How Should Garlic Be Stored? Five New Methods to Teach You

There are many methods for storing garlic. Depending on the storage purpose and conditions, methods such as hanging storage, heap storage, burial storage, radiation storage, and chemical treatment storage can be used. They are specifically introduced as follows.

1. Hanging storage method: When harvesting garlic, the garlic intended for hanging storage should be strictly selected, removing those heads that are too small, have rotten stems and leaves, are damaged, or have been affected by moisture. Then spread them on the ground to dry in the sun until the stems and leaves become soft and yellow, and the outer skin of the garlic is dry. Finally, select 50 to 100 garlic heads of uniform size, braid them, and hang them under a cool, ventilated, rain-sheltered eave so they are air-dried and stored.

2. Heap storage method: After harvesting garlic, remove the heads with loose cloves, insect damage, mold, or injury, tie them into bundles of 50 to 100 heads, and dry the leaves. After the leaves are dried, then dry the garlic roots. The garlic drying time is 7 to 10 days, and a cool, ventilated place should be chosen for heap storage. During heap storage, the garlic heads should face outward, and every 3 to 5 days the garlic heap should be opened up for ventilation and garlic drying. This must be done whether it is cloudy or clear. When ventilating and drying the garlic, dry it during the day, and seal the heap well in the evening to avoid rain soaking and rotting. After about one week, ventilate it a second time. Repeat this twice so that the garlic is completely dry, then move it to a ventilated indoor place, pile it in a storage warehouse or large bamboo basket, maintain low humidity and cool conditions, and check it frequently.

3. Burial storage method: The width of the burial trench is 1 to 1.5 m. After garlic is buried, it cannot be inspected at any time. To avoid rot losses during storage, strictly select disease-free and undamaged garlic for storage before burying. For garlic burial, rice husk is generally used as the covering material. First spread a 2 cm thick layer of rice husk on the bottom of the trench, then place one layer of garlic and one layer of rice husk, piling layer upon layer until about 5 cm from the ground, then cover with rice husk so that the garlic is not exposed to the air. This creates certain sealed conditions, inhibits the respiration of garlic, reduces the oxygen content, helps carbon dioxide accumulate in the storage environment, and provides good conditions for garlic storage.

4. Radiation storage: Radiation treatment uses a lethal dose of 14000 roentgens of gamma rays to irradiate garlic. During irradiation, the gamma rays passing through the bulbs will cause the water and other substances in the garlic body to undergo ionization, producing free radicals or ions, thereby inhibiting metabolism. This method is simple to operate, has high fresh-keeping quality, and can be stored at room temperature for about 1 to 2 years.

5. Chemical treatment storage: The commonly used chemical is maleic hydrazide, whose sodium, potassium, and ammonium salts are easily soluble in water and have low toxicity to humans and livestock. The method is: after garlic bolting and one week before harvest, dilute maleic hydrazide with 120 to 180 times water and spray it on the garlic leaf surface, which can inhibit garlic sprouting. The sprayer used for spraying must be washed clean after use, and care should be taken not to spray seed garlic, so as not to affect sprouting.