How to store winter garlic - storage options. Helpful tips on how to preserve garlic until spring

Garlic is an excellent protector against any infections in the cold and a necessary ingredient for spicy dishes. A good owner stores garlic at home in winter for his own needs and for planting next year. You don’t know how to preserve this vegetable at home until spring? My grandmother’s method immediately comes to mind - braiding garlic and storing it hanging. But there are other ways.

We store garlic at home in a box until spring

Dry the garlic well first. Prepare a roomy wooden box. Make holes in its walls for ventilation. Next, your actions are as follows:

• Place a one-centimeter layer of salt on the bottom of the box. Instead of salt, you can use wood ash or sawdust;
• lay the heads of garlic, and again pour a layer of sawdust on top;
• alternate layers of garlic and sawdust or salt until the container is filled.

Place the box in a cool and dry place. The vegetable will remain hard and will not rot until spring. You can store the garlic cloves in a shallow wicker basket or cardboard box without spilling the ingredients, away from heating devices. But you’ll have to keep an eye on the vegetable—sort it out and throw away the spoiled heads.

We store garlic at home in bags until spring

Prepare small bags of thick fabric or paper. Mix the garlic heads with onion peels and place in bags. Don't put too many heads. Hang the bags in a cool, dry place. Perfect option- storage in the cellar.

Another effective method storing garlic in a canvas bag:

• rub the bag with wet salt or soak it in a saline solution;
• do not rinse and dry;
• Place the garlic in a dry bag and store it in your pantry at home. Salt takes away excess moisture and does not allow the vegetable to germinate. It will also kill bacteria so the heads don't get moldy. You can store garlic in nets hung on the wall of a cool pantry.

Storing garlic until spring at home - other ways

There are others effective ways storing garlic in apartments:

• storage in oil. Separate the garlic into cloves. Place them in a sterilized cooled jar. Pack tightly. Pour garlic into a jar with any vegetable oil so that it covers it. Cover the container with a lid with holes and refrigerate until spring. Use as needed;
• storage in paraffin. Dip the garlic heads into melted paraffin, holding them by the stem. When the garlic is completely covered with paraffin, hang it up to harden the mass. Store in a dark and cool place until spring;
• burying Bury the part harvested on summer cottage into the ground. Place the heads in plastic bags, wrap them in several layers of paper and bury them in the soil. late autumn. Place tomato tops on the ground. Dig up in the spring and get perfectly preserved garlic.

Storing garlic at home until spring - useful tips

Please note that the shelf life of garlic depends on the time it was harvested. Be careful not to crack the heads. After digging, dry the crop in the shade in the fresh air and choose healthy heads for storage for the winter. Once dry, trim the stems and roots. Cleaning winter garlic begins in the twentieth of July, spring - in the first half of August. Harvest in dry weather, early in the morning or late evening, when there is no scorching sun. Do not wash garlic before storing it and store it unpeeled.

If you follow our recommendations, garlic will not sprout, mold or rot. You will save money on buying an expensive vegetable and will use garlic whenever you want. Choose any suitable way storage, and the garlic will last until spring without problems.

Read on our website.

Methods

Long-term methods of storing garlic can also include, to some extent, using fresh air or household appliances.

Preparation

How to prepare winter garlic for long-term storage?

In order for winter garlic to be stored for a long time, it should not be grown in damp places and should not be applied excessively to the bud. nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Before harvesting garlic don't water for three weeks.

For storage, mature bulbs that are not damaged (mechanically or by pests) are selected: only they have good shelf life. Everyone should have at least 3 dense scales, covering the entire bulb.

The collected garlic bulbs are dried within 28 days, clean the upper contaminated scales and cut (if the crop is not supposed to be stored in pigtails) the stem at a height 5 cm from the head, and leaving the roots 1 centimeter. The roots, if desired, can also be plucked out or burned over gas stove, leaving only the bottom.

Tips for harvesting winter garlic and preparing it for storage in this video:

How to store winter garlic in the apartment? To keep winter garlic longer, it is recommended to boil its heads for 2 hours vegetable oil with a few drops iodine(0.5 liters of oil - 10 drops of iodine), then dry the crop in the open air.

Where to store winter garlic at home? Winter garlic is usually stored in pantry, in the kitchen or in refrigerator. It must be consumed first: unlike spring garlic, it is less suitable for long-term storage.

How to preserve winter garlic at home - in what container? Winter garlic sprinkled with salt, flour or expanded vermiculite can be stored in glass jars or pans.

Salt (flour, vermiculite) is poured onto their bottom, and then a layer of garlic is placed.

Layers must be alternated as long as the height of the container allows. Above the last layer of garlic should be 2 cm layer. This method involves replacing the salt several times during the winter, as it becomes moist over time.

