Well not exactly in your neck fo the woods, but pretty close. I'm near Erie, PA. Like any garden item, some mature earlier/later than others. For me, it has usually been sometime in late June when I have noticeable leaf die back. Harvest has usally occured for me over the first 2 weeks or so of July. Again, sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes later. Using the leaves as a guide is excellent. As far as when to cut off watering, I usually try to guess when I am a week away from lifting the bulbs, and stop then. I also keep an eye on the weather forecast to try and get them up before a rain. My experience has shown a week early is better than a week late.

I dry ours in an airy place, under cover. I tie the greens together in bunches of 10 or so with string, and hang the bundles either in an unchinked outbuilding or under the metal roof of a porch - out of hot sunlight.If you are in a humid area, between 3 and 6 weeks later at most, they are cured.After curing, i cut away the leaves, brush dirt and snip the roots down short. Peel one layer of the garlic's paper away to get that clean, white look. No cleaning water is needed, even when planted in clayish soil. I found that if i harvest my garlics when the soil is quite dry, i get a much cleaner bunch of bulbs. I just wouldn't harvest it when water-logged, but damp has not been a problem. Glad

I would certainly not wash them unless you need them to look clean for the state fair, lol. Last year I had to harvest garlic between rainstorms which really sucked as there was 2000 row feet (4000 plants) to dig in 1 day! I just knocked off as much dirt as I could, hung them in smaller bunches than usual (as Victor said above) and they cured just fine with a fan blowing on them for the first week. The skins didn't look as perfect as they could have but thats how it goes some years. The garlic kept just fine, and I was selling garlic well into March. Good luck with the harvest, let us know how it goes!

Larry, They look nice. Is that a white softneck type of garlic? As a garlic fanatic I always have to ask the type and variety. Looks like very nice sized bulbs. My onions will be interesting as this is the first year I've grown from seeds. And have never grew most of the varieties. They seem to be doing very well. Will see how they bulb up. I have one red variety I purchased from Baker Creek with huge stems and the leaves are getting large also. Was some smaller than the one variety from Dixondale (Candy) I planted but about to pass it in size and planted next to it in the row. Sharon glad you like garlic. I don't have near as many varieties as I've had in the past. I kept saying I was going to cut back on varieties and grow more of what I liked and those that did well here. Well the severe hail last year along with traveling a long distance to work helped speed up the decision and action. The hail basically stopped my onions and garlic from bulbing much more than they were at the time. The bulbs looked small when I dug them so unless they were a real favorite I never tagged and labeled them. Just dug and hung to dry. To my surprise several had larger cloves than I expected. So in my rows this year I have two different batches of assorted bulbs. Some I'm sure I'll know and some I won't. I have dug one variety and half of another. But have had good size overall for the varieties they are. The reason I only dug half was I plant two rows 24" apart both of the same variety. That way one T label can mark two rows. The north side was matured and half of the leaves had died back. I usually dig when 1/3 to 1/2 of the leaves have died. In this case the necks were soft also like the first variety I dug. The odd part here is the south side doesn't show any signs of maturing or leaves dieing. Same variety 24 inches apart. I planted in mid Nov and covered in mulch. As far as I know they sprouted and emerged around the same time. Not sure if it was an water issue or what. The cloves were very likely from the same bulb. So I only dug half of it. Yes it is easy to grow. Not sure why anyone wouldn't. But I didn't for years. Just like horseradish and asparagus. As far as I'm concerned the 3 easiest crops that require the least maintenance and attention to grow a good to great crop. I do plan on planting my garlic a few weeks earlier this fall. Of course I always do but never seem to have the soil ready when many plant it. Although my bulb size has always been very good except for last year. This year I will use the ground where the sweet corn is. And I have the new tillers and a furrowing attachment so will be able to prepare the soil early. Jay