from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Livingston County

hardneck and softneck. Hardnecks form fewer but bigger cloves located around a hard central stem. The stem develops a curling top called a scape. Softneck garlic forms a higher number of cloves, the bigger ones are on the outside and smaller ones on the inside of the bulb.

Softnecks tend to mature a week earlier than hardnecks. If you are growing Softneck Garlic, you need to look and see that at least 50% of it has fallen over and is laying on the ground. Then you know that your softneck garlic is ready to harvest.

Hardneck is usually ready in mid–July. Pull a few plants every few days and cut a cross section of the bulb. Once you see space forming between the cloves and the central stem, your garlic is ready for harvest.

Harvest by prying up the entire plant with a garden fork or shovel. Don’t shake or bang against the ground, instead, remove the soil by rubbing it off gently with your fingers. Let the bulbs dry off thoroughly in a single layer in the sun on the ground for a couple of days. Hang or lay them down on shelves, window screens etc. with a good air flow to dry. Clean off when fully dry 2-3 weeks after harvest. This is also time to cut the roots. Keep your garlic in a low humidity, wellventilated location with a temperature of 60 to 65*F.

CCE’s Agriculture Program offers a garlic growing class. Stay tuned for updates coming out soon at https://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/ events.