. And even better, garlic is stored with roots that are not cut at all - summer residents with experience assure.
Scales - a pledge of storage
Do not remove the upper coverts if they are "tousled". Let them not be beautiful, but they protect from drying out.
Roots and tops are a guarantee of storage. Long storage.
He doesn't like the light
The apartment has a pantry, mezzanine, warm balcony- any place is good, where there is little light. Garlic sprouts in the light - checked.
Advice! To prevent garlic from sprouting, burn the bottom of the bulbs using a burner or a candle. The method is old-fashioned, laborious - but it will come in handy with total germination.
…and don’t store different varieties together
Varieties with a short shelf life spoil earlier, infecting all garlic.
How to store garlic in an apartment or private house
And you can store garlic in a dry basement, cellar, on the veranda of the house and just in the apartment. Well dried, properly cut, it will be stored in any dry room. And it is not so important whether it is winter or spring.
Store in braids beautifully, compactly and for a long time.
1. In boxes. plastic lattice, wooden boxes fill with a layer of 20-30 cm. Spring is kept warm - in an apartment in the kitchen, on the veranda of a private house. Winter in in large numbers it is better to send it to a cold cellar.
2. In braids. In addition to decorativeness, braids save from overdrying, prevent delamination of scales, and make it difficult for air to reach the teeth. Braids are woven when the stems are not wilted, plastic and flexible.
3. In a bundle. With stems 20-25 cm long, tied in 10-12 pieces or clamped with a staple, hanging garlic is stored for a long time both in the kitchen at home and in a warm basement.
4. In boxes, cardboard boxes, wicker baskets, sprinkled with shavings, sawdust, onion peel. Sand is sprinkled only in dry cellars with low humidity.
Advice! Plastic bags and other synthetic non-breathable bags are not suitable: they are condensate and rot.
5. In a bag. Linen, canvas bags. They are not laid tightly, and they are not tied tight - so that there is air access.
6. In the grid. Suspended higher in ordinary nylon nets - best method: and ventilated, and compact, and scales in place.
7. No trimming. The method is good for busy housewives: after drying, the stems are dry, the roots are not cut off. And even the soil should not be cleaned too much. Garlic is put in cardboard, lattice boxes in bulk, stacking crosswise (jack).
The best way to store garlic in winter is to keep both the top and the root from drying out.
The box is stored on a warm, dry veranda, in the kitchen - where it does not interfere. Garlic is selected as needed. The simplest and most the right way save garlic from sprouting, drying out and greening.
Unusual Storage Methods
Keeping garlic in salt is boring, in paraffin - much more interesting!
- Salt storage. The heads are placed in a box, sprinkled with salt. Salt absorbs moisture and preservative, does not allow rot.
- In the ashes The owners of baths and fireplaces find it useful to sprinkle garlic with ashes in layers. Rumor has it that it is stored well, but how about peeling garlic in ashes?
- In onion skins. They are sprinkled with husks that take on moisture, containing phytoncides that inhibit the growth of fungi and bacteria.
- In paraffin. The heads are dipped in melted paraffin, forming protective film. The method is good for a deficiency of garlic and an excess of paraffin.
What if he doesn't want to be kept?
The following storage methods for already peeled garlic will come to the rescue.
In oil. The heads are peeled, filled with oil. It will lie for a long time - up to 3 months, and - an excellent preparation in haste.
In salt. The teeth are placed in jars, sprinkled with salt, not hermetically covered, stored in the refrigerator.
Storage in flour. The teeth are rolled in flour, placed in glass containers. One problem: it's easier to buy fresh garlic than flour.
You can store garlic in the refrigerator in a city apartment, if there is free space. The heads are wrapped in paper, foil, laid separately from other vegetables.
And no polyethylene: it will quickly deteriorate due to condensate.
And peeled teeth are frozen, dried, ground into powder, crushed and frozen - but that's another story, culinary.
When they buy garlic one head at a time and use it for several days, they don’t even think about how to store this vegetable. And if you have your own garden on which garlic grows, then sooner or later the question arises: how to keep it until next harvest?
What kind of garlic to store
Unfortunately, not all garlic can be stored for a long time.
