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Old May 14, 2010   #7
Suze
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,027
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Time to harvest garlic varies depending on the variety or type, and while watching the leaves is helpful, I don't go by just that.

When only the center 4-5 leaves are still green or mostly green on a particular variety, I check by carefully pulling back the soil with my bare hands until I can see the top of a bulb or two. I also feel along the side to see if the individual cloves have formed. Try not to disturb the roots when doing this.

If they are still rounds (smooth) or if I can't detect much clove formation, they get checked again in a few days. However, once you're down to the last couple of green leaves, they should be ready. If you leave them in too long, you'll lose a lot of the wrappers.

At this stage, I've harvested over half of my garlic. Some of the varieties (Creoles and Marbled Purple Stripes) are still not fully mature, though.

Cowpeas - I grow bush or half runner types that don't require support, and generally grow them for dry beans. They can also be shelled and eaten the same season, or picked at an earlier (more tender) stage and used as snaps. Favorites include Zipper Cream and Pinkeye Purple Hull.
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