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Not a single garden can do without a bed of garlic today. Everyone knows about the healing properties of this crop and grows it everywhere for themselves, as well as for sale. At the same time, every vegetable grower is puzzled by the question: “How to grow large garlic without resorting to growth stimulants and other chemical fertilizers?”. It should be said that this culture is already considered high-yielding. However, if it is grown correctly, in compliance with the rules of agricultural technology, the yield can be incredibly high, and the heads are large.
Which garlic to choose
It is known that garlic is spring (summer) and winter. The difference between them is not only in planting time, but also in the size of the bulbs. Winter varieties are distinguished by larger heads, while it is almost impossible to grow large garlic from spring varieties.
It is sometimes difficult for beginner gardeners to distinguish winter varieties from spring ones. And this is a very important point, since winter varieties are planted in the garden in the fall, and spring varieties in the spring. If the teeth are mixed up, you can not hope for a harvest at all. The main difference between winter garlic is the shaft to which the teeth are attached, and most often its heads have an even number of cloves. Spring garlic does not have a stem, and the number of teeth can be different, besides, they are much smaller in size than winter ones.
Of course, you can get a higher yield from winter varieties, but keep in mind that such garlic is stored for a short time – up to a maximum of February. Summer varieties are not so large, but their shelf life can be up to two years. For sale, it is more profitable to grow winter garlic, as it has a good presentation. But in order to use the product until the next harvest, it is better to opt for summer varieties, among which there are also large heads.
For example, the Gulliver variety is a rather unusual representative of spring garlic – its heads, when grown properly, reach 90–115 g, moreover, it is prone to the formation of arrows, which is not typical for summer varieties. As for winter garlic, almost all of its varieties are distinguished by large heads: Sofievsky (90–110 g), Komsomolets (80–110 g), Losevsky (up to 75 g), Yubileiny (up to 80 g), Podmoskovny (from 60 g) and others.
Video “Giant Garlic”
See what specimens you can grow in your summer cottage.
Preparing the beds and garlic
A bed for planting winter garlic should be prepared in a month, in extreme cases, in 2-3 weeks. For spring varieties, it is better to prepare the site in the fall. This is due to the fact that the culture does not really like fresh organic fertilizers, and besides, it is not easy to dig and feed the frozen soil in early spring.
First of all, you need to decide on a place for growing. It should be open, sunny, located on a flat surface. If the garden is in a lowland, it is better to make an elevation (high bed) for the garden bed – this will help to avoid moisture stagnation. It is bad if the garden is located on a slope. In this case, there is a possibility of washing off the soil, which will also not have the best effect on productivity.
Garlic prefers loose sandy soil with neutral acidity. If your garden is not very fertile, suitable conditions must be created artificially. Acidic soil should be limed (1 glass of lime / 1 m²). To improve the drainage properties, you need to add sand, peat, sawdust. As top dressing, humus is introduced (1 bucket / 1 m²), plus litter 1 l / 1 m² and ash. Instead of litter, you can use superphosphate (30 g / 1 m²) with potassium salt (20 g / 1 m²).
The soil, together with fertilizers, should be dug to a depth of 20–25 cm. Then the bed should be leveled and disinfected – pour with a solution of manganese or salt (1 cup / 1 bucket of water). Next, cover the bed with a film and leave until planting.
Seeds (teeth) also need to be prepared before planting in the garden. It is very important to choose the healthiest and largest specimens. The preparation of winter varieties consists in disinfecting the teeth with a 1% solution of copper sulphate. The teeth are placed in the liquid for literally 1 minute – this time is enough to kill fungi and bacteria.
Summer garlic is often subjected to stratification (cooling). The teeth are kept for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, after which they are placed in a damp cloth and germinated. However, it often happens that by the spring the teeth themselves germinate. In this case, they can be immediately planted in the ground.
Planting garlic in spring and autumn
Planting time depends on the type of crop. Winter garlic is planted in autumn, from late September to mid-October – about 1,5 months before the onset of constant cold weather. During this time, the teeth will take root and take root, but the sprouts will not have time to germinate to the surface.
Spring garlic is planted in early spring, immediately after the snow melts – in early or mid-April, depending on the climate. Summer varieties tolerate cold well and are able to germinate at a soil temperature of 6 ° C, and in cold soil they grow more actively, and as the soil warms up, their growth slows down.
The earlier you plant a spring variety, the more likely it is to grow large heads.
Secrets of growing large garlic
There are several simple farming techniques that allow you to grow large garlic.
Timely landing
For planting winter varieties, you need to guess the time so that the teeth have time to take root before the onset of frost, but do not have time to grow. On average, this time period falls on the end of September – the beginning of October, but for each region it may be different. When sowing a spring variety, it must be taken into account that the bulb must have time to form before the onset of heat – only in this case can one count on large heads.
Crop rotation
The culture is not recommended to be planted in one place for more than 2 years in a row, and in order to obtain large bulbs, it is advisable to change the landing site every year.
Illumination
The beds should be located in a place well lit by the sun. Otherwise, small bulbs will grow.
Soil quality
Neutral acidity and good drainage properties of the soil are very important for the culture. In heavy and acidic soil, garlic bulbs will certainly grow small, or even disappear altogether.
Planting material quality
For planting, you should choose varieties intended for your region. When buying imported varieties of white garlic, remember that for transportation they are treated with special solutions that inhibit the growth of roots, so it is almost impossible to grow good large bulbs from such material.
Removing arrows
Some varieties of winter garlic produce arrows with seeds. If they are not removed in time, the plant will direct all the juices to the ripening of the seed bulbs, which will affect the size of the heads. It is noticed that the plants on which the arrows remained form heads half as much.
Deep tooth setting
Experienced gardeners advise planting slices to a depth of 5–7 cm in order to prevent them from freezing in winter and premature warming up in spring. It is known that garlic grows its mass faster at cold temperatures, while in the heat the growth of the bulb stops.
Too tight fit
The optimal distance for planting a crop is 20 cm between rows, and 8–10 cm between teeth. If the distance is less, the bulbs will grow small.
Timely loosening
In the spring, when the snow has melted and the sun warmed up sharply, a crust forms on the surface of the soil, preventing oxygen from reaching the roots. If the surface is not loosened in time, then the bulbs may lag behind in development.
Correct watering
During its active growth, the plant needs to maintain high soil moisture. While during the period of maturation of the heads, on the contrary, high humidity harms it.
Mulching the beds
Mulch helps maintain soil moisture and eliminates the need for frequent watering in hot weather. If the summer turned out to be hot, it will not be possible to grow large heads without mulch.
Moderate top dressing
During the growing season, the plant should be fed three times. Whatever fertilizer you choose – mineral or organic, it is important not to exceed the amount. If plants are given a lot of organic matter, then the leaves will begin to turn yellow, and the heads will stop growing. If you feed in excessive quantities with mineral mixtures, the taste and quality of the bulbs will deteriorate.
And the last thing you should pay attention to. Garlic is considered a perennial, or rather a three-year plant, but most gardeners grow it as an annual. This leads to the fact that over time it becomes smaller – it simply degenerates.
Update planting material regularly. When planting winter varieties, leave a few arrows to get seeds, and then grow planting bulbs from them, consisting of one clove. In the third year, a large, full-weight garlic head can be grown from such a clove.
Video “How to grow large winter garlic in the country”
This video describes and demonstrates the technology of growing large garlic heads, which has shown itself well and gives an excellent harvest over the years.
