How to Harvest Garlic at the Perfect Time (And What Happens When You Harvest Too Early or Too Late)

(*links below contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, we will earn a commission at no extra cost to you.)
Want to see more?
Patreon Channel journeywithjil...
My Products:
2023 Complete Garden Planner journeywithjil...
Vegetable Gardening for Beginners Book: amzn.to/3TZeJux
Products I recommend:
Recommended Brands & Products page: journeywithjil...
www.amazon.com...
Connect with Jill:
Sign up for Friday Emails: journeywithjil...
KZbin Channel: / journeywithjillnet
The Beginner's Garden Instagram: / thebeginnersgarden
Link to Beginner's Garden Podcast past episodes: journeywithjil...

[@kristenm7380]

Thanks for showing the range of: too early, just right, and too late. I think I'll get it right this year, thanks to you!

[@sarah_farm]

Your videos are a true reflection of your perseverance, my friend. The unwavering commitment and tenacity you bring to each project are truly inspiring. And it's an honor to have you visit our channel, we can discuss more about our experiences in harvesting and building farms.

[@mamabearthrives7815]

Thank you very much! 💪😎💓I cannot tell you how many damn garlic videos I have watched, Ava you gave me the tips that really clicked! This is my first year growing garlic and you are the first video I've seen that has talked about all the layers being a part of what covers the garlic clove, and what happens when you pull too early and too late🤷‍♀️😘 I pulled one of my soft necks early as an example for when I pulled them in a few weeks! I started my soft neck in October I'm in the central Coast of California zone 10 A!! Thanks again! -Nina🥰🧄

[@MootElm]

The light green nail polish is very cool, you literally have a green thumb in the garden. :)

[@Highvibeelectricgardens]

We’re growing garlic for the first time this year! New gardeners plus new channel owners! Thank you for this. You’re a natural! Getting my footing still. Lol

[@juliamarple3785]

Perfect timing. I keep looking at my garlic bed. Hmmmm....

[@ldg2655]

Lol.. Me too, which is why I came to check out garlic harvesting videos😊

[@leelaural]

so I cut my scapes about a week or 10 days ago but my plants look like they are nearly ready to pull.....I only plant elephant garlic...I know, not a true garlic, but they look so fantastic....

[@barbaradavidson1950]

OK so I had some splitting garlic. Had never seen it before. Going to go pull it to the first to use section. Best explanation with visuals I have seen. Thanks

[@photofreak21]

Chopping up a little in the food processor and freeze drying it keeps all the wonderful flavor. 😉

[@SoxInTheGarden]

Awesome garlic video! Your vids are always helpful to gardeners of all levels. Love seeing the fam joining in on the harvesting! 🥰🌱❤️

[@Jason4Star]

This was a great video. Very informative. Thank you.

[@davidpatrick1813]

This is excellent information … a subscriber keeper … keep up the sharing

[@TheAlvinvision]

I’ve been way to pull mine. Now I now they’re almost ready😊

[@aeastman59]

this was really helpful, thank you!

[@DjChelan]

Jill your teachings are so very helpful for me! I thank you for taking the long hours filming, editing and uploading all your outstanding videos! Happy Birthday America to All!

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Thank you so much!

[@lm9753]

Great information. Thank you. Greetings from Northern CA.

[@tarquespasqualli9609]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@scottsmith507]

You are right about leaves. They are wrappers around bulb. Green leaves are wrappers still intact around bulb underground. Brown or dead leaves are wrappers that already disintegrated. Don't care about brown leaves. Green leaves are indicators.

[@peterizzo6527]

Excellent information, thank you!

[@tonyevic]

Thanks for the this very informative video. I planted an elephant garlic as an experiment which is now in its second year and at the moment, for the first time is producing a seed head. I had planned to leave the plant growing to harvest the seeds, and wondered if that is a good idea?👍 Thanks again for the video.

[@ldg2655]

Those super-separated cloves could be saved for planting in the fall.

[@lynnfern2116]

That's precisely what I do ~ but only with the largest cloves.

[@suzannespence8303]

Would you cure them as usual?

[@lucyandlily4197]

Great idea….also I pulled a garlic a few days ago…it had some tiny clove like things attached…what would those be?

[@larsonsrud2518]

Thank you ❤

[@Ladyscharm]

Thanks for the video 😁👌🏾 Loaded with info for a new garlic grower. I'm in zone 8b Louisiana and last winter was warm so I didn't plant until January. Soft neck variety so I'm wondering what time frame am I looking at til harvest time and when should I fertilize? Thanks again and I love the green on your nails 😁👍🏾 Edit: Was actually writing the comment before the end of the video which I will watch to see if it helps. Hopefully it addresses my time frame question 😁👍🏾

[@MarzalYordan]

I love this maam😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍

[@ForestEdgeGardens]

I wish I’d seen this yesterday. I pulled my garlic up this morning, maybe a week or so early apparently. When drying, do they need to be in shade/dark, or could I hang them in my high tunnel?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Shade is best

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

Thank you for the information! I knew the time was approaching but you counting the layers and explaining about half should be dying back really helped me not pull them too soon. Do you thin your garlic as it grows? I have a few really close together and I am afraid to pull one in fear that the other one or two will come out, but they are so skinny they can't possibly create a good head of garlic. Your thoughts?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

I don't thin the garlic but I plant them at least 6" apart to begin with. If they are closer than that, thinning will help.

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@thebeginnersgarden My doubles came from planting those tiny cloves of the bulb that look like one, but they are really two or three. I thinned them out and the remaining look happier. I harvested another grow bag I planted earlier than the others according to your instruction and they look amazing! They are curing now. Thanks again.

