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Transcript: Friends, here are the biggest mistakes that decrease your garlic storage. And first and foremost, different varieties have different storage lives period. So some varieties are only going to last till January and really that no matter what you do, and other varieties will last well over a year, even if you don’t have exquisite conditions for them. So first and foremost, know your varieties. And so then you can gauge your expectations accordingly. But that being said, here are the things that you are most commonly going to decrease your shelf life, super easy mistakes that I can’t wait to share with you so you can avoid them.
So first and foremost, because garlic is a heavy feeder, a lot of people will feed with too much nitrogen. And that’s super common across gardening. But although it’s true garlic is a very heavy feeder, it wants balanced fertility, not just lots of nitrogen. So be sure that you’re feeding it abundantly, yes, but that’s with lots of balanced macro and micronutrients. So something like compost, fishing and kelp emulsion, two great options that are fantastically well balanced with both macro and micronutrients for your garlic no matter what stage it’s at.
So here’s another tip too, if your final month, if the ground is well above 85 degrees, it’s not going to store as well. So that can really affect the dormancy of, of your garlic. So if it if you’re noticing that it’s really, really, really hot out, sometimes harvesting it early can mean that it will store a lot more long term rather than harvesting it on time or late. So if it’s really hot out, keep that in mind.
And you also want to be sure that you’re harvesting and storing your garlic properly. So much of storage is actually has very little to do with the storage conditions themselves, but has to do with the growing conditions and the curing conditions of your garlic. And that ultimate health of the bulb going into the storage process will play so much of a role in the quality of its storage.
And here’s another thing to keep in mind: I didn’t realize this for many years, but I observed and then I started asking lots of people questions and everyone was like, “Yeah, I’ve noticed that too”. Small and medium sized bulbs last store longer than large bulbs. So be sure that you’re eating your largest bulbs first. But of course, that being said, you want your largest, most beautiful bulbs to be the ones that you’re saving for your garlic stock, you’re planting them in the fall, you’re not eating them, your cream of your crop is not going in your mouth. Yet it will next year. So your biggest most beautiful garlic is going back in the ground. So that being said, Your second largest bulbs that you are storing — be sure to eat those first.
And there you have it friends. Those are the biggest tips that I can give you the most common mistakes that people make that are affecting the storage quality of their garlic, and I hope that with those tips, you can be surrounded by abundant delicious garlic for many seasons to come.