Uncut garlic braided in pigtails and decorate the kitchen walls with them. Just like onions, in villages winter garlic is stored in nylon tights.

Special meshes for vegetables they are convenient for storing garlic, but in them, as well as in pigtails and nylon stockings, if the storage rules are not followed, winter garlic dries out quite quickly.

Winter garlic is stored in small canvas bags. And so that it does not lose moisture, sprinkle it with onion peels.

Optimal conditions

How to store winter garlic in an apartment longer? Temperature: +2 - +3 degrees Celsius (when stored in the refrigerator); +15 - +20 degrees Celsius (storage in the pantry or kitchen). Humidity: 70 to 80 percent.

The results of an experiment on storing garlic in an apartment for six months under different conditions are in this video.

Preface

How to store garlic is of interest to everyone who has already encountered the fact that it is easier to grow it than to store 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. But there are two types of garlic 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 the time of planting. For spring it is spring, and for winter it is autumn. In addition, the second type differs from the first in that it has more high yield and it is stored worse.

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 not be taken from own garden, but in a store or market. In spring varieties, 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 located around it in 1 row and there are much fewer of them than in the spring one, but they are usually larger. In the core of any clove of winter garlic, even a small one, there is a clearly visible rudiment of the future arrow stem. The spring variety will have it only if it is a bolting variety, but all the others will not.

Heads of garlic

Now we can move on to the question of how to properly store garlic, depending on its type. As noted above, for spring and winter crops must be created different conditions. Failure to comply with them and storing garlic of the first type in the same way as for the second and vice versa will lead to the fact that this vegetable will not survive the allotted period in winter.

According to the types of garlic, there are two main storage methods. The main difference between them is the temperature and humidity that must be maintained:

• for winter crops – +2…+4 o C and 70–80%, respectively;
• spring - +16...+20 o C and 50–70%.

If you follow these requirements, then you won’t have to wonder why the garlic rots, sprouts or withers when it still needs to be stored.

Harvest storage

It should be noted right away that it is better to stock up on spring garlic for the winter, and avoid long-term storage of winter garlic altogether.

This is exactly what most experienced owners do. They store winter crops for long-term storage only if its harvest, the time for harvesting has come, turns out to be more than they managed to eat fresh garlic or process when preparing food and vegetable supplies for the winter. No matter how hard you try, this species cannot be preserved for more than 3–4 months. Winter crops, to a greater extent than spring crops, are susceptible to various garlic diseases during storage and often rot. You can protect him from this and significantly increase the period of leaving him in fresh, but only with a noticeable loss of taste and aroma of the vegetable. For this you need winter.

Spring crops can be preserved until the new winter harvest without significant loss of taste, aroma and vitamins. In addition, it is still permissible to keep it in conditions intended for winter crops. True, it will be stored much less than it should be and will quickly lose its aroma, freshness and beneficial properties.

Winter crops cannot be stored in warm conditions for spring crops at all. It very soon begins to sprout and dry out, or it is affected by diseases and rots.

To preserve garlic, it is also important to prepare it properly. One of the main components of this is timely harvesting. Otherwise, during storage, some or even more of the vegetables may be lost. You should not collect unripe garlic, and even more so you should not store overripe garlic for the winter. Cleaning time:

• winter - from approximately mid-July to early August;
• spring - second half to end of August.

Signs indicating the ripening and the onset of harvesting time for the first type of garlic are the inflorescence wrappers beginning to crack and the lower leaves turning yellow. At the same time, the scales covering the bulb become dry and thinner.

Spring leaves should be collected when the lower leaves dry out and the upper ones begin to turn yellow and droop. For both types of garlic, an important indication that it is ripe is the characteristic state of the scales covering the head. They must be thin and durable.

Ripe bulbs

Delay or delay in harvesting garlic will reduce its quality and suitability for storage:

• the upper covering scales crack and fly off;
• the bulbs break up into individual cloves;
• new roots sprout at the bottom of the heads and the garlic takes root, losing nutritional and useful material cloves

Such bulbs can no longer be stored for long-term storage - they quickly deteriorate. If you do prepare them for the winter, then you shouldn’t wonder why the garlic dries or rots. The teeth are devoid of reliable external protection And internal resources fight against diseases.

You should try to collect garlic on dry, warm days. During harvesting, the heads and their roots should be protected from impacts and damage. The soil from the roots and surface of the bulbs must be removed. Do this carefully with your hands.

Harvesting garlic

Before storing, garlic must be dried for 3-5 days. Dry warm weather possible right on the site. In rainy weather, use a well-ventilated utility room or other room (veranda, attic, barn, courtyard under a canopy).

Garlic should be dried together with the tops (leaves). If you remove it immediately, then some of the onion juice will be lost through the fresh cut and an infection may occur.