- If it is young, then it is better to use it for food as soon as possible, since its keeping quality is low.
- For long storage only well-ripened heads are suitable. But even here it is necessary to adhere to the golden mean. After all, in unripe garlic, the onions are loose, loose, and in overripe, they easily crumble.
- When storing garlic, the main condition is the integrity of the heads and cloves, which have many common outer scales that protect the garlic from the external environment.
- Garlic stored for storage should be dry, strong, without signs of rot and lethargy.
- When pressing on the teeth, softness should not be felt and voids should not be felt.
- Garlic is usually harvested at the end of summer. It was then that its stems droop, the leaves turn yellow, which indicates its maturation.
- Garlic, which is going to be sent for storage, is not watered for several days, but it is dug up in dry weather.
- Digging is carried out very carefully so as not to damage the necks of the bulbs. Otherwise, such garlic will quickly rot.
- Immediately after digging, the bulbs are dried for several days. Most often this is done right in the field, leaving the garlic on the ground.
- But if it starts to rain, then the garlic is dried under a canopy, and even better - in a room where it is warm and dry.
- Then the leaves are cut off from the garlic, leaving only a small stump, and sent for storage. For this purpose, a basement, cellar, pantry or vegetable store is suitable.
How to store garlic in a bunch
Garlic can be stored in bundles. To do this, the bulbs are freed from leaves, leaving only the stem, and braided into braids, gradually adding one head at a time. Thus, bundles of 12-15 bulbs are made. Garlic is hung upside down by the braids in a dry, cool, dark place and stored in this form.
Garlic storage temperature
The best temperature for storing food garlic (which will go into food) is minus 1-2 °, but seed garlic is stored at 0 °.
Many people think that garlic should be kept dry. warm place. But with this method of storage, it quickly dries out, shoots arrows and is affected by various diseases.
Humidity storage garlic
Humidity in the room in which garlic is stored should be no higher than 70 - 80%.
Therefore, it is stored separately from potatoes and other vegetables, which need more high humidity- up to 90%, which is unacceptable for garlic.
For the same reason do not store garlic on the balcony. Firstly, there is a strong difference between day and night temperatures. And secondly, in wet weather, high humidity can cause garlic to rot.
If there is high humidity in the room where the garlic is stored, then proceed as follows: a container with quicklime, which, when extinguished, will take excess moisture out of thin air, and it will become drier.
Where to store garlic
- Garlic is folded into nets and stored in a suspended state in a dry and cool place without access to light, since the bulbs begin to sprout together in a dark room.
- The heads of garlic can be stacked in boxes or trays, while stacking them on top of each other, stacking up to two meters in height.
Storage of garlic in a paraffin shell
- A composition is prepared from 97% paraffin and 3% monoglyceride.
- Heated it up to 80-85 °.
- Garlic is folded into synthetic nets and immersed in a heated paraffin mixture for two seconds.
- The bulbs are taken out. When the paraffin hardens, it forms on the garlic thin film, which will protect it from drying out, rotting, and also protect against diseases.
Such garlic is stored in small boxes, trays or cardboard boxes stacked or on racks.
Such garlic is stored for about six months longer than in the usual way of storage.
How to store garlic in the apartment
- Garlic is sorted out, leaving only whole, strong and clean bulbs. Put them in glass jars, sprinkling with salt. To do this, a layer of salt is poured onto the bottom of the jar, onions are laid on it, and salt is also poured on top, shaking so that it is evenly distributed throughout the entire container.
- Garlic is stored in canvas bags along with onion peel. Heads must be intact. And so that the roots and the remains of the stems do not germinate and do not rot, they are first burned with fire.
- Garlic does well in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment. It is placed in a canvas bag or placed in a box lined with paper napkins. In this form, garlic bulbs are stored for quite a long time, without drying out and without germinating. The main condition is that the heads must not be damaged, and they must not be disassembled into teeth. Therefore, half onions are used for food in the first place.
And here in plastic bag can't store garlic, as moisture accumulates in it, from which the bulbs begin to shoot arrows or deteriorate.
