How to Harvest and Cure Garlic and Onions for Storage
Garlic and onions are easy to grow in a short season, but a lot of the crop is lost after harvest. Pull them too early, too late or cure them badly and they rot or sprout in storage. A few simple steps at harvest time decide whether your bulbs last until Christmas or until spring.
The short answer
- Garlic: harvest when the lower third of the leaves is yellow and dead. Cure 10 to 14 days at about 27°C in an airy spot.
- Onions: harvest when a third to half of the tops have dried and fallen over. Cure about a week at about 27°C.
- Store garlic cool and dry; store onions at about 10°C with 60 to 70% humidity, in mesh bags or ventilated boxes.
Numbers in this guide come from the University of Saskatchewan’s garlic and onion guides.
Harvesting garlic
Each green leaf on a garlic plant becomes a protective wrapper around the bulb. Harvest too late and those wrappers rot away, leaving bulbs that split apart and store poorly.
- When: once the lower third of the leaves has yellowed and died back. In most cold-climate gardens that is mid to late July for fall-planted garlic.
- How: loosen the soil beside the row with a garden fork, then lift the bulbs. Pulling by the stem alone can snap it off.
- Do not wash the bulbs. Brush off loose soil gently.
- For braiding softneck garlic, harvest while the leaves are still green and flexible.
Stop watering as the bulbs mature in early summer; wet soil near harvest encourages rot.
Harvesting onions
- When: when a third to half of the tops have dried and fallen over on their own. Ideally the necks dry and shrink before you lift them.
- Wet summer? If tops will not fall, some gardeners bend them over, but USask notes this is not ideal because it can let fungal disease in.
- How: loosen soil with a fork and lift gently. A pierced bulb will not store.
- Thick-necked onions are immature and will not cure well. Use them first.
How to cure garlic and onions
Curing dries the outer layers and seals the neck, which is what lets bulbs keep for months.
| Garlic | Onions | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | About 27°C (80°F) | About 27°C |
| Time | 10 to 14 days | About 1 week |
| Where | Dry, shaded, well ventilated, on newspaper or racks | Warm, dry, sheltered, on newspaper or ventilated racks |
| After curing | Trim tops and roots | Trim tops to 3 to 4 cm, remove dry roots and loose skin |
A garage, shed or covered porch works well. Keep bulbs out of direct sun, which can scald them, and check onions for mould while they cure.
How to store them
- Onions: about 10°C with 60 to 70% relative humidity, in mesh bags, baskets or slatted boxes. Do not pile them deep, and keep them away from heat vents and exterior walls. Well-cured onions keep 3 to 5 months.
- Garlic: dark, dry and airy, in mesh bags or baskets. Expect roughly 3 to 6 months; after about 5 months bulbs may start to shrivel or sprout.
- Use the worst first. Bulbs with soft spots, thick necks or damaged skins should go to the kitchen right away.
Save some for next year
Set aside your biggest, healthiest garlic bulbs for fall planting. Their cloves are already adapted to your garden, and planting the largest cloves gives the largest bulbs next summer.
Keep reading
Frequently Asked Questions
When is garlic ready to harvest?
When the lower third of the leaves has turned yellow and died back, usually mid to late July for fall-planted garlic in cold climates.
How long do you cure garlic?
About 10 to 14 days in a dry, shaded, well-ventilated spot at around 27°C.
When should I harvest onions?
When a third to half of the tops have dried and fallen over on their own.
How should onions be stored?
At about 10°C with 60 to 70% humidity, in mesh bags or ventilated boxes. Well-cured onions keep about 3 to 5 months.