[@PunchbuggyBlue]

Could you use the ones that are splitting as seed to plant your next batch?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Good question, I’m not sure about that. Probably depends on if they will “keep” without rotting until planting.

[@brandyburgess8267]

If you harvest the garlic to early can you replant the garlic?

[@melinda5777]

When do you plant your garlic?❤

[@aldas3831]

Before the first frost October or November

[@Mike-mn8wy]

Hi! At 1:06 the flowerhead that is to your left at head heighth..is that also a hardneck or is that a different type..? Thank you in advance!!

[@Mike-mn8wy]

I have answered my question I believe... Elephant garlic! 🤦🏼‍♂️ ahh the power of google🤣

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Yes it was elephant garlic 😀

[@padimills1494]

Nailpolish colour looks like what one might see on a dead body.

[@DavidMidgett]

Excellent video excellent audio excellent teacher!!

[@ternyasen]

Jill, this is the best garlic video I have ever watched! This is my first year growing garlic and I just planted cloves from store bought garlic, so I had no idea what variety I have. I was so excited for the scapes and they were not coming, while my garlic is becoming more yellow. Now I know that I have a soft-neck variety. Thank you so so much for all the information!!!

[@thebeginnersgarden]

Yes, softneck stores longer so that’s one reason grocery store garlic is softneck. Glad this was helpful!

[@AlmostOrganicDorset]

I have not bothered drying garlic for a couple of years, lift and clean, peel the cloves, zap them in a food processor with a little seas salt and freeze in ice cube trays, once frozen pop them out and place in a freezer bag. When cooking simply grab one from the bag, easiest and to be honest, the best way to store long term.

[@ogadlogadl490]

When freezing food in plastic chemicals are leached into the food. Same thing happens with cling wrap, it’s been advised to Asian women to stop put it over left over rice as they do it daily. May want to learn about it. We stopped using plastic ice cube trays.

[@iveo83]

Once the garlic is open it loses some flavor fyi

[@garytyre9868]

​@@iveo83⁸

[@photofreak21]

Chopping up a little in the food processor and freeze drying it keeps all the wonderful flavor. 😉

[@godsowndrunk1118]

I have a few elephant garlic plants I've let flower for years.... the flowers are great sprinkled on salads and vegetables. The same plants come back every year if not harvested.

[@leelaural]

I did not know that...maybe I'll try that...

[@godsowndrunk1118]

@@leelaural You won't regret it...

[@mycharmedunicorn8715]

So we bought a house that had garlic planted and I think we let it go too long. It wound up getting a flower at the top that dried up and then when I dug it up all the green was gone and the stems and it looks like the garlic has broke up into sections. Can I just leave those and they will become garlic later?

[@bradlafferty]

Super instruction! I will be assessing my garlic bed this week! Thanks!

[@purethccheck]

My scapes were cut 6 weeks ago and i havent harvested. Will do tnite! Hope its not too late!! Thanks!!❤

[@jimgarofalo5479]

I see that you plant both hard neck and soft neck garlic. I have my own preferences, but maybe you could explain the reasons for your choices. I find that hard neck garlic has cloves that are closer in size to each other and much easier to peel and use while soft neck garlic has cloves that keep getting smaller as you get to the center of the bulb until they become largely unusable. I'd like to know your reasoning, and whether you consider one type better than the other or just mostly equal.

[@naca1553]

I'd rather wait for the hard neck ones

[@mattbrown837]

I pulled one today that had a mini bulb on the stem about 8 inches up from the bulb. What causes this?

[@stag6161]

I guess i did something nobody expected, ive had some HN garlic for 3 yrs now dying and coming back every year, its already bloomed with the flower balls, i saw you left the flowering ones, so no point in harvesting after its bloomed?

[@absurdnerd7624]

Good explanation and reasonable length for the video. I watched another channel and their video was titled something akin to "everything you need to know about growing garlic". It was twice as long and did not cover when to harvest.

[@KhamandDhokla]

Love Garlic grow it myself know about the health benefits but we use garlic sparingly as it doesn’t have a favorable effect on people on spiritual path.

[@karentoynton8948]

Best video I have seen thank you. My first year, and mine still feels like a small ball at the moment, so would that say it’s still to early. Has a thick stem leaves just started going brown. On,y checked the one one. It looks health enough. I plant last oct, it’s heading towards the end of may, but it’s been a really wet winter.. any advice please. I got the bulbs in a garden centre in a pack.

[@4Runner123]

The large ones that started to separate because in ground too long you can use it first or for my area I replant just before first frost for following years harvest and you try again…

[@mattymuso2108]

You are such a beautiful lady. Thank you for such a great explanation as to how it grows.

[@judyjohnson1012]

Where are you located? Which zone? Thanks, this was a great video

[@jamesfraser2448]

Thank you for the informative video. Did a test harvest today - your info leads me to believe the time is now. Thanks.

[@johnc5872]

Wow great video! What else do you like to grow?

[@janicejurgensen2122]

Ty I learned a lot

[@TerribleTim68]

For the ones that were too late, do you make powder out of those?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

You could. I just use them in my kitchen first. This time of year I’m canning a lot that requires garlic so it’s easy to use up.

[@mindywilliams1735]

what do you have planted with your garlic? Thanks for a great video

[@thebeginnersgarden]

I planted green beans in that planting.

[@PinkLadyTools]

Hi Jill! Do you have an email for business inquiries?

[@thebeginnersgarden]

you can email my assistant, Sarah at [e-mail]