During storage, garlic should be checked periodically in order to notice damaged heads in time, the presence of which will adversely affect the storage of the rest of the crop.
How to store garlic in oil
- The garlic is sorted out, discarding the damaged heads.
- Divided into cloves, peeled.
- Store in clean, dry jars.
- Fill with vegetable oil.
- Close with plastic lids and put in the refrigerator or cold cellar.
Note to the owner
- For long-term storage, it is better to lay spring garlic, which can be distinguished from winter garlic by the core, or rather by the absence of a false stem in the center of the bulb. Spring garlic is harvested in August.
- It is believed that garlic, dug out on the waning moon, is stored better.
- Garlic does not like freezing. Although many housewives keep it that way. They clean it, wash it, and then grind it in a meat grinder. After that, the garlic mixture is laid out in molds for freezing ice and sent to freezer. As needed, they take the frozen briquette out of the refrigerator and add it to any dish without defrosting.
At proper storage garlic remains strong, juicy and fragrant almost until the next harvest.
Garlic is an important ingredient in many snacks, soups, vegetable stew, cereals, salads and sauces. It gives them a pleasant aroma, pungency and piquancy, so you can’t do without it in the kitchen. Knowing how to store garlic, you can save it in its original form for the whole winter and use it on the menu all year round.
The intricacies of preparing garlic for storage should be considered even during the harvest period.
There are several varieties of garlic, so you need to understand the timing and features of each of them:
- Spring or summer. Collected in the first half of August, when the leaves turn completely yellow and begin to fall on the ground. Can be stored even until the next harvest.
- Winter. It reaches maturity in the middle of summer, when the leaves begin to turn yellow, the scales become thinner and the skin of the inflorescences cracks. Stored at low temperatures.
It is very important not to miss the digging period: if the heads break up into cloves, then they are no longer suitable for long-term storage. Ideal for storage, the onion is dry, hard, has 3-4 layers of protective husks, and the slices are well separated from each other. Wet husks are a sign that the culture is not yet ready for harvest.
Harvesting should be carried out only in dry weather, in the morning or evening hours. When digging, you need to be careful not to damage the heads with the tip of a shovel or fork. Damaged garlic is not suitable for long-term storage.
The harvested crop must be dried under a canopy. If the heads are planned to be stored in braids, then the stems are not cut off. In all other cases, the stems must be cut with sharp scissors at a distance of 1.5 cm from the beginning of the neck, and the roots removed with secateurs. In no case should you leave shrunken, damaged, diseased heads.
If part of the harvest is not suitable for long-term storage, do not be upset. Such heads can be crushed, dried, or frozen. Garlic harvested in this form is very convenient to use, but loses a little in palatability, since freezing affects both the taste and the consistency of the product. It is better to freeze garlic in crushed form and in small portions. It is advisable to store such blanks in two bags, otherwise the products in the freezer will acquire a characteristic smell.
Treatment with a special solution gives a good result: 10 drops of iodine are added to half a liter of calcined vegetable oil and each head is dipped into it. After that, the processed crop can be saved in any convenient way.
Optimal storage conditions
How to store garlic so that it does not dry out? It is best stored in a cold place. The temperature should range from +3 to +5. If the harvest is folded in a warm place, this will lead to drying out of the heads and their deterioration.
The optimum humidity should not exceed 80%. But excessive dryness is also harmful, as the heads will begin to dry out. Therefore, you need to know how to store garlic so that it does not dry out and does not rot. By observing these conditions, you can save the collected raw materials in private buildings in the pantry, basement, attic and even in the apartment.
A prerequisite is a dark place. When exposed to light, the cloves will begin to sprout.
Periodically harvested crop need to be reviewed in order to remove rotten bulbs in time. Their presence is very easy to determine by the characteristic bad smell. Damage to the heads occurs due to infection with a fungus and non-compliance with storage requirements.
Ways to store garlic at home
Garlic can be stored not only separately, but also together with onions in small rag bags, wooden boxes and cardboard boxes. If the crop is planned to be stored in the cellar, you need to take care of good ventilation. Constant circulation fresh air- pledge successful storage the entire crop.
