How to Fishtail Braid Hardneck Garlic

Did you know that there are two types of garlic just based on their “necks” alone? If you’re looking for a way to bundle hardneck garlic for a farmer’s market or just give it a housewarming gift, a garlic braid is portable and easier for someone else to handle than a basket of produce.

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You’ve picked all your garlic, hooray! Now what? If you’re looking for a way to store your harvested hardneck garlic, give this simple fishtail braid method a shot. You can easily braid 70 heads of garlic in under an hour following these steps.

Hardneck garlic vs soft neck

Did you know that there are two types of garlic just based on their “necks” alone? I had no idea until we harvested our garlic this summer and I tried to give it a traditional three-strand braid. And it wouldn’t budge! I was so discouraged because I had seen so many beautiful photos of thick braided heads of garlic and was so excited to do ours for the first time. But with a little experimenting I discovered just how easy it is to do a two-strand fishtail garlic braid.

So how do you know if your garlic is hardneck or softneck? If you were gifted the seeds, or threw away the seed packet when you planted them, don’t worry. You can tell if your garlic is hardneck if the stem is rigid and there are less cloves than what you get at the grocery store.

Why should you fishtail braid your garlic?

It probably sounds super random to braid garlic, right? But actually, people have been braiding garlic and onions for a long time to keep them fresh all through the cold months. Plus, garlic that has a fishtail braid looks cool. It’s also kind of impressive to have 20 bulbs braided together in your pantry or hanging in your kitchen. Why yes, I grew that myself, and heck yeah I learned how to braid it all by myself, too!

If you’re looking for a way to bundle it for a farmer’s market or just give it a housewarming gift, a garlic braid is portable and easy for someone else to handle than a basket of produce.

How to fishtail braid your hardneck garlic

The Prep

After it’s out of the ground, cut off the dangly roots and wipe off any loose dirt and layers of skin. Set the garlic out in a single layer somewhere where animals can’t reach to let it dry. We put it in the garage on an old window screen propped on a wagon. Fancy, I know! But it got the job done and the air circulation made it dry pretty quickly.

When it’s clean, dry, and ready to go, lay the garlic out either on the grass or on a table. You’ll want a hard surface to work on for sure because it can start to get heavy when you’re adding more bulbs.

The Braid

Start with two of the biggest bulbs you have and lay them down just offset from each other with their stems crossed so you have a left side and right side of stems. You always want to keep the left side separate from the right until you get to the end and tie it all together.

With a piece of twine, tie a double knot around the stems as close as you can to the bulb.

Next, you’re going to add one garlic head at a time on the opposite side of the previous one and cross its leaves over to the other side, always making sure that you only have two sections and the bulb sits on the opposite side from its leaves. You’ll continue adding bulbs and nuzzling them close to the previous ones until you get down to the leaves of your foundation garlic, which should now be on the outsides.

Once you reach the leaves, you’re going to take 2 stems from the outside (or 3 if it’s a wider braid) and cross it over to the opposite side. Then cross over the same number of stems from the other side. Continue it all the way down until you get to the end of the leaves from your foundation bulbs, bring it all together, and tie a tight double knot.

A few more tips to fishtail braid hardneck garlic:

Garlic shrinks as it dries, so you want to make sure your braid is nice and tight.

If your garlic is on the small side, you’ll want to fill in side to side a little extra as you work your way down the stalks to cover the stems and make it a little wider and secure.

Secure the braid with double knotted twine at the foundation, where you finished adding bulbs before the leaves, and at the end of the leaves, If you have a wider braid or your garlic is really big and heavy, I also recommend tying around one or two more spots along the braided bulbs. Make sure any knots are around the back of the braid if you don’t want to be able to see them!

How to store your braided garlic

Garlic should be kept whole until it’s ready to be used, so it’s important to inspect yours to make sure there are no nicks anywhere. If there are, you’ll want to use it within the week. I accidentally sliced one of our bulbs right in half when I was digging it out with the shovel, so we threw it in some pasta sauce with dinner that week and it was deeelicious!

Make sure you hang your garlic in a dark, cool, dry place, like a basement, cellar, or large pantry. Just avoid putting your garlic in the refrigerator because it could sprout or turn bitter!

It’s super easy to hang your braided garlic. Hang it straight up or loop your braided leaves around to meet where the bulbs end and secure it together with another piece of twine. Find where you want to store it, put in a nail, and hang it on up! Now it’s up off the counter and won’t take up precious pantry space all winter until you’re ready to use it.

You can make your own fishtail braid hardneck garlic in less than an hour, probably even two braids! All you need now is a little corner ceiling space and you can have tons of homegrown garlic to spruce up your cooking all fall and winter long!