Emma Miller
Gardeners and vegetable growers plant garlic twice a year, which is why the crop is called “spring” and “winter. Spring garlic has a milder flavor, stores better are less susceptible to pest attack, and is less diseased during the growing season.
How to prepare garlic for planting – timing, and rules
Planting garlic in the spring – a skill accessible even to an inexperienced gardener. In order to get a good harvest, you need to consider the subtleties.
Planting garlic is optimal in mid-April-early May. It is important that the soil temperature warms up to 5-10 ° C. In terms of timing, you can not delay – the growing season of spring garlic is longer than that of winter garlic, and lasts 90-100 days. The ideal place for planting – is a bed under sunlight on an elevated position, protected from draughts.
IMPORTANT: Never plant garlic in beds where tomatoes or potatoes were growing before. If you planted onion crops, you should wait 3-4 years before planting garlic. The reason – each of these plants has its own pests, which they can “exchange” with the following.
That said, garlic can be planted after legumes, cabbage, cucumbers, cucurbits, and cider plants.
If you did not make fertilizer in the fall, you can do it now by digging the soil and adding 1 bucket of humus per 1 square meter of soil. Such manipulation should be carried out two weeks before planting, and a day after – slightly loosening the soil.
How to properly prepare garlic cloves for planting
Garlic is a crop that reproduces vegetatively (cloves). Before planting garlic, sort it – choose the most beautiful and thickest cloves. Wrap the selected material in a damp cloth and put it in a cool place, such as the refrigerator, for a week.
The day before planting, take out the cloves and soak them in cold water for 12 hours. Some growers treat garlic with manganese or growth stimulants to be sure, but it’s up to you whether you need this or not.
Spring garlic planting in the open ground – the technology
Cogs need to be planted in loosened and moist soil before this prepares the furrows. If you see that the soil is not loose enough, then pour sand or ash into the furrow.
Basic rules on how to plant garlic in the spring:
- the depth of planting the cloves – is 3-4 cm;
- distance from each other – 5-6 cm;
- the distance between the beds – is 15-20 cm.
What to do: mulch the garlic with a layer of sawdust, wood shavings, or straw. Such a method will protect the crops from unexpected frosts, will prevent the growth of weeds, moisten the soil and prevent it from drying out.
What you do not need to do: press the cloves into the soil, cover the crops with soil, and cover the crops with foil.
How to properly care for garlic in the spring
The first sprouts of garlic, usually appear in two weeks. During this period, you need to treat them with nitrogen fertilizer. Then there will be two more fertilizations – 2-3 weeks after the first one and at the end of June.
A helpful tip: For garlic to form a large bulb rather than leaves, tie all the leaves together in a bundle.
All spring and all summer the crop should be watered with cool water during periods of inactive sunshine. You also need to periodically loosen the beds and add mulch. You will see the lack of moisture immediately – the garlic will begin to have yellow leaves. If the summer will be rainy, remove the mulch, otherwise, it will cause fungal diseases of the culture.
Treat against pests garlic should be according to the situation – in general, the culture is not very susceptible to attack. You can plant a few carrots or velvets nearby – they will keep the future crop from parasites.
If you follow all the rules and recommendations, you will harvest garlic in August-September. Do it only in dry weather: dig up the culture, shake off the heads from the soil, and leave for 2-3 hours to dry out. Then carefully and gently take them to a cool place and hang them up.
