What garlic likes when growing. Caring for garlic. Spring garlic - well done, daring

Garlic is a well-known biennial herb bulbous plant up to 1 m in height, with an ovoid bulb consisting of 6-10 small bulbs. The stem that bears the flower is erect, often twisted into a ring at the top, which subsequently straightens. The leaves can be up to 1 m long, linear, bright green, flat, covered with a bluish coating, pointed. The flowers are regular, white or lilac color, on long stalks, form a few-flowered umbrella. Between the pedicels in umbellate inflorescences, numerous small baby bulbs 1.5 - 3 mm in size develop. The fruit of garlic is a capsule. The smell is sharp, peculiar, the taste is sweetish, burning. Blooms in June - July. Mainly, care consists of watering, fertilizing, loosening, mulching and disease and pest control.

Watering garlic in the garden

Garlic is very demanding plant to moisture, especially initial stages growth, namely: at the stage of root growth (about two weeks after the start of growth), during the growth of leaves (about a month after the start of growth) and at the time of formation of cloves and arrows (this moment falls after two months after the emergence of garlic).

If there is not enough moisture in the soil, the garlic dries out without ripening as it should. There is little precipitation - watering is necessary. When planting winter garlic in the fall, if the soil is dry, it is also necessary to moisten the soil.

Water the garlic as the soil dries; in dry weather, water generously - 10-12 liters. per m², but if it rains regularly, you can refuse watering. They completely stop watering garlic in August, when the bulb begins to gain weight and volume.

Garlic is watered until the second half of August, although already in August it looks more like spraying garlic than watering. If you don’t water, the heads turn out small and not juicy.

It is believed that watering should be stopped when the leaves begin to turn brown, usually two to three weeks before harvest. If you don't stop watering the garlic, microscopic cracks will appear on its skin. This kind of garlic cannot be stored for a long time: mold will appear on it very soon. If you plan to store garlic all winter, it is better to stop watering too early rather than too late.

Stop watering the garlic two, or better yet, three weeks before digging it up, otherwise it won’t keep well.

If you plan to stop watering before harvesting, then it is best to stop watering a month before harvest. Winter garlic is harvested at the end of July - beginning of August, therefore, watering should be stopped at the beginning of July. For spring garlic, this period comes two weeks later.

Fertilizing garlic in the garden

Garlic responds quite well to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. In the fall, it is fertilized with humus (6-7 kg per 1 sq. m.). Humus can be replaced with rotted compost, potassium sulfate - with any potash fertilizer, dolomite flour- chalk. It is better to use ash from hardwood wood You can completely exclude organic matter if garlic is planted on fertile black soil, as well as in cases where manure was applied to crops preceding garlic. Application of fresh manure should be avoided. You should not apply increased doses of nitrogen fertilizers to the soil, as this can lead to strong growth vegetative mass, which will result in a decrease in bulb yield.

Winter varieties of garlic respond well to phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. And all because these elements have a positive effect on the winter hardiness of garlic. Winter garlic is also fertilized in early spring on thawed frozen soil. Spring garlic is fed when the first shoots appear at the rate of 60 g per 10 square meters. ammonium nitrate, 90-100 g of superphosphate and 50-60 g of potassium sulfate. After 25-30 days, if necessary, a second feeding of garlic is carried out in the same doses.

Loosening the soil between garlic rows

Garlic sprouts very early, as soon as the snow melts. Around mid-March. However, there are not isolated cases when seedlings appear already at the end of February, or moreover - when planting garlic in September and warm autumn, seedlings may appear in December. There are also delays when the garlic comes off at the end of March - beginning of April.

The first treatment, which should be carried out as soon as the soil condition allows, is harrowing across the rows in one, rarely two tracks with light harrows. On small areas loosen the ground with a rake. Then they go along the rows and cover the plants removed with a harrow or rake with soil, trying not to damage the root system.

Loosening the soil between rows must be given Special attention. This event helps preserve moisture and improve air regime and destruction, with high-quality implementation, of up to 90-95% of weeds.

It is known that root system garlic is very sensitive to damage, does not regenerate well, and even minor injury negatively affects the growth and development of plants.

The bulk of the garlic root system is located in the arable layer, and a significant part of the roots is located at a depth of 5-7 cm from the soil surface. Therefore, it is unacceptable to deepen the working parts of the cultivator by 10-12 or even 8-9 cm.

Loosening the rows with a tractor cultivator with chisel-like tines to a depth of 10-12 cm can only be recommended at the beginning of the growing season with the appearance of the first shoots. In the future, only the top layer of soil is loosened to a depth of 5 cm to prevent the formation of crust and destroy young weed shoots.

