Garlic: how to grow a good crop

Garlic has 2 varieties: winter and spring (1). You can tell them apart by the bulbs.

Winter garlic. He has an even number of cloves in his head – from 4 to 10. They are large and arranged in a circle. And in the center there is always a stem – the rest of the stem. The problem with winter garlic is that it does not store well.

Spring garlic. His teeth are arranged in a spiral, and they are of different sizes – larger on the outside, closer to the center – smaller. And there are many more – up to 30 pieces. And there is no stem in the center. This variety of garlic is perfectly stored – it can easily lie for a whole year until the next harvest.

Winter garlic is planted before winter, spring – in the spring, respectively, their care has differences.

Cultivation of garlic

Garlic is a rather unpretentious culture, for many summer residents it grows with little or no care and gives good yields. But still, he has one requirement – the soil must be pedigree. Therefore, before planting on the site, fertilizers must be applied (calculation per 1 sq. M):

• humus – 1/2 bucket;
• rotted sawdust of deciduous trees – 1/2 bucket;
• ash – 5 glasses;
• fluffy lime – 5 glasses.

Fertilizers must be mixed, evenly scattered over the site and dug up by 10 cm.

It is strictly forbidden to bring fresh organic matter (manure, chicken droppings) to the beds with garlic – the bulbs will rot. And he does not like urea and potassium chloride.

The place for garlic should be sunny – this is a light-loving culture.

Planting garlic

The timing of planting garlic depends on its variety.

Winter garlic. It is traditionally planted 2 to 3 weeks before the onset of hard frosts, in late September – early October (2), when the soil temperature drops below 15 °C.

The landing pattern is as follows:

• row spacing – 25 cm;
• in a row – 10 – 15 cm;
• planting depth – 8 – 10 cm.

Spring garlic. It is planted in the spring, no later than the end of April (3). He is not afraid of frosts, therefore, the earlier you plant, the more likely it is that the crop will have time to ripen – this is especially true in regions with a short summer. The optimum soil temperature is 5-6 °C.

Boarding scheme:

• row spacing – 25 – 30 cm;
• in a row – 8 – 10 cm;
• planting depth – 2 cm.

The teeth are planted to a depth of 3-4 cm, and when they begin to take root, they themselves will go deep into the soil by 6-8 cm (4).

Outdoor garlic care

Watering. It should be regular, but up to a certain point:

• in April-May – 1 time per week: 10 liters per 1 sq. m
• in June-July – 1 time in 2 weeks: 10 liters per 1 sq. m;
• no watering since August.

In rainy summers, garlic does not need watering.

Feeding. As a rule, in fertile areas of this crop, it is enough that they were introduced into the soil before planting. On poor soils, it is useful to additionally feed it with phosphorus and potassium – fertilizers must be applied between rows 2 weeks after planting the cloves:

• double superphosphate – 30 g (2 tablespoons) per 1 sq. m;
• potassium sulfate – 20 g (1 tablespoon) per 1 sq. m.

– Winter garlic is important to cover in the winter – mulch with humus, compost or peat with a layer of about 5 cm, – advises agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova. – This should be done in late autumn, at the end of November. The mulch will help keep the bulbs from freezing if the winter turns out to be snowless and the frosts are severe. In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, the mulch must be removed so that the cloves in the soil do not get wet.

“Caring for spring garlic also has its own tricks,” continues Svetlana Mikhailova. – It happens that in the cold summer, the ripening of the bulbs slows down, and they may not have time to ripen before the autumn frosts. In this case, in mid-August, you can collect the leaves in a bunch and tie them in a knot – then they will stop growing, the plants will direct all their forces to the ripening of the bulb.

Harvesting garlic

The timing of harvesting garlic also depends on its variety.

Winter garlic. It is usually harvested at the end of July. There are three signs that he is already ripe:

• on the inflorescences, the covering skin begins to crack, and the bulbs are exposed, but this only applies to arrow varieties – yes, garlic arrows usually break out (5), but you can always leave a couple of plants with inflorescences to use as beacons;
• the lower leaves turn yellow;
• the outer, covering scales of the bulb become dry – this can be seen if you dig up one plant.

Spring garlic. It is removed later – around the end of August. Most varieties of this group do not form arrows, so yellowing of the leaves and lodging of the tops can serve as a visual signal for harvesting.

– It is better to dig up the garlic with a pitchfork – so there is less chance of damaging the bulb, recommends agronomist Svetlana Mikhailova. – You need to dig in dry weather. After harvesting, the garlic, together with the tops, is removed to dry – for about a week it should lie under a canopy.

After drying, the roots and stems are cut off from the bulbs, leaving a stump of about 10 cm (if the garlic is supposed to be stored in braids, the stems are not cut).

Garlic storage rules

There are many ways to store garlic, but practice shows that almost all of them are unreliable. The best way is to braid the plants in the same way as you do with onions.

But there are nuances here:

• garlic stalks are hard and brittle, it is difficult to braid them into braids, so you need to weave straw or twine there;
• braids should be stored at a temperature of 1 – 2 ° C – onions are stored at room temperature, and garlic dries quickly in heat.

Large heads are stored longer, so you need to eat small ones first.

Popular questions and answers

Answered our questions about growing garlic agronomist Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Fisenko A.N., Serpukhovitina K.A., Stolyarov A.I. Garden. Handbook // Rostov-on-Don, Rostov University Press, 1994 – 416 p.
2. Pantielev Ya.Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 – 383 p.
3. A group of authors, ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 – 208 p.
4. Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.
5. Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO “Orakul”, OOO Lazurak, IPKA “Publicity”, 1994 – 415 p.