Harvesting Garlic

This is the first year I tried growing garlic, and while it went ok, it wasn't as productive as I had wanted it to be. That being said, I did harvest 3 dozen or so plants, however more than half either rotted or split. So there was not enough to create a garlic braid which I wanted to do so it would last longer. I read the braids last a bit longer than cut. Also it looks pretty impressive in the kitchen hanging on the wall. A conversation starter with company, where you can say you actually grew that. Anyway, I did end up with about a dozen cloves, half were very small, a couple were quite large. But I now have enough garlic to last me a few months. But unfortunately only a few months as I do use a lot of garlic. This should store fairly well though.

I think the rotting of a few of the Transylvania garlics has to do with that I left them to dry in the sun for a couple days, then we also had some heavy rains which got the garlic wet while it was trying to dry a few times. Even though it was hanging out in our patio, under the awning, we had sideways rain a few days with 40mph winds that just soaked everything. So a combination of over solarizing it and allowing it to get wet while drying likely was the reason for all of the rotten garlic.

Next year I plan on growing only the Transylvania, however I might try a few heat tolerant varieties as well, like Thermadrone, or Lorz Italian. We will see how the harvest is next year. I might also try to make a drying rack for them in my shed. This could help keep them from rotting. Let me know what recommendations you all have for growing next year!