Organic Garlic Mulching

Fallen leaves even without additional processing can be used to protect the soil. But a prerequisite for this is that the trees from which it fell have no diseases caused by the fungus, otherwise the entire area may be affected by the spores. To avoid this possibility, they prefer to use foliage as a component of compost, especially since its nutritional value is beyond doubt. An additional fuse will be antifungal treatment leaves just before they are added to the compost. Leaf humus, which is slightly acidic and is not a fertilizer, perfectly conditions the soil, helping to improve its structure. In addition to mature leaf humus, both dry and half-rotted leaves are used for mulching.

Inorganic mulching of garlic

Increasingly, specialists and amateurs began to use a special mulching film. It comes in white, black and transparent. All types have their purpose.

Black film is most often used for beds with strawberries and wild strawberries, cutting holes for the bushes themselves. The soil becomes warmer faster, weeds practically do not grow due to the lack of light, and the soil is always moist. Berries in more short time become mature. When a summer drought occurs, the film should be removed due to the fact that the soil dries too quickly. Most often used by enterprises and farms. Gardeners and summer residents are limited organic species mulch.

Transparent film is often used for garlic due to the fact that they do not grow weeds and the soil becomes warmer faster. Warming up the soil is especially important for garlic, since it is planted in early spring.

White films are used for mulching heat-loving crops because it protects the soil from overheating, reflects bright light and prevents moisture from evaporating too quickly. Air passes through it with ease, but weeds still do not grow.

Garlic diseases and measures to combat them

When discussing how to grow garlic in the garden, it is impossible not to dwell on pests. Various kinds insects are not particularly fond of this vegetable. Infection occurs rarely and mainly only with nematodes or onion thrips. The first ones look like microscopic “worms”. They live inside the plant itself. They do not cause much damage, but in some cases they can destroy the entire crop. Thrips feed on garlic leaves, drinking the juice from them. This leads to slower growth of the bulb. Of the diseases, garlic most often affects white rot. After infection, the leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow, causing it to die. Garlic also suffers from fusarium and false powdery mildew. You can get rid of nematodes by planting the beds low-growing marigolds with a strong odor. Plants are rid of thrips by treating them with a solution of karbofos (60 g per 10 liters of water).

Garlic pests and measures to combat them

Stem nematode. Signs: this small pest is very dangerous. Plant specimens damaged by it turn yellow and dry out over time. The head becomes loose and wet. It has a very unpleasant smell.

Over time, the bottom becomes rotten. Control measures: since these vegetable pests overwinter in the soil, we never plant this crop on one summer cottage two years in a row. Before planting garlic, we disinfect it by heating the planting material in warm water(50 degrees) for 15 minutes.

We regularly weed the plantings and promptly remove weeds and damaged vegetables. We treat the holes affected by nematodes with the drug Gromoboy. In the fall, we burn all plant remains.

Root and flour mites. Signs: these vegetable pests penetrate the bulb through its bottom. Gradually it becomes rotten and falls off.

These mites damage stored crops. Control measures: sprinkle the stored garlic with powdered chalk or aqueous iron phosphate, called vivianite (200 g/70 kg of bulbs). During the growing season, we promptly remove weeds and plant debris. We treat the plantings with acaricides such as Omite (1.5 ml/1 liter of water).

Garlic – perennial herbaceous plant from the “onion” genus, the “amaryllis” family. Thanks to the unique taste and beneficial properties, used in many cuisines around the world. The aroma and pungent taste of garlic cannot be confused with anything.

The unusual odor is due to the presence of organic sulfides (thio esters). Garlic cloves are eaten raw, added to dishes, and used as seed. For young plants, leaves, shoots and flower stalks are used.

How to plant garlic?

Every self-respecting farmer plants personal plot garlic. It is clear that he is wondering: “ Howgrow garlic?. There are only two types of garlic:

• spring
• winter.

It will immediately seem that there are no differences between them; in fact, the main difference is the landing time.

The growing process is not at all labor-intensive; for this purpose, it is advantageous to have cultivated soil with fertile qualities. Sandy and loamy soil is ideal; the acidity is normally neutral.

Garlic is mostly propagated by cloves, choosing the largest specimens. First, they are calibrated by size, preferably they should be the same. It is recommended to carry out disinfection using a weak manganese solution or alkali (ash).

Garlic can be sprouted under spring planting. The prepared cloves are placed in a damp cloth and placed in a plastic bag for two days. The procedure is carried out at room temperature parameters.

