How I Harvest, Cure, and Store My Onions & Garlic So They Last!

[@courtneycullen6289]

I had a reasonably good garlic and onion harvest, but I WAY WAY underestimated how much garlic I use. I also failed to consider how much I love to harvest my onions small with other spring vegetables. I def need to make more room for next year. In part because I am obsessed with making my own garlic and onion powder, plus dried scapes and green onions.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I also love the small onions, so sweet and delicious! And likewise, I have never got even close to growing enough garlic for us!

[@aloras405]

The garlic scape powder makes awesome ranch dressing

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Oh wow, I can totally see that!

[@marktoldgardengnome4110]

Sorta makes ya Hungary!😋

[@thejealousmagpie]

I'm wondering if anyone besides myself hates peeling garlic every time you cook ( and I love to use garlic)? Here is some info I couldn't find as a first time garlic grower. Garlic freezes beautifully. I don't worry about storing my garlic or anything going bad/sprouting because when I harvest, I process my garlic all at that time. No need to find a place to cure it, you can peel it immediately and it's actually EASIER to do so because the skins haven't shrunk wrapped themselves into a thin skin around the cloves yet, they are thicker. After peeling throw into a food processor or blender, add a bit of olive oil and I just pour it into ziplock freezer bags and lay them flat and freeze. You can break off a hunk anytime you are cooking and throw in your pan. You can also use ice cube trays or scoop into pucks. This can also be done with the scapes, I like to use this over regular garlic in Asian dishes or when I want a more herbaceous garlic flavor. Another way I process my garlic right away is into a confit, easy to look up how to do. I keep some in my fridge and then freeze the rest in jars so it can last me all year. So in case you can't find the info either, you can use and process your garlic right away, no need to cure it unless you want to store them long term in heads, which in my mind is such a pain. Hope someone finds this useful. :)

[@daisyblooms4813]

Very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

[@marktoldgardengnome4110]

Yes, TY. More options for different uses/meals and flexibility in regard to time to do it around other projects. Onward and upward! 👍

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Honestly a fantastic idea, might try this out for myself!

[@ulla.umlaut]

My parents just bag up peeled cloves and put them in the freezer, no other prep.

[@thejealousmagpie]

@@jacquesinthegarden love your style and videos! It's just wild when you have never grown anything edible before and you have questions you can't find the answer to. Learning everyday.

[@Gardeningchristine]

I came out one day in June and a bunch of my garlic fronds were bent over. I thought something had laid on them but like onions, they were telling me they were ready. I didn’t know garlic would do that.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

The soft neck garlic for sure can flop when ready!

[@Gardeningchristine]

I have 15 alliums growing in my garden and I love them! I made green onion powder with the Egyptian walking onion stalks.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

That's a fun variety, I have a similar style onion in a grow bag that I'm hoping will work out in the same way!

[@Gardeningchristine]

I love roasted garlic scapes, but leek scapes are thicker, sweeter, and I love them too.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

They are very delicious overall!

[@sheliaheverin8822]

I have dehydrated a gallon of onions. I put 38# in the freezer and still have onions. Mine never store for very long so I dehydrate and freeze. I have 6# garlic cloves to process, I broke off the bulb yesterday. It's been a great onion and garlic year.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I think freezing onions might be a great idea in the future. I don't have the best storage conditions indoors so that will be a good backup plan

[@Gardeningchristine]

I got a crap ton of tiny garlic bulbs, but it was still about an 8-1 return. You can foil wrap tiny heads and roast them until soft and just squeeze the paste out instead of trying to peal every tiny clove.

[@liddybird3608]

Roasting garlic is my favorite way to preserve garlic. I just squeeze the roasted heads onto a baking tray, freeze it in small piles, and throw the piles into a freezer bag. I don't bother with ice cube trays, though you will end up with more uniform and neater looking garlic if you do.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

So delicious, never garlic that doesn't get some use!

[@mustardtiger9265]

Once you powder them, spread it out on a cookie sheet in the oven on warm 20min will help to finish dry the powder out. Also if you blend too long or overfill the blender it can heat up and fuse the powders into clumps, best to just sift those out.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

That is another great point! I forgot to mention adding a silica packet after the fact as well.

[@tigerguitara]

Spice grinder or coffee grinder works well too

[@Gardeningchristine]

You can save the garlic with bad wrappers for replanting in the fall.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

As long as they last that long!

