Last week I published a blog post about how to grow garlic in your kitchen garden. After you successfully harvest your homegrown garlic, it is important to properly store these delicious garlic bulbs. A garlic braid is a beautiful and space-efficient way to store garlic.
Last fall we planted garlic for the first time and at the end of July we could finally harvest our homegrown garlic heads! Because it is impossible, for us at least, to use all cloves at once we cured and braided a big piece of the harvest for long-term storage.
With this step-by-step guide, you’ve braided your own garlic in no time.
Which variety can be braided?
Before you plant garlic cloves be sure to check the variety. Garlic is sold in two varieties. You can buy hardneck garlic and soft neck garlic. When you plan to store garlic for a long time (a year or so) be sure to buy softneck garlic. Next to a shorter storage time hard neck garlic can’t be braided.
When storing hardneck garlic, you cut off the stem and put the bulb (or garlic head) in a basket, brown paper bags, or mesh bags. Store both hardneck and softneck garlic in a dark and dry place.
Materials needed
To make a beautiful braid of garlic bulbs you only need the following supplies:
- Freshly harvested garlic bulbs with their stems still attached
- Scissors
- Twine or string
Preparation
Before starting with braiding your garlic be sure to follow these steps as a preparation.
Step 1:
Harvest your garlic! Yes, it is finally harvest time and you may pull (carefully) all your garlic bulbs from the soil. If you loosen the soil before pulling the garlic you’ll get the garlic bulb with its stem without breaking it. To loosen the soil you can use a small hand garden fork.
Step 2:
After harvesting the garlic bulbs, remove the outer layers (as minimal as possible) so the dirt is no longer on the bulbs. Then cut off the roots with scissors as close as possible without damaging the bulb.
I forgot to cut off the roots before curing the bulbs, luckily this was not an issue and it worked out fine!
Step 3:
Cure the bulbs for about 2-4 weeks before you braid them. I always keep a few bulbs aside (uncured) and store them in the fridge. This is a perfect way to use the garlic with missing tops plus the taste of fresh garlic is also very delicious!
Step 4:
Sort the garlic on the sizes of the bulbs. If you plan to plant new garlic in the fall, keep a few, or a lot if you have lots of space in your garden, of the largest bulbs aside. Plant these after the growing season has ended so you can harvest new garlic next year. Of course, you can braid these large bulbs too.
Step 5:
Take the number of garlic bulbs you want to braid and sort them by size. Take 4 of the largest bulbs to start your braid. Work your way up to smaller bulbs as you’re braiding garlic.
Step-by-step guide to braid your garlic
Step 1 – Â The starting knot:
Take three bulbs (the largest ones) and lay them next to each other. Take the stem on the right side of the right bulb and wrap it over the two other stems and under itself. Then wrap it again over the other two stems. Be sure to tighten this knot so your braid will have a tight knot.
If this knot is too difficult you can also tie three bulbs of garlic together with a piece of twine and then start your braid.
Step 2 – Adding the next bulb(s)
Take the fourth bulb and put its stem next to the center stem, braid the stem of the right strain over the center stems (the ‘old’ center stem and new center stem of the fourth bulb).
Step 3 – Braiding in all the bulbs
Place the next bulb on the right of the fourth bulb and lay its stem next to the center stem. Wrap the stems on the left over the center stems. Then add the next bulb to the left and align its stem with the center stem, repeat these steps and continue to add bulbs on the right, then left, then again right, and so on, and braid in all bulbs. Add the stems of all bulbs to the center stem so the stem strains (left, center, and right) will grow each time you add a bulb to the braid.
Step 4 – Finish the braid
After you add all the bulbs you want to add to your garlic braid continue to braid the stems without adding new bulbs for at least a few inches. Tie the stems with a piece of twine after you end your braid.
Fold the remaining stems backward towards the back of the braid and tie them together with a piece of twine. This way you’ll make a loop that makes a nice finish of your braided garlic. When storing the garlic braid you can hang them on a little string hook in your kitchen, cellar, or pantry. Cut off excess twine and that’s it, your garlic braid is done!
Step 5 – Removing garlic bulbs from the braid
When you start using the bulbs from your garlic braid, make sure to start at the top of the braid. You remove bulbs easily by twisting and turning them a bit.
Tips
- When peeling the outer layers of the garlic be modest, if you remove too much the bulb’s storage time will decrease. If the bulbs have too much dirt on them you can also use a soft brush to remove excess dirt.
- If stored in a cool and dark place with good air circulation, you can keep garlic in a braid for about a year.
- When the stems are too dry for braiding after the drying process you can wrap them in a wet towel.
