Late summer is when many of the plants you have been tending all season are ready to harvest. Some plants, such as potatoes and garlic, have hopefully been growing underground, and it's exciting — and sometimes disappointing — to dig them up.
An expert gardener has some tips to help you harvest your garlic.
The scoop
Philip Longo (@earthnailsandtails) is a self-styled gardening coach who shares tips for creating robust and healthy gardens with his nearly 200,000 Instagram followers. In one clip, he shared four mistakes you might make when harvesting your garlic and what to do instead.Â
The first thing you want to be careful of is making sure you aren't waiting too long to harvest your garlic. "Once the bottom 4 to 5 leaves turn brown, they're ready to harvest," says Philip.
Be careful when pulling up your plants — using a small shovel to loosen up the soil will ensure you don't break your garlic bulb.
Once your garlic is out of the ground, you'll want to clean off any dirt. Philip suggests doing this by simply removing the outer, dirty layer of "paper," as rinsing the garlic can shorten its shelf life and promote mold growth. You may also be tempted to try to knock the dirt off, but Philip says that could bruise your garlic.
How it's working
Tips like this can save you time and money. You may have invested money into your garden, or you may have tried your hand at growing new garlic from store-bought garlic — either way, growing vegetables at home can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
Growing fruits and veggies at home is also a great way to spend some extra time outside. Plus, gardening lowers stress, and according to the New York Times, "people who gardened as one of their main physical activities had lower rates of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure."
What people are saying
Folks on Instagram were excited about these tips.
"Thank you," said one commenter. "I am growing my own garlic for [the] first time and this is helpful."
"Great tips. I learned all these the hard way," wrote another.
Someone else recommended: "Brushes work great to remove dirt as well. Just do it gently."
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