[@TGKproductions0]

Learned alot from this, thank you and happy gardening!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MyFocusVaries]

This reminds me that I have a ton of frozen garlic scapes. And since I've got an abundance of basil, I think there's so pesto on today's To Do list.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Such a good pesto!

[@MyFocusVaries]

@@jacquesinthegarden We did it! More than 2 litres of pesto in the freezer.

[@icianthea]

I love watching your videos. I'm dreaming of having a yard big enough to start my own garden based off what you teach me. Unfortunately, what space I do have is occupied by decorative plants, lol.

[@51rwyatt]

I've had good luck in Maine for garlic harvesting when the bottom 3 leaves are yellow or brown. I like to go with that partly because I harvest earlier and free up the bed which is important given my shorter season. Lately winter/fall garden stuff goes into that formerly garlic bed, like daikon, cilantro, green onion, mizuna etc.

[@sblauss]

Thanks for this. I just moved up to Maine a month ago and I was wondering about the shorter colder season. Thanks for this info! Jacque you have good info and so do your followers! I’m always learning new things

[@007Lehua]

I really enjoyed watching the various ways you processed your garlic and onions. Honestly, I never thought to dry the garlic scapes (unsure if I spelled that correctly) and griding into powder (learned something new). Loved the concept of an air-drying drawers under the kitchen island, cool concept. Thanks again for some really cool ideas and tips!

[@alexkunnen]

I had another very successful garlic season, 1 softneck and 4 hardneck varieties all did wonderful. Got a good amount of onions this year too but they were small, next year I’m gonna lock em down ❤

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Where would the fun be if everything was perfect and massive every time!

[@ahnanda68]

I've been seeing a lot of recipes with mango powder. My mom brought out the dehydrator a long time ago now I have a different kitchen apparatus oven thing this is good motivation to try for these big old Egyptian onions outback are any extraneous straggling garlic or onions. Yeah chili garlic crunch!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Oh mango powder sounds really interesting to play with, and for sure onions and peppers are great motivators for using what you have.

[@deborahmarlewski6786]

I actually dice and dry my onions and use them in stews, soups, etc. I also freeze dry them. They are great on pizza, in stews and soups. So convenient to keep on hand in the pantry.

[@raielenekirby4930]

Great video!!! Thanks for the tips! Happy to say i had a great garlic harvest this year... and not too bad on the onions either!! also..., I recommend not throwing out (or composting) the garlic and onion skins.... you can actually put them in a hot oven and essentially "burn them" then grind them down to make GARLIC AND ONION ASH!! Great to use as a dry rub or to dust on top of meats etc!!

[@madrabbitwoman]

Saute scapes in butter. Add cream and season to taste. Serve over pasta. Yummo

[@lorrigierman7089]

Great video! I will definitely be referring back to this one!

[@denisemusicnut]

Be sure to use your onions with the thickest stems first. They don’t keep as long in storage as thin stemmed onions.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

That's a great tip, makes total sense but I haven't thought about it like that.

[@jujubee7351]

Great video like always! I love your IKEA drawers. Great idea on how to hang your hard neck garlic!

[@carollem5580]

Well! I thaugh I new it all😅 you gave me tons of idea here❤ Enjoy your harvest!

[@70foolio]

You inspired me to make my own onion and garlic powder thank you Jacques. ❤

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It is delicious stuff!

[@bublhed]

I wish I had a way of dehydrating my garlic outside. For some reason I happened to have a small hand held mandolin type device. I shredded lots of garlic in no time. The fumes from the dehydrator were brutal! I really like the giant landscape staple method. I’ll try that next time.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I was shocked by how far and wide you could smell it!

[@Gonzalo_M]

I LOVED this video! It’s the first time that I see how to cure and do all this. Very educational content. I’m thankful for sharing this with us! 😃🌟

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Very happy it was helpful and thanks for watching!

[@ragheadand420roll]

To keep it closer to “live” or “raw” we dont go above 118. Takes longer. But it tastes great.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

That is a nice tip to know, with our bouncing humidity I am always worried it will be too slow at low temps.

[@tinad6812]

Great video.Beautiful harvest for both garlic and onions Do you cover that rack if you get rain? Does the tree cover it completely? I love the landscape staple hack. I am going to do that. They looked so nice in your pantry. I also make powder, but I’ll try the scape powder if I get a lot. Do you cut your scrapes down a couple weeks before harvest? Thank you.

