This week, we officially cleared out the late-summer beds and brought our hardneck heritage varieties onto the front porch to begin their final cure. Bundled into groups of twelve and hand-braided into traditional hanging ropes, these tight-skinned bulbs will dry under full shade for the next three weeks. This unhurried curing timeline allows the high-pungency essential oils to concentrate deeply within the cloves, guaranteeing a bulletproof kitchen shelf-life that will carry the larder safely through the deepest Missouri winter freezes.
