#curing

Great advice for curing garlic…

GARLIC CURING SYSTEMS AND CONDITIONS FOR HOME AND SMALL SCALE GROWERS

Properly curing your garlic is incredibly important for future seed quality, optimising natural storage, improving flavour and preventing disease progression.

So what is the best way to do this and what conditions are required to do this well?

Most of us are familiar with hanging bunches - but let’s go a little deeper into the curing conditions and some alternative approaches you may not have seen before.

IDEAL CURING CONDITIONS:
1. Out of direct sunlight
2. Dry air < 55% relative humidity
3. Warm weather 22-27 degrees C
4. Great air movement 1m/sec

Most of us will be challenged by cool weather or high humidity .. and in these conditions, your garlic can’t lose the 30% of weight in moisture and may have problems … even if you have good breezes.

Whilst we’ve usually hung garlic in bunches - having 8-12 bulbs in such close proximity, in poor curing conditions, can often cause problems.

The best curing systems for small-scale home growers and producers are those that allow air movement and space around each bulb and provides ample space between garlic lines to allow good ventilation.

Take a look at the attached photos and see which one would suit you or share your own systems with us.

I particularly like the timber frame and reo-bar system with the tennis balls on the front for safety — the strength of the bars will support the bunches and you can see how the leaves and roots have been trimmed to provide space between the rows.

If your relative humidity is too high (> 60%) … then even using domestic or commercial fans won’t help as the air won’t be able to absorb the moisture that needs to come out of the garlic … and you might have to consider ovens, dehydrators, heaters or a dehumidifier.

Hope this helps everyone.
Letetia Ware from Tasmanian Gourmet Garlic