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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 18, 2013 10:16:47 GMT -5
This year my garlic didn't bulb. I have small rounds...actually they look like small leeks. They are drying on the back porch now. I ordered some different (hopefully better-adapted) seed garlic to plant this fall. So, I am planning to eat these.
If I let them finish drying, will they keep at room temperature like mature bulbs do or should I preserve these somehow now?
Will just dicing & freezing work? Any other suggestions? I don't have a pressure canner, but I do have a boiling water canner and a dehydrator.
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Post by kctomato on Jul 18, 2013 10:38:57 GMT -5
They will keep for as long as the "normal" bulbs for that type. Just be sure to let the necks thoroughly dry. That is where the rot would most likely start if not dried down enough.
Might try replanting a few and see if they bulb(clove up) next year. Elephant garlic does that here.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 18, 2013 15:43:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the information. I may replant them, but it's probably not worth it unless I can make room to stick them in the fridge for 6-8 weeks before planting. The most likely reason none of them bulbed up is that I didn't get enough cold weather for them. I planted only the big, fat healthy cloves, gave them my best soil, fed them, and the plants were big and healthy. They looked better than the last time I grew garlic, and I got bulbs then. But the time I got bulbs, I planted store-bought garlic that I had been storing in my fridge. If I do replant them, I'll probably just tuck them here and there in the garden. Especially since they mature so late (July). For the main garlic bed I just ordered a "warm winter sampler" through www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com which should include some mix of Turbans, Creoles, and Asiatics, and possibly some others. They (in theory) won't need a cold treatment to bulb...but I will probably stow them in the fridge for several weeks anyway, to hedge my bets against getting weird winter/spring weather again. I've never eaten or grown anything other than supermarket softneck garlic, so trying the different flavors next spring and summer should be fun. I just hope I get at least some of both the early-maturing types (Turbans and Asiatics) and later-maturing, longer-storing types (Creoles). Also, the Turbans and Asiatics throw scapes sometimes. I've never had garlic scapes, so those should be a fun spring treat.
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