The photo shows garlic cloves for planting

The slices are planted in rows, every 18-20 cm. They are stuck in the rows every 8-10 cm, to a depth of 5-10 cm - this is how to plant spring garlic. Garlic is also planted in rows for the winter, every 20-25 cm. Keep 8-10 cm between small cloves, 12-15 cm between large cloves, and a depth of at least 15-20 cm.

When to plant garlic?

The time allotted for planting garlic will vary, because spring garlic is planted in April/May, and winter garlic in September/October. As soon as the snow melts, they begin planting spring garlic. Temperature keep at least +5… +7 °С. If the soil is dry, it must be watered; if it is wet, watering should be done after a couple of days.

How to grow spring garlic? To do this, you need to plant the cloves correctly. The length of the slice is measured, the indicator is multiplied by two and the required depth is obtained. In centimeters it will be 5-6, no more.

If the cloves have already sprouted, then they are planted carefully, without damaging the roots. After planting, the soil must be mulched. The first shoots will appear in the second week after planting, at a temperature of +3...+4 °C.

Winter garlic is planted using technology to prevent early germination. It is very resistant to frost, but also reacts violently to temperature fluctuations.

During the September/October period, you need to choose a time when the soil temperature is +1...+2 °C. Now you can plant the cloves for the winter. The prepared grooves are sprinkled with sand (ash), preventing the formation of rot.

The soil is also mulched, the ball should reach at least 1.5-2 cm. The role can be peat or a mixture of earth and sawdust. If winter portends a lot of rain, then winter garlic is covered with roofing felt or oilcloth. When heavy snow is expected, the covering is removed so that the bed is covered with a blanket of snow.

How to grow garlic from seeds? At the end of the growing season, the shoots of the plant are cut off. It would be more accurate to say that it is not seeds that are formed, but bulbous bulbs. If you plant them, in the first year there will be only one onion set, and in the second year there will be a mature onion head with several cloves.

In the photo there are garlic bulbs

Caring for Garlic

In care garlic not whimsical, even if grow his Houses. After germination, the soil must always be loose. Green shoots are not at all afraid of frost.

The main thing for garlic is organizing timely watering. It is divided into approximately two phases. The first stage occurs during the intensive growing season, so it is watered abundantly.

At the second stage, during the ripening of the bulbs, moderate moisture is applied. For garlic (second half of the growing season), oversaturation with water is dangerous. This often leads to damping off of the inside of the bulb and provokes the development of diseases.

Mineralization is not used at all for feeding. It is better to add organic matter to the soil in the form of rotted cow dung(ratio 1:10) or chicken manure (ratio 1:12).

The procedure is carried out in the spring, when the earth begins to thaw. In June/July, an ash solution is added (200 g per bucket of water). That's exactly how it's possible grow large garlic.

The area with garlic should be free of weeds, and the soil should be loose and not clogged. When they resort to mulching, the need for weeding and loosening disappears by itself. For the area where garlic is planted, excellent lighting is important. Do not plant under tree canopies or near the garden.

The plant makes excellent friends with, gooseberries, , , . He is also respected and loved by gladioli, , . The merit is that garlic protects rose bushes from black spots. Caterpillars prefer to stay away; slugs and borers generally do not crawl into the area where it grows.

If a gardener has a problem: “ How to grow garlic with one head?»

This means planting a plant with a seed - a small head. The harvest should be expected only in the second year. This method is used when planting crops in small areas for domestic purposes.

Pictured is single clove garlic.

Useful properties of garlic

During intensive growth, when green shoots appear in garlic, hot weather it releases allicin. This essential oil is a strong antioxidant. contains phytoncides - compounds of the organic group. Thanks to the latter property, garlic has a unique aroma.

Garlic extracts are used to treat and disinfect wounds. Garlic tinctures effective as immunostimulants and against cancer tumors. Actively fights viruses during the flu.

It has been scientifically proven that garlic contains an antibiotic that affects fungi such as Staphylococcus aureus, salmonella and candida. Has a detrimental effect on pathological E. coli.

For heart disease, it helps reduce cholesterol levels in cell membranes. Helps reduce blood pressure, preventing atherosclerosis. Helps cells get rid of free radicals.

In the photo there are arrows of garlic

Pests and diseases of garlic

Most often, garlic shoots are affected during the growing season by fusarium, bacterial putrefaction, powdery mildew (downy mildew), white and black mold. Precedes the destruction of the patient planting material. When shoots appear, the affected plants are destroyed.

Insect pests that cause significant harm are onion flies and thrips; larval afterbirth, moths and nematode insects; root and four-legged garlic mites.

Many gardeners devote themselves to garlic 1-2 beds on their plot and, of course, they want to get from them good harvest. The secret to obtaining large juicy bulbs lies in proper care of the plantings. Compliance with all the recommendations of vegetable growers, from the moment of choosing planting material to timely harvesting of the crop, will allow you to fully enjoy harvested even for a beginner.