When the garlic dries, you can feel it by touch. The covering scales will become completely dry and rustling. Then the stem and root of the bulbs are cut off, leaving a neck up to 10 cm long for the first and 2–3 mm long for the second. Then the garlic must be sorted. For winter storage, we select only strong, ripe, but not overripe bulbs, healthy, without signs of disease or damage, with scales tightly adjacent to the cloves.

Winter crops are 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, support there required temperature and humidity can be very difficult, but on the other hand, it may contain fungi, pathogens and pests, due to which the vegetable will deteriorate. However, it all depends on the degree of preparedness of the cellar. You need to make sure in advance that it contains:

1. The temperature did not fall below 0 o C - otherwise the vegetables might freeze - and did not rise, at least significantly, above the permissible level, so that the bulbs did not begin to dry out or sprout.
2. There was thoughtful ventilation that provided the necessary humidity. At high temperatures, the garlic rots, and at low temperatures, it dries out.
3. There was no mold, mildew or pests.

If at least 1 of these points cannot be fulfilled, then it is better to store the garlic in the apartment refrigerator.

Storing vegetables at home

How to store garlic among other preparations in the cellar? Using twine or flexible wire, you can weave (tie) 15–20 bulbs into braids. To do this, the grassy tails of the heads must be intertwined with a rope, making knots if necessary. You need to start the braid from the bottom, tying up successive bulbs. Or garlic is placed in nylon tights, stockings or small nets. You should not put more than 15–25 bulbs in one such package. Then the 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 place the bulbs in shallow baskets, cardboard boxes, wooden or plastic boxes, but not in metal ones. Condensation will form on their walls.

You should check the condition of the garlic at least once a month. Bulbs that are spoiled and beginning to rot, as well as, if necessary, those 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 sprout. Still, it is light in the apartment for a significant part of the day, 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 heating devices and heating systems.

Proper crop conservation

Storage methods are the same as in the cellar: tied with braids, in nylon stockings and nets, which can not only be hung, but also placed, as well as in baskets, boxes, boxes and jars. In the latter, some recommend sprinkling the garlic with onion skins or salt. For spring this is not at all necessary. He lies well anyway.

What diseases can affect garlic during storage and how to deal with them

As noted above, diseases mainly affect winter garlic, while spring garlic is less susceptible to this. The causative agents of all infections and ailments of this vegetable are, as a rule, 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 become mummified. Molds are also common various colors– green, black, gray. By the way, they spread very quickly, scattering spores around themselves, onto healthy teeth, and then onto the bulbs. There are also other diseases.

Why does garlic get sick and rot? Only because of him improper preparation and non-compliance necessary conditions storage: collected at the wrong time, not dried enough, damaged, the wrong one was selected and did not withstand the required temperature and humidity. All the pathogens were already in the garlic, up to three or four at a time, and were waiting for the right moment when the vegetable had weakened enough. In bulbs that come across that are unsuitable for storage or in those that are 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 storage conditions and timely removal of suspicious bulbs.

Housewives often ask how to store garlic longer. Probably everyone knows about the benefits of this vegetable, but unfortunately, not everyone can tell you how to store garlic. Due to the incorrect timing of harvesting garlic and preparing it for storage, we can lose a large amount of the crop. Storing garlic is within the power of everyone, and today’s article will help you avoid storage mistakes, in which I will also reveal some secrets of storing garlic at home.

But, as they say, first things first...

First of all, you should know that botanical features There are two types of garlic:

• spring (or non-shooting), which is popularly called summer;
• winter (there are shooters and non-shooters), popularly called winter.

Types of garlic differ in terms of planting and harvesting, frost resistance, yield and keeping quality, i.e., storage ability.

Dates and times for garlic harvesting

Suitability of the crop long-term storage directly depends on the timing of cleaning, which is set taking into account growing season of this culture.

The signs by which the time to harvest spring garlic is determined are yellowing of the leaves and the beginning of lodging of the tops. Approximate dates Harvesting spring garlic is the second half of August.

Signs of ripening winter garlic are yellowing lower leaves and cracking of the inflorescence wrapper. At the same time, the scales covering the bulb become thinner and dry. The approximate harvest time for winter garlic is the end of July.

To determine whether garlic is ripe or not, you need to look at the condition of the covering scales. If they are thin and durable, it's time to start cleaning.

The best time for cleaning is warm and dry days.

Garlic harvesting should be done promptly and promptly. Delays in harvesting lead to deterioration in product quality, namely:

• the covering scales crack;
• the bulbs fall apart into cloves;
• New roots form at the bottom and the bulbs take root.

Such bulbs deteriorate very quickly and cannot be stored for long periods of time.

