How to plant garlic in the fall
There is an optimal time for planting any crop. Garlic belongs to those types of crops, which are desirable to plant before winter, but you need to clearly know how to plant garlic in autumn so that it gives a good harvest next year.
Before you start planting garlic, you need to carry out preparatory work, which will have a positive effect on the future harvest. Both the seed itself and the place where it will grow needs preparation.
Planting garlic in the fall is easy, but it requires some preparation.
Basic tips before disembarking:
- Disinfect garlic. Dry heads of garlic prepared for planting are soaked in potassium permanganate for a couple of hours. An even greater effect is a saline solution, a tablespoon per 1 liter of water. In such a solution, garlic should spend no more than 3 minutes.
- Choose a place. You cannot plant garlic in its previous place for at least 2-3 years. It is also advisable to avoid places after harvesting onions, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. The best place will be the soil after pumpkin, squash, legumes and cabbage.
- Prepare the soil. You cannot use manure for this. The land is dug up with peat, superphosphate and potash fertilizers are added, 20 g per 1 sq. m. The soil should be light, loose. It is advisable to avoid shade and dampness.
Before you ask yourself when and how to plant garlic in the fall, you need to decide on the place of planting and the quality of the soil. Only an integrated approach to the process is guaranteed to bring worthy results.
How to properly plant garlic in the fall
The optimal time for planting this crop is September – for central Russia and October – for the southern one. If an agronomist has an accurate weather forecast for the coming weeks, he will be able to more accurately determine the planting time – 2-3 weeks before the first frost.
If you plant garlic at an earlier time, then it will shoot green arrows that weaken the plant, and a later planting will negatively affect the rooting of the cloves and their subsequent wintering.
Prepared garlic cloves are planted 10-15 cm apart, 25-30 cm retreating between the rows. The optimal planting depth is 5–7 cm, but if the time is lost and the frost is already close, then the depth of the hole is increased to 10–15 cm.
When immersing the sowing in the hole, you cannot press on it, this will negatively affect the growth of the roots.
After finishing planting, you need to cover the garden bed 7-10 cm with a layer of peat, sawdust or humus. Brushwood and coniferous branches will also be useful. They will help trap snow and provide a warm blanket. When spring comes, the bed should be cleaned.
Planting winter garlic is a simple process that does not require special skills. You just need to pay a little attention to preparation and calculate the optimal time for your climate zone.