DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM

Before cleaning

I do apologise for no blog posts for a couple of weeks...but we have been flat out harvesting then attending to the post harvest care of your garlic - curing, cleaning, braiding, trimming, weighing, posting...I am still 'under the pump' but anticipate posting a decent length missive for you after the weekend.

Thanks for your patience :)

After harvesting it (pulling it from the ground), we get it out of the sun quick smart (in batches as we go) and then start hanging it in bunches, under cover but well ventilated and not too warm, to air dry and basically cure for the next couple of weeks or so. 

Curing takes about 2 weeks for the loose bulbs if all goes smoothly, but some variables can occur during the curing process that lengthen the time it takes, such as too much hot and humid weather. Too much heat seems to halt the garlic's drying process, as if it's self-regulating how quickly it cures and too much air moisture (humidity) obviously just keeps things damp and slows drying. We do our best to work with this sort of thing such as employing various methods to increase aeration and minimise damp and heat accumulation and adaptations in preparing it...just looking after our babies really. If garlic is not cured properly and is ultimately sent out too 'green/wet', it is at great risk of 'sweating' and can then start to mould or rot and is also prone to easy bruising...all of these impacts will mean the end product is of lesser quality and won't keep as well for as long. 

The garlic used for the braids or plaits is air-dried for only a few days before cleaning and then plaiting. Once plaited, the garlic can continue to derive nutrients from the intact green stalks and finish it's full curing phase.

   

After curing, we remove the stalks from the bulbs and clean the garlic up of all dirt and loose, dry skins, trim the dried roots and finish all the bulbs off with gentle scrubbing to remove remaining debris and dirt - all important for the final inspection process, ensuring top quality bulbs go out and maximising shelf-life of your garlic too.