In glass jars or boxes
It is quite convenient to store garlic in a jar. The selected heads must be disassembled into slices and dried in the room. Then fold into a container and, without clogging, leave in a dry room.
Boxes made of wood or plywood are the most popular storage containers. The main thing is that they have holes for air circulation.
Rules for storage in the refrigerator
Garlic keeps very well in the refrigerator. The only negative is that there is often no free space in it. Dry the selected heads and put them in paper bags. If there is excess salt or dry onion peel, it can also be added inside, this improves the quality of storage.
in salt
Many positive reviews heard about the method of storage in salt. Salt should be poured onto the bottom of the plywood container, then one layer of sorted and dried heads should be laid out. You need to make sure that they do not have points of contact with each other. The previous layer is laid out only after filling the previous one with salt. No more than 5 layers of garlic can be stored in one box. Instead of boxes, you can take glass containers, but this is not so convenient.
Garlic mass through a meat grinder
This method is most often used at the first sign of spoilage. Rotten or overdried slices should be thrown away, and the remaining ones should be cleaned and passed through a meat grinder. Salt the garlic mass, mix, transfer to jars and cork. Keep refrigerated.
Purified storage technology
Peeled garlic is very convenient to use during cooking, as there is no need to waste time cleaning. It just won't last long in the fridge. It is best to transfer the peeled slices to a glass container and pour vegetable oil. Alternatively, garlic can be put in pre-sterilized jars, closed with a lid and put in a cold place. But the shelf life of such a product is too short.
How to keep garlic in oil?
This method is good because, in addition to a well-preserved product, you can get fragrant garlic oil as a bonus. The peeled slices are tightly folded into a jar, periodically adding oil. Store in a cool place with a sealed lid.
Sometimes dry white or red wine, wine or table vinegar is used instead of oil.
In linen bags
These bags can be made from old clothes and scraps of unnecessary fabric. The main thing is to dip finished goods in a strong saline solution and dry thoroughly. The salt that has soaked the fabric does not allow pathogenic microbes to penetrate inside, so the garlic does not deteriorate.
In braids and buns
Only summer garlic can be stored in braids and bunches. This the old fashioned way storage was often used by our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. In old photographs and paintings, you can see real garlic garlands that hang on walls or beams.
For strength, use a rope or twine, making a loop at the end for easy hanging.
To weave a braid, it will take a lot of skill, but it takes up little space, which is very convenient in a city apartment. It is easier to tie the heads with the stems into bunches and just hang them in a dry room.
If you don’t want to mess with buns and braids, you can put the heads in old nylon stockings or tights and hang them in a secluded place.
An unusual method - waxing
This method is rarely used, but its effectiveness is quite high. Previously, it was constantly used in vegetable stores before sending raw materials to the market or to the store. Heads in paraffin can be stored for at least 6 months in their original form, as this substance does not allow moisture to evaporate. Prepared high-quality heads are dipped in liquid paraffin, left to solidify and transferred to a suitable container.
in flour
Alternatively, you can store the heads in glass jars with flour. Garlic is loosely folded into a container with roots down and poured abundantly. There is no need to close banks.
Sprinkling garlic with fresh sawdust
Storing vegetables and root crops in sawdust is a well-known method. It is best to use coniferous sawdust and wooden boxes. Keep the heads sprinkled with sawdust in a cold and dry room.
Shelf life
Properly storing garlic in winter is not difficult at all, but keep in mind that depending on the method, storage periods also differ:
- Garlic is stored for the longest time in paraffin and other free-flowing dry products. The same applies to linen bags if they lie in a dry room. Subject to all the rules, the product will retain its properties for six months.
- Next comes garlic in the refrigerator, oil and a jar. The maximum storage period is 3 months.
- The crushed garlic mass with salt is suitable for consumption for no more than 8 weeks.
It should be borne in mind that summer garlic is stored better, and winter garlic should be used first.
A large crop is best stored in several ways. This will protect against the loss of garlic in cases where suddenly some storage conditions are not met.
Foreword
How to store garlic is of interest to everyone who has already encountered the fact that growing it is easier than keeping it fresh not even until the next harvest, but at least for several months. The main thing here is to create and maintain certain conditions in winter. Only two types of garlic are grown, and each has its own storage regime, which is completely unacceptable for the other.