Harvesting garlic for storage

Garlic is harvested as follows: using a shovel or pitchfork, dig up the bulbs, collect them and lay them out to dry. When harvesting, it is necessary to protect the bulbs and roots from damage and shock. The soil from the surface of the bulbs and from the roots is carefully removed by hand.

In dry weather, garlic is dried directly on the plot for 3-5 days. When it rains - in a well-ventilated area (in the yard, attic or veranda).

You can dry the garlic in the sun during the day and bring it into a warm room at night.

Garlic is dried, like onions, along with the leaves. Wherein nutrients, formed in the green parts of the plant as a result of photosynthesis, come from the leaves to the bulb. This technique improves the mass and quality of the bulbs.

After thoroughly drying, the roots of the bulbs are cut off, leaving 2-3 mm, and the stem, leaving a neck up to 10 cm long. Then the bulbs are sorted and stored in storage with suitable conditions.

Proper cleaning will provide you with excellent storage of garlic in winter.

Methods for storing garlic

Depending on the temperature regime and humidity levels, there are two main storage methods:

• warm method - involves storing the bulbs at a temperature of +16...+20°C and a humidity of 50 - 70% and is suitable for storing spring garlic;
• cold method - involves storing garlic at a temperature of +2...+4°C and a humidity of 70-80% and is used only for storing winter garlic.

It must be remembered that storing spring garlic differs from storing winter garlic. Winter garlic is a very capricious product and is unsuitable for long-term storage. It is easily affected by various diseases and dries out as a result of loss of moisture. This is explained by the fact that winter garlic bulbs have fewer covering scales. Due to poor keeping quality, it is produced in the fall.

Storing garlic at home
How to store garlic so that losses are minimal? There are the following traditional ways for storing garlic:

1. An old proven method is weaving braids and wreaths. The bulb and false stem of dried garlic are left, and the leaves are removed. The braid starts from the bottom, sequentially weaving in new bulbs up to 15 pieces. To add strength, twine is woven into the braid. So that the braid can be hung, a loop is made at its end. This method allows you to preserve garlic until the next harvest.
2. The bulbs are placed in shallow boxes, baskets, carton boxes, nylon stockings or linen bags and place in a dry and cool place on winter storage. From time to time, the garlic is sorted, removing spoiled bulbs.

For those who like to experiment, I suggest unusual ways storage of garlic, which often give unexpectedly good results.

1. Unpeeled, dried onions are placed in glass jars, which are pre-sterilized and covered with ordinary nylon lids. In this case, you can sprinkle the onions with flour.
2. In shallow wooden boxes equipped with small holes, garlic bulbs are placed in one layer and covered with a layer of coarse salt. So, alternating layers, fill the box to the very top. Dry sawdust can be used instead of salt.
3. Garlic is perfectly stored in linen bags. When the air humidity is low, the garlic is additionally sprinkled with onion peels. And when high humidity the bag is pre-treated with a saturated solution table salt. Salt not only absorbs moisture from the air, but also protects the bulbs from pests and diseases.

Difficulties encountered when storing garlic
Problem #1: Bulbs Drying Out
During storage, garlic gradually dries out. This happens as a result of the process of moisture evaporation, which can be prevented by waxing. To do this, you need to melt the candle and lower the heads into warm paraffin. When paraffin hardens, it forms a layer on the surface of the bulb that prevents moisture evaporation. A carbon dioxide, which accumulates in the bulb as a result of stem respiration, causes the death of microorganisms and protects against diseases.

Problem #2: Mold Formation
During storage, green mold or black mold-like rot may appear on the bulbs. These fungal diseases primarily affects damaged and frostbitten bulbs. Disease development is promoted elevated temperature And high humidity air in the storage area. Solution: After harvesting, dry the garlic in the sun. Garlic dried in this way is resistant to diseases, since straight Sun rays cause the death of bacteria, fungi and mold.

Problem #3: Bulb sprouting
To prevent garlic from sprouting, the bottoms of the bulbs are lightly burned over a gas stove before storing. This technique allows you to increase the storage time.

How to store garlic in an apartment
To store garlic in an apartment, choose dry, cool and dark places away from the heating system and heating devices. At relatively warm winter You can store garlic on the balcony, and a small harvest in the refrigerator.

• Do not leave bulbs damaged during harvesting for storage, but use them immediately;
• Store garlic and onions separately from other vegetables.
• Bulbs with three covering scales have the best shelf life.

You will also see useful information about storing garlic in this video:

So, let's summarize... Storing garlic depends on its type (spring or winter), on proper harvesting and preparation for storage, on the place and method of storage, on creation optimal conditions when storing garlic. For my part, I advise you to use several methods at once when storing garlic in winter, which will ensure maximum safety of the crop.

You already know how to store garlic in winter and can save it until the next harvest. I will also be happy to take your advice on how to store garlic.

I advise, dear readers, not to miss the publication of new materials on this blog.