Garlic: From Scapes to Storage
Garlic is one of the few plants with two harvest seasons. Garlic scapes are harvested in the spring to early summer. Garlic bulbs are harvested later in the summer, to early fall.
What are Garlic Scapes?
Garlic scapes are the stem and flower bud of the hardneck galic plant. Hardneck garlic is typically grown in the northern US. Softneck garlic, or the type of garlic usually found in the grocery store, does not produce scapes.
Scapes are ready to harvest once they begin to coil, and resemble a long curly green bean. Harvesting scapes helps the garlic plant direct energy into growing the bulb, rather than growing the seed.