How to Pull Garlic Scapes? Teaching You the Correct Method

Garlic scapes are delicious, and many people grow them, but when harvest season comes, pulling garlic scapes is also rather laborious work, so how do you generally pull garlic scapes?

1. Pulling Garlic Scapes by Hand

Generally, hold the spathe of the garlic scape with one hand, and with the other hand grasp the spot where the top leaf emerges with the scape, then pinch and lift to pull out the garlic scape.

Although pulling garlic scapes by hand gives a relatively lower yield, it does little damage to the garlic scape itself, and afterward it is more beneficial to the growth of the garlic seedlings.

2. Pulling Garlic Scapes with Tools

1. Use a knife to cut open the false stem of the garlic seedling, then cut off the garlic scape and pull it out; after pulling it out, twist the garlic leaves back to cover the wound on the garlic seedling;

2. Use a sharpened bamboo strip to pass upward along the garlic scape through the upper 3 leaves in succession, finally make a diagonal cut with the bamboo strip, then lift the garlic scape upward to pull it out;

3. Use a sharpened bamboo chopstick to pierce vertically into the false stem at 3-6 cm above the ground, then lift the garlic scape with one hand to pull it out.

3. Precautions

1. Using tools to slit open the false stem of the garlic seedling can increase the yield, but it will lead to a reduced yield of garlic bulbs and may also cause the cloves to scatter.

2. When pulling garlic scapes, it is best to choose before sunrise, because the garlic scapes pulled out this way are relatively crisp and tender; after sunrise they are softened by the sun, and they cannot fetch a good price.