[@thenextpoetician6328]

Zone 4a. In a week or so I'll be weighing the Music and Glazed Purple Stripe harvest. I've come across various recommendations. This year was hot and sufficiently wet, sometimes way more than necessary. The leaves stayed greener longer than they have the previous 4 years since I started growing them. Best crop by average size. Much less splitting than last year. So for next year, I'll pick a bit earlier than this year if the garlic matures the same or earlier if that's what they want. I grow enough that hanging is the simplest method. Next year I'll limit the bunches to 4 or 5 bulbs and set them so the bulbs touch only neighboring stalks as an unscientific experiment. I'll store in burlap sacks this year or next. I'll make one batch of black garlic. I'll dry as much as I can. Just the other day I looked up a video on how best to cut onions. Peel after chopping in half. Way easier. Slices and dices are different cuts.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Totally all interesting and fun points. Peeling after cutting in half is much easier for sure, actually works with garlic cloves as well!

[@thenextpoetician6328]

@@jacquesinthegarden I should try that with garlic. I'm used to giving a smack with the clever.

[@terrivance8750]

Thank you, Jacque. 😊

[@normarosado5697]

Thanks Jacques, its so educational and entertaining too. Ive learned so much. ❤ your videos.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

You are so welcome!

[@ulyssesmelendres504]

Nice info on trying garlic. 😊😊

[@Jack-pl1fn]

Thanks you for the video

[@erntaku]

Dang, Jacques! You gave me allium envy. lol My garlic "harvest" was sad this year. Same with my leeks. But I'm letting the leeks go to seed. Might as well try again. Probably just gonna replant my tiny garlics too. Do I need to cure em if I'm just gonna replant? 10b OC area.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I think its probably best to cure so that they have a lower chance of rotting but garlic left underground will often resprout on its own but most of it does rot.

[@tigerlilly03152012]

How do you start your onions seed or starts? Will birds or other wildlife eat the seeds? How do you protect the seeds from wildlife? What are the top 10 soil issues or bad bugs/insects a gardener can detect while looking at the soil?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Started as seedlings in trays, if birds are a problem at any given time I will through shade cloth over the trays to keep them out, or use hardware cloth attached to a small frame. The last question is too big to expand on in text!

[@tjduprey]

That was an awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MsFigure9]

Awesome information!

[@NitaP1569]

Question: regarding garlic storage inside. Isn’t the aroma still really strong to hang in your pantry? My experience this year with a crop of both hard & softneck garlic, even after curing the aroma is too strong to hang in my kitchen or basement. Instead I have it in my garage refrigerator until I freeze or dehydrated.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

They only smell bad if they are going bad in my experience. Once I notice a smell while being near it I know that some cloves or a head has gone bad

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I can smell the onion powder through the screen 🤣

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It is POTENT!

[@sonyahogan5673]

What dehydrator are you using? Its just the right size I'm looking for!😊

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It is a Nesco, they make a lot of different size this is the Gardenmaster one.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

So - your "onions of shame", ones you don't want to show off? I would KILL for home grown onions that size. Just sayin' .. lol The scape powder - wonder how that would be as a finish for jambalaya or gumbo? I LOVE the island basket/drawers. I am sincerely jelly! This was so fun - thank you!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I do actually love that size onion a lot and honestly If I could have the equivalent weight of that size I would always choose that first.

[@bertarnoldo5199]

Welcome back to me watching “Jacques in the Garden”

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Welcome always! :)

[@AnyKeyLady]