Garlic is divided into spring and winter. Already from the name it is clear that the main difference between these species is in the landing time. For spring it is spring, and for winter it is autumn. In addition, the second type differs from the first in that it has a higher yield and is worse stored.
The appearance of spring and winter garlic is also different. And the ability to distinguish them will be very useful when, for long-term storage in winter, this vegetable will be taken not from its own garden, but in a store or in the market. In spring, the vast majority of varieties are stemless, non-shooting, and the cloves are located around the center of the head in several rows and most often in a spiral.
All winter varieties grow only with a stem (arrow). The cloves are arranged around it in 1 row and are much smaller than those of the spring, but they are usually larger. In the core of any clove of winter garlic, even a small one, there is a distinct rudiment of the future arrow-stem. A spring one will have it only if it is an arrow variety, while everyone else does not.
heads of garlic
Now you can move on to the question of how to properly store garlic, depending on its type. As noted above, for spring and winter crops, different conditions. Failure to comply with them and storing garlic of the first type in a way for the second and vice versa will lead to the fact that this vegetable will not mature for the period due to it in winter.
According to the types of garlic, there are two main ways of storage. The main difference between them is the temperature and humidity that must be maintained:
- for winter – +2…+4 o C and 70–80%, respectively;
- spring – +16…+20 o C and 50–70%.
If you follow these requirements, then you will not have to wonder later why the garlic rots, sprouts or withers when it is still stored and stored.
Harvest storage
It should be noted right away that it is better to stock up on spring garlic for the winter, and completely refuse from long-term storage of winter garlic.
This is exactly what most experienced owners do. They lay winter crops for long-term storage only if its harvest, the harvest time of which has come, turned out to be more than they managed to eat fresh garlic or process it when cooking and vegetable stocks for the winter. No matter how hard you try, this species cannot be saved for more than 3-4 months. Winter, to a greater extent than spring, is subject to the manifestation of various garlic diseases during storage and often rots. It can be saved from this and significantly increase the period of freshness, but only with a noticeable loss of taste and aroma of the vegetable. For this you need winter.
Spring crops can be preserved until a new winter crop without a significant loss of taste, aroma and vitamins. In addition, it is still permissible to keep it in conditions intended for winter. True, it will be stored at the same time much less than it should be and will quickly lose its aroma, freshness and useful properties.
It is generally impossible to store winter crops in conditions for spring crops, in warmth. It very soon begins to sprout and dry up, or it is affected by diseases and rots.
To preserve garlic, it is also important to properly prepare it. One of the main components of this is timely harvesting. Otherwise, during storage, part of the vegetables or even more of them can be lost. It is not necessary to collect unripe garlic, and even more so, it is impossible to harvest overripe for the winter. Cleaning time:
- winter - from about mid-July to early August;
- spring - the second half - the end of August.
Signs indicating the ripening and the onset of the time of harvesting the first type of garlic are the inflorescence wrappers that have begun to crack and the lower leaves turn yellow. At the same time, the scales covering the bulb become dry and thinner.
Spring should be harvested when the lower leaves dry up, and the upper ones begin to turn yellow and fall. For both types of garlic, an important indication that it is ripe is the characteristic condition of the scales covering the head. They must be thin and strong.
Ripe bulbs
Delay or delay in harvesting garlic will lead to a decrease in its quality and suitability for storage:
- covering upper scales crack and fly around;
- bulbs break up into individual cloves;
- new roots sprout on the bottom of the heads and the garlic takes root, while losing the nutrients and nutrients of the cloves.
Such bulbs are no longer subject to laying for long-term storage - they quickly deteriorate. If you still prepare them for the winter, then you should not be puzzled why the garlic dries or rots. Teeth are deprived of reliable external protection and internal resources to fight diseases.
Try to collect garlic on dry, warm days. During harvesting, the heads and their roots should be protected from bumps and damage. The soil from the roots and the surface of the bulbs must be removed. Do it carefully with your hands.
harvesting garlic
Before storage, garlic must be dried for 3-5 days. In dry warm weather, you can directly on the site. In rainy weather, a well-ventilated utility or other room is used (veranda, attic, shed, yard under a canopy).
