Goatster,

If the cloves are edible that means they can be used for seed. Your most likely problem is that the outter paper wrappers probably are missing. Not that big a deal. Hang the garlic to cure, as much as possible. the trim the tops and roots and store in paper bags until ready to plant this fall. We're only talking two-three months until planting time.

I've actually kept some this way (by accident, not design) for more than two years and it grew just fine.

I would also post this over on the Alliums Forum to see what the folks over there think.

I harvest garlic each year, after it has reached the "tops falling over" stage. It works better for me if I bring them inside - as our nights can be quite damp. They are put in a mesh bag in the corner of my kitchen where I can fish out what I need, and to keep an eye on them.

If any seem to be softening up, I will make garlic salt out of them. Easy - just run them through the food processor with salt of your choice, spread out on a pie tin, and dry in the oven until it makes a hard cake. Then return to the processor and grind till it will flow through a shaker easily. If still damp, return to the oven for further drying - until it does.

The home made product is much nicer than the store kind - stronger because fresher I think. Also, the salt contains anti-caking ingredients, so no need to add your own.

As a rule, my garlic doesn't always last until next year's planting, so I buy grocery store renewals that look promising. Because we are in a southerly location, I buy the soft neck types - as they seem to grow better and bulb up better here.

I would imagine it would be easy to make flakes or powder too, but that may entail finding an anti-caking ingredient to add, so I find the salt to be easier for me.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

I just harvested mine a couple of days ago, and have a bunch hanging to dry for this fall's planting. I plant the hardnecks and they keep inordinately well, I use it well into the winter and early spring before I run out and it's never spoiled.

I might have to try that garlic salt, though...

Annie

I really appreciate the help and that garlic salt idea. Thank you so much.

Is your garlic the soft neck or hard neck type? Soft neck usually has no stalk to cut off before it sprouts. Hard neck types seem to do better in the northern states. With all the rain we had this spring, all of my garlic perished. It was no big loss as it was justa few cloves that got overlooked last summer. Plantinmg garlic in fall for the next summers crop is the best way to grow it. If its hard neck types, cut off the green scapes before they pop open. I cut these into 5 inch lengths and pickled them as well. Make for a nice mild taste in salads. For pickled garlic, I use white vinegar and enough pickling salt to your taste. If I want herby ones, they get some oregano, rosemary, or dill, and for a spicy hot one, I use red pepper flakes. They pickle just fine like that and can last in the fridge about a month. If your not wanting all that vinegar, a 1/4 of it can be water. Roasting is great too, but they don't dry well (taste like chemicals!) once roasted. If you want to dry them, they can be cut in halves and dried. Then run them through a small coffee grinder for an nice fresh dried garlic. Because you can't control the amount of garlic flavor vs. salt when its added to the salt at the beginning, it may be better to just dry it and save the whole pieces for when you need some later on. Here, my store bought garlic can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months. It could be that if I had very early spoilage it was due to the store not have it fresh enough. The same holds true for onions. I had a whole 2 pounds rot in two weeks after I bought them, what a stink!