How to plant garlic in spring? Video instruction
Many summer residents know that garlic can and should be planted before winter. Winter garlic ripens by August and is considered frost-resistant, besides, winter garlic is well stored and does not dry out. However, this does not mean at all that you cannot plant garlic in the spring.
Hard varieties of Garlic are planted only in autumn soil (winter plantings), planted in spring, hard garlic simply will not have time to ripen. But the soft narrow-leaved one will not survive the winter, therefore it is planted only in early spring in not yet dry soil. More and more gardeners choose soft varieties of garlic. The fact is that such garlic is distinguished by a shorter growing season and greater resistance to bulbous diseases. In addition, spring garlic is well stored throughout the winter, retaining its taste. It is juicy and moderately loose.
A place for planting garlic in the spring is chosen sunny or slightly shaded and leeward. It is wrong to place the garlic in the place where it used to grow: – onions, – potatoes, – carrots.
But a ridge of tomatoes or melons is perfect. The best time to work with the land is early April, in the southern regions – mid-March. The difficulty of planting garlic in the spring is not in some technology, in a short time for work. It is necessary to catch the moment when the soil is still moist enough, but no longer “watery”.
Winter garlic differs from spring garlic by one row of teeth, spring garlic always has two
Remember that the spring soil is still very cold, and frosts are also frequent, and therefore before planting, the seed garlic cloves can be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
Immediately before planting, the cloves of garlic must be treated with an antibacterial drug. Usually use potassium permanganate or the drug “Maxim”, which is diluted in a basin according to the instructions for the drug (be sure to look at the concentration of the purchased medication). Garlic should be soaked in liquid for a couple of hours, then put in a colander and let the liquid drain.
Organic fertilizers (compost or peat) must be added to the soil before planting. It is very convenient to do this when digging earth. Just spread the fertilizer over the surface and dig up the ground with a pitchfork. It is desirable that the soil contains sand.
The sand introduced into the soil creates micro-drainage around the developing head of garlic. Water does not stagnate and does not lead to putrefactive diseases
Contrary to popular belief that garlic can be simply “poked” into prepared holes, experienced gardeners say: the earth needs to be dug up. Moreover, the ridge under the garlic must be disassembled, breaking large pieces of earth.
On the dug-up ground, make a narrow groove up to 5 centimeters deep. Do not compact the soil, otherwise the heads of garlic that have ripened in the fall will be small. Place the cloves of garlic ready for planting with the hatched arrow pointing up every 12-15 centimeters. Sprinkle a tablespoon of dry sand over each clove if necessary. Sprinkle the planting with earth, on top – with humus, it will not allow the soil to dry out and crack under the active spring sun.
Watering the ridge is usually not required; in the spring, the soil still stores a sufficient amount of moisture. However, if you delayed planting until mid-April, then spill the ridge so that the water saturates 5-7 centimeters of soil.
Garlic planting care
It is good to add ammonium sulfate to the soil after planting, which will protect the plants from diseases and pests. This treatment must be carried out twice during the growing season: – when planting; – at the exit of the first arrow; – when bursting heads appear on the arrows.
Most often, shallow spring plantings of garlic suffer from bulb flies, therefore, if you do not trust sulfates, purchase drugs against this pest in specialized stores.
A week after planting, the soil will need to be loosened, in a couple of weeks, with sufficiently warm weather, the first shoots should appear. Now it remains to water the plants, and also make sure that the garlic does not get sick. Most often it is affected by rot, which can be fought with the help of “Fitosporin” or “Oxychoma”, dissolved in water for irrigation. In principle, it is not required to feed spring garlic, especially if, when planting in the soil, you introduced the necessary substances, which were mentioned above.
Watering the garlic should also be infrequent, but abundant. Avoid stagnant water and a cracked dry layer covering the soil: good air access is especially important for garlic, otherwise the heads will become excessively dense.
30 days after planting, you can cut off the green leaf of garlic, leaving 5-7 centimeters at the root; this will stimulate the development of the head.
Try to sprinkle the heads with earth if they appear on the surface during growth. It is good to use sawdust and some needles.