It is necessary to dry the garlic along with the tops (leaves). If it is removed immediately, then part of the bulb juice will be lost through a fresh cut and an infection may be introduced.
When the garlic dries, it will be possible to understand by touch. The covering scales will become absolutely dry and rustling. Then the stem and root are cut off from the bulbs, leaving a neck up to 10 cm in the first and 2-3 mm in length in the second. Then the garlic must be sorted. For storage in winter, we select only strong ripe, but not overripe bulbs, healthy, without signs of disease and damage, with scales tightly adjacent to the teeth.
Winter is best stored in a cellar or basement. It is there that the most suitable conditions can be created for him. At the same time, storing garlic in the cellar is associated with a number of difficulties. On the one hand, it can be very difficult to maintain the necessary temperature and humidity there, and on the other hand, it can contain fungi, pathogens and pests, due to which the vegetable will deteriorate. However, it all depends on the degree of preparedness of the cellar. It is necessary to take care in advance that in it:
- The temperature did not fall below 0 o C - otherwise the vegetables may freeze - and did not rise, at least significantly, above the permissible level so that the bulbs did not begin to dry or germinate.
- There was thoughtful ventilation, providing required humidity. At high garlic rots, and in the case of low dries.
- There were no mold, fungus and pests.
If at least 1 of these points cannot be fulfilled, then it is better to store the garlic in the refrigerator of the apartment.
Storing vegetables at home
How to store garlic among other preparations in the cellar? With the help of twine or flexible wire, 15-20 bulbs can be woven (tied) into braids. To do this, the grassy tails of the heads must be intertwined with a rope, making knots if necessary. It is necessary to start the braid from below, sequentially tying up the next bulbs. Either garlic is placed in nylon tights, stockings or small nets. In one such package, you should not lay more than 15-25 bulbs. Then braids or nets with tights are hung from the ceiling or along the walls. The vegetable should not come into contact with the latter.
You can also arrange the bulbs in shallow baskets, cardboard boxes, wooden or plastic boxes, but not for metal ones. Condensation will form on their walls.
At least once a month, check the condition of the garlic. Damaged and beginning to rot bulbs, as well as, if necessary, adjacent to them should be removed.
It, of course, needs to be stored only in the apartment. In it with maintenance necessary conditions there are practically no special difficulties. There is, of course, so that it does not dry out or germinate. Still, in the apartment for a significant part of the day it is light, and the temperature is often higher than necessary. However, for long-term storage of garlic, it is enough to perform several simple conditions. It should be placed in the following places:
- dark or shaded dry cool;
- away from heaters and heating systems.
Proper crop conservation
Storage methods, as in the cellar: tie with braids, in nylon stockings and nets that can not only be hung up, but also put, as well as in baskets, boxes, boxes and jars. In the latter, some recommend pouring garlic with onion peel or salt. For spring, this is not necessary at all. He lies so well.
What diseases can affect garlic during storage and how to deal with them
As noted above, diseases mainly affect winter garlic, and spring garlic is less susceptible to this. The causative agents of all infections and ailments of this vegetable, as a rule, are various fungi, as well as bacteria. Perhaps the most common disease is neck rot. Its manifestations: the teeth soften, become yellowish, watery, and may even mummify. There are also molds of various colors - green, black, gray. By the way, they spread very quickly, scattering spores around them, on healthy teeth, and then onions. There are other diseases as well.
Why does garlic get sick and rot? Only because of his improper preparation and non-compliance necessary conditions storage: collected at the wrong time, not dried out, damaged, the wrong one was taken away and could not stand desired temperature, humidity. All the causative agents of the disease were already in the garlic, and up to three or four at the same time, and they were waiting for the right moment when the vegetable would weaken enough. In bulbs that are unsuitable for storage or in suitable, but placed in unacceptable conditions, diseases are provoked earlier.
How to store garlic so that it hurts less? There is only one recipe: proper preparation, optimal conditions storage and timely removal of suspicious bulbs.
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