Even if you don’t intend to eat your garlic scapes, it’s still a good idea to snip them at the base of their stalk so that all the energy can go back into growing the bulb underground.Īfter you cut the garlic scapes, you have about month or so until the garlic itself is ready. If you don’t cut your scapes and leave them on the plant, the bulbils turn into flowers and seeds. I snip off the elf hats and simply use the stalk. Once I have a handful of scapes, I usually whip them into garlic scape pesto (some of which I’ll freeze in ice cube trays).
Garlic scapes are ready to harvest when they form a ring or spiral. They’ll be tougher than a younger fresh scape and taste bitter. If the scapes become straight, after they’ve gone through their curling phase, they’re past their prime. Simply cut the scape (I use my herb scissors) at the base where it comes out of the stalk. You’ll know your scapes are ready to pick when they form a spiral. Garlic scapes are easy to discern from the rest of the plant because they kind of look like green onions with a long elf hat (the bulbil) at the end. Not all of my varieties are always ready at the same time, which is nice because I can harvest in batches and enjoy them for longer. Garlic scapes usually start to make their appearance on hardneck garlic sometime in June (this may differ if you’re in a different zone).
Spiral plant clipping how to#
I order my garlic from a local company called Bulbs of Fire.īefore we talk about when to harvest garlic, let’s first discuss how to harvest garlic scapes and ensure they don’t go to waste! When to harvest garlic scapes Another great resource is a book written a few years ago by Canadian author Liz Primeau called In Pursuit of Garlic. Jessica has written a great article about the differences between hardneck and softneck garlic. If I still need space, I’ll pop a few extra here and there in an ornamental garden. I usually spread my garlic crop out over a couple of my raised beds. I think one of the best things about growing garlic is you get two harvests! But a key thing to note if you’re new to growing it, is when to harvest garlic-and those delicious garlic scapes that come sooner in the season. I like to try different varieties, so I split a bigger order with a couple of other green thumbs and then divvy it up. Every fall, without fail, I place an order. One vegetable I have not had to purchase in several years is garlic.
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