Great video Jacques! Can I ask when you planted and harvested this round of garlic please? I have real trouble growing hard neck here in London. Not sure if it is the heat, humidity, rain fall? I have even tried storing it in the fridge before planting. A lot of YT growers local to me have had similar problems. They just end up too small. I even tried Music - porcelain last year as different to the Isle of Wight garlic that is native here. I have decided this year to wait until Feb to plant them to see if it improves things. Zone 9a so doesn't get below -6c/ 21.2f for a couple of days. On my soft necks, when i see a leaf is dying and also when i harvest i chop bits off and dice to freeze. What dehydrator is that? Is it expensive to run? I have a wicker "hut" small basket/lid that i inherited, where i put garlic to dry out. Not sure where it is from but it has a pointy lid/hat and the base has a leather type circle on it. Lots of red, brown and natural colours in the weave. Yes when you grind it to powder, you start to realise how much garlic you actually use per year! I think garlic scapes are more like what i would think garlic chives and garleeks would be. A bit like elephant garlic, without the trunks :o) Talking of trunks, are those bags for the onions not Eric's old pant's/underwear?! lol The shade Eric put on Kevins gardening skills though... I don't have a dehydrator and don't like to run the oven too much (she says whilst making blackberry and apple and blackberry roll ups, after making jam). I also run the oven for "sun dried" tomatoes as we are having a crap year of weather! What i do and i would advise do your own research and make your own choice, is take the cloves with underwear on but no coat on and peel them all. I soak them naked for 3 days in citric acid per the weight/ guidelines and then store them in oil. I also add herbs and pre canned olives. I store my "sun dried" tomatoes in separate oil jar with herbs. With this type of garlic, it needs to be free of disease and even finger nail marks. "Lazy" garlic is easier as you pre chop/ dice it up to pre soak in citric acid. It is a lot safer but we prefer whole ones. Check the guidelines but sometimes it can turn blue. It would normally have those first. It is ok depending on what else is happening in the oil but it MUST always be submerged in oil. Again, do your own research. Our main two herbs are fresh basil and oregano. We prefer the whole fermented garlic cloves in herbs. Are great for a Med dish of meats, feta and cheeses and mini toasted slices of baguettes. I would also add grapes and apples. I found a perfect Polish recipe for coleslaw ever! Only way i would eat raw cabbage and it is moreish! Once we have eaten the gubbins from the jar, i diffused then into a bottle as infused oils. Jacque, i hope you got Mrs Hermit to taste the powder before you kissed her! lol I have been canning our first surplus of tomatoes today. 7 jars. Also, went foraging for blackberries and picked 2.3kg in an hour. I haven't been to the park to properly pick since covid and not so many people picking now. Might go back in a week to get some more, so they don't get wasted as many was going off. I smell like tomatoes but mainly blackberries tonight! Disappointed my new fancy canning stuff arrived from China via a UK warehouse damaged in a flimsy bag. It also didn't turn out to be fancy. Don't often order stuff from Amazon but was disappointed. My first return in all these years too. Just looked at your sub count and wow almost 500k! Well Done! Take care and have a great week!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

These were kept in the fridge for about 2 months then planted in February and harvested in June. In San Diego it seems that garlic grows REALLY fast. The dehydrators is a Nesco Gardenmaster, I think it was 120 when I bought it and It for sure uses some electricity but I haven't dialed it in to see how much impact it has. The garlic preserved in oil sounds very interesting, I have for sure bought product like that before. I think I prefer the spiciness of the fresh raw cloves though. I wish I had blackberries available to me like that, hope you are able to enjoy all that deliciousness and the tomatoes!

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@jacquesinthegarden Thanks Jacques. Yes even planting in Dec it just starts growing. Defo for Feb planting and have some kohlrabi and chinese cabbage and pak choi nearly ready to go in. A bit late, after pulling garlic as was waiting for seeds but we are here now for autumn, winter and spring stuff. Garlic in oil is still crunchy for about 6 months. It does use a lot of olive oil but then you can us it infused. It does need to be in a cupboard and coolish. You can store it in the fridge but then the oil starts to turn into butter like coconut oil does. I tend to just have it in the cupboard. Our good stuff is put in the fridge leading up to planting. Not so good stuff we use straight away. Ok but too small to plant/save goes into the oil. Made a banging beef lasagne tonight! Apart from the cheese sauce, it just tasted "clean" from fresh tomatoes, veg and herbs from the garden. Doubt we will match last years 40kg of tomatoes target with the poor cloudy weather we have had this year. 3 spots are taken up with honeycombs this year. They have been producing tons so i might do a big batch in the oven to dehydrate. I will be reducing the number of these next year as far too much to snack on and they tend to split a lot. So much for hybrids! ;o) We made 4 jars of blackberry jam, 3 jars of of apple and blackberry jam, two small trays of fruit rollups and have 600g of frozen berries for puddings. I looked on google and that strip of land is about 0.3 miles but i think it is 0.2/ 200 yards of blackberry bushes left to go wild! I only remembered because we have some growing over our fence from commercial property, so i have been picking those too but not weighted them yet! lol I only wish they were thornless like the raspberry plant donated by a bird in one of the pots that gives us two flushes of raspberries per year! Going to re pot the raspberry this "winter" either more in the centre of the pot or a bigger pot and also take some cuttings of the blackberry. Yes they do love a lot of water, so i put a saucer under the pots. I normally ask our child if i can save some strawberries and raspberries for jam. So far they have asked to have them for pudding. lol Do you grow rhubarb there? 💮

