How to Plant Winter Garlic: Growing a Big Harvest

Winter garlic is garlic that is planted in the garden in the fall and left in the ground to overwinter. Such garlic is easy to grow and characterized by large and juicy cloves. It is an easy-to-grow and unpretentious crop, which can be grown even by inexperienced gardeners.

When to plant winter garlic

Garlic is planted about 3 weeks before the first winter frosts so that the plant has time to empty and fix roots in the ground. At the same time, it is better to plant winter garlic later than earlier. If he let green sprouts before winter, he may die, so you should not hurry.

How to choose a place for planting

Garlic is planted in a sunny and preferably elevated place. This plant is in great need of sunlight. It should not be planted on a plot that has been fertilized with manure in the last 3 months.

Winter garlic should not be planted on land where potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, and radishes grew this year. Also, garlic should not be planted on land where garlic was already growing. A good precursor for this crop will be beans, peas, peppers, zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, and wheat.

Tillage for a good garlic crop

For a rich harvest of winter garlic and large cloves, the soil is specially treated. To begin with, the soil 2 weeks before planting is plowed to a depth of 25 cm. Then, just before planting, a mixture of sand, sawdust, and humus in equal proportions is added to the soil.

For additional fertilization of the soil, you can add potash or superphosphate to the soil – 2 tablespoons per bed. These fertilizers are like garlic.

How to plant winter garlic

It is desirable to plant winter garlic in cloves – then it will give a harvest the next summer. If you buy ready-made cloves, pay attention that they should be from winter garlic, not spring garlic.

Before planting the cloves, if desired, you can disinfect them in a salt solution – 3 tablespoons of salt per 5 liters of water. The cloves are dipped into the solution for 2 minutes.

Plant winter garlic as follows

1. On the plot, dig furrows 20 cm deep. The distance between the beds – is 25 cm.
2. At the bottom of the furrows, it is desirable to pour sand to protect the garlic from rotting.
3. Plant the cloves in the ground with 10 cm between them.
4. Cover the garlic furrows with the earth.
5. If desired, mulch the garlic beds with sawdust mixed with soil.
6. In December, cover the beds with cling film or roofing felt until the snow falls. As soon as the snow falls, remove the covering. Snow serves as a natural shelter for garlic.
7. Leave the garlic on the ground until spring. In March, shovel the snow and remove the mulch to make it easier for the seedlings to germinate.