Hi Vinnye,
I have hung up all my garlics for the season - a 10 day job this time!! I trim the roots after all is dried in a few weeks or more - at the same time as removing the layer or two for that clean look.
Glad

I usually wait until the garlic is fully cured - 2 to 3 weeks after the garlic is harvested and all the leaves have dried down and are brown and crunchy. That way, I'm doing all the trimming and cleaning at one time (trim the roots and cut the tops down to 1/2 to 1 inch or so) and then just throwing them into mesh bags for storage until planting in the fall.

We trim roots ,size ,and cut off the stalks right after harvest then put in curing racks. They stay in the racks till we sell , eat or plant them. We clean (by taking off one paper layer) as we pull them from the racks to sell or eat.We never really clean the planting stock. This way all the garlic keeps as many of its paper layers as possible till time to eat or plant.