I keep mine in a very loose burlap bag which my farmer gave me years ago … then I hang the bag on a hook from the ceiling in my basement (about six feet off the floor) where humidity lingers about 50-60% year round … no natural light and temps are about 17-20 Celsius year round.
I learned that hanging is better because everything gets equal amounts of air. If you sit it on a shelf or near the floor, the bottom layer will get damp fast and give no air circulation. My farmer said that he had a few customers complain that their supply of garlic went bad midway through the winter … he suspected that they kept their bags on the floor or on a shelf.
Last year I kept 20lbs starting from about October and I used the last of it at about June the following year with only about three or four bulbs going bad … and bad meaning they just shrivelled up and dried out.
None of it sprouted. I don’t think garlic does that as easily as potatoes or onions.
It took me years to learn all this and even so, I don’t think I know that much about it … just enough to be able to keep a big bag of garlic in my basement all winter. The best thing is to hang the burlap bag (which is very coarse and lets in lots of air) … and keep a bit of cool temps (15-20 Celsius) and humidity at about 50% (in the late summer and fall, my basement is at about 60% but then dips to about 40% mid winter) … and keep it all away from sunlight as the sun means that the room temps will change and fluctuate … I don’t have an expensive setup, I just have an old dry basement in a small old house with an electronic temp and humidity gauge.
And if you can find a good farmer … buy it all in bulk, as much as you can afford, it’s always cheaper that way.
And just follow simple cooking advice on how to use garlic from old chefs like Jacques Pepin … simple straight forward cooking
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I keep mine in a very loose burlap bag which my farmer gave me years ago … then I hang the bag on a hook from the ceiling in my basement (about six feet off the floor) where humidity lingers about 50-60% year round … no natural light and temps are about 17-20 Celsius year round.
I learned that hanging is better because everything gets equal amounts of air. If you sit it on a shelf or near the floor, the bottom layer will get damp fast and give no air circulation. My farmer said that he had a few customers complain that their supply of garlic went bad midway through the winter … he suspected that they kept their bags on the floor or on a shelf.
Last year I kept 20lbs starting from about October and I used the last of it at about June the following year with only about three or four bulbs going bad … and bad meaning they just shrivelled up and dried out.
DeadPixel@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Does it start to sprout still, or does the humidity level & hanging it help prevent that as well?
You should write a book about garlic facts, I’ve learned so much from you this thread!
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
None of it sprouted. I don’t think garlic does that as easily as potatoes or onions.
It took me years to learn all this and even so, I don’t think I know that much about it … just enough to be able to keep a big bag of garlic in my basement all winter. The best thing is to hang the burlap bag (which is very coarse and lets in lots of air) … and keep a bit of cool temps (15-20 Celsius) and humidity at about 50% (in the late summer and fall, my basement is at about 60% but then dips to about 40% mid winter) … and keep it all away from sunlight as the sun means that the room temps will change and fluctuate … I don’t have an expensive setup, I just have an old dry basement in a small old house with an electronic temp and humidity gauge.
And if you can find a good farmer … buy it all in bulk, as much as you can afford, it’s always cheaper that way.
And just follow simple cooking advice on how to use garlic from old chefs like Jacques Pepin … simple straight forward cooking
DeadPixel@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Fascinating, thanks for all the tips, I’ll definitely up my garlic game going forward…