[@tigerguitara]

You can actually make garlic and onion powder with only the papers and odds and ends.

[@pnwexcso2939]

Very helpful!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rachellemazar7374]

I’ll look for those garlic scapes to give them a try

[@jacquesinthegarden]

They are worth exploring for sure, very interesting flavor.

[@sayadaramdial1700]

ooh, seeing those dehydrated garlic and onion chips made me think that you and Kevin should do a cooking episode where you make home-grown chili crisp!

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Oh man that would be delicious...not a bad idea.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Here is a version I have made before! kzbin.infoTqaxEbLEUP0

[@sayadaramdial1700]

@@jacquesinthegarden ooooh that looks delicious! 🤤

[@kadieburrone7370]

Can you please recommend a spice blender? I have dried herbs waiting to be blended and enjoyed. Which one did you use in the video? Thank you in advance

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I have the kitchenaid one that comes with multiple cups which I snagged on sale, it has been working out well for me so far. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CT9XZMA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@jlord4843]

How about a link for that knife! Must have!!!

[@laurajensen4537]

Wonderful video, thank you! After making the powders, what do you recommend to reduce/prevent the powder from sticking together?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I forgot to mention it but I use the food grade silica packets. They are reusable and it is what it is used in a lot of packaged foods already. www.amazon.com/Dry-Premium-Packets-Desiccant-Dehumidifiers/dp/B00DYLR3Q6

[@laurajensen4537]

@@jacquesinthegarden Thank you!

[@Lisa-zp4pc]

Great video! Thanks

[@jacquesinthegarden]

You're welcome!

[@Writtenworlds1]

Can you link your dehydrater please

[@user-nlvmruu]

hey! do the flavors mix when theyre all in the same dehydrator?

[@noramaegomez197]

Hello Jaques! I’ve been told that you can make onion powder with the onion skins . Is that true ?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Yes it seems like the skin is fair game, It is used in stocks and broths so it would make sense that it might work out well as a powder.

[@chongseitmooi2593]

Cool tips❤ tkvmuch

[@bobobaggins95]

Do you know if onion and garlic powder can store in the same shaker together? I use them together so often even in powder form I've never thought of just putting them in the same thing to make it easier

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hmm, It should be fine? I can't say for sure but onions definitely clumps up faster which can get annoying.

[@Talula72]

Do you have the link for the bags you have your onions hanging in?

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Here are the two bags I used: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BG2ZBXP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFTD2KJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[@skyistooblue2]

i think that last garlic could have been fasciated? had that happen to a flower once and it was really just kinda gross looking

[@emkn1479]

Lost more than half of my garlic to root maggots, so I’m not growing alliums for a couple years. Nematodes too.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Oof, sorry to hear that I would be devastated. Might be worth looking into beneficial nematodes if you want to try treating the area.

[@emkn1479]

@@jacquesinthegarden yes that’s my plan. It’s been a failure year after year. Hoping to also knock out cucumber beetles and flea beetles that way. It’s rough over here!

[@lytieuanh1993]

I didn't know garlic would do that .

[@nell4158]

What part of San Diego are you guys located because I’m in San Diego too

[@yamanq2548]

You're amazing man

[@jacquesinthegarden]

I appreciate it!

[@yamanq2548]

@@jacquesinthegarden thanks Hope to become friends and i should to talk with you if you don't mind ❤️

[@Talula72]

Is your dehydrator going to forever smell like garlic and onions? That has been my hesitation.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

It doesn't seem like it actually! I haven't tasted anything on the same surface yet but next up I am doing peppers. I never do any fruits, if I did I may not want to mix the garlic in.

[@SuperMeat83]

You're way too modest. You trimmed that garlic to at least 5 inches 😢.

[@jacquesinthegarden]

Hahha