Selection of planting material

All types of garlic are divided into bolting and non-bolting.

Winter varieties shooters species reproduce by aerial bulbs (bulbs) and teeth. Non-shooting Garlic is grown only vegetatively - from cloves.

In the first year, small or large one-toothed bulblets grow from the bulbs, intended for repeated winter planting. And only for the next season or a year later you can get full-fledged garlic heads. Cloves planted before winter, obtained by disassembling the bulbs, will produce a harvest of multi-cub root crops the following summer.

The final result directly depends on the quality of the teeth planted.

Choose a variety of garlic that is regionalized in your county or grown in nearby areas. Bulbs and bulblets brought from afar, no matter how beautiful they are, react poorly to changes in climate and growing conditions and, as a rule, do not produce good harvests.

Select only first-class material, avoiding planting cloves that show signs of bacterial, fungal or viral infections.

Set aside small and crooked teeth - they most often die during the dormant period or form small bulbs.

Dried heads, as well as mechanically damaged ones, are not suitable for planting.

Landing dates

Winter varieties of garlic are sown in autumn. Depending on the climatic features your region and temperature conditions This autumn, planting dates vary from mid-September to the end of October. In warm regions, garlic can be planted in November, while in areas with a harsh climate it is better to plan planting work at the very beginning of autumn.

Site selection

• Garlic is a light-loving crop, so well-lit areas of the garden are allocated for its planting.
• Bulbs react poorly to high humidity soil, so the plantation is not planted in lowlands, in flooded areas and in places with close groundwater.

Crop rotation rules

The best predecessors crops are green manure (alfalfa, clover, mustard, legumes, phacelia, oats, buckwheat), early cabbage, early potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, beets, vegetable and hot peppers.

Stable harvests of garlic are harvested in beds where pumpkin vegetables (zucchini, squash, cucumbers, pumpkin) grew in the previous season, since fresh manure is added under them, which has time to decompose within a year and saturate the soil with vermicompost and essential minerals.

Garlic is not planted after plants of the Allium family (garlic, onions, bulbous flowers). In a place already used for these crops, garlic can only be cultivated after 3-4 years due to the danger of pathogenic microorganisms and pests accumulating in the soil.

Preparing beds for garlic

Garlic beds are prepared 4-6 weeks before planting or in the summer after harvesting early ripening crops.

Garlic prefers light, well-structured, cultivated and fertile soils. Best harvests collected by owners of plots with loamy or sandy loam soil.

Heavy clay soils requires loosening by depositing river sand, tyrsa and compost. Ultra-light sandstones, on the contrary, are made heavier by importing clay soil and adding high doses organic fertilizers(compost, humus).

Garlic reacts negatively on increased acidity soil. If this is the kind of land on your site, then in the previous season, before planting the crop, alkalization should be carried out by adding fluff lime, dolomite or bone meal, and high doses of plant ash.

Under garlic it is strictly contraindicated to introduce fresh organic matter rich in ammonia. High doses of nitrogen stimulate the growth of the above-ground parts of plants, but this is contraindicated for garlic planted before winter, since the crop is preparing for a dormant period.

Best to use peat manure compost, rotted mullein or matured garden compost. The rate of application of the listed fertilizers is from 1 to 4 buckets for each linear meter when digging the soil to a depth of a spade.

From mineral fertilizers under winter garlic add superphosphate and potassium salt. The application rate varies depending on the soil fertility in your area and on average is 30-40 g of superphosphate and 10-25 g of potassium salt for each square meter beds.

Vegetable growers often use it as a phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. ash or soot, rich not only in those named chemical compounds, but also a whole complex of microelements. The application rate is 0.5 - 1 liter of ash per meter of bed.

Preparation of planting material

The bulbs are not treated before sowing, since infectious agents and pest larvae do not accumulate in them.

Teeth should be disinfected by soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate (medium pink) or copper sulfate(1%) to destroy pathogens and fungal infections. The immersion time in the antiseptic solution is 15 minutes.

Planting garlic

The soil in the prepared beds is loosened using a rake and grooves are cut at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other with a depth of 6 to 8 cm.

The cloves in each row are placed at a distance of 6-8 cm, laying them bottom down or on their side. The planting pattern for aerial bulbs is denser. The furrows are cut at a distance of 15 cm, the sowing spacing of bulbs in a row is 2-3 cm, and the planting depth is 3-5 cm.

After planting, it is recommended to water the bed and mulch it with an organic layer of 3-4 cm. Compost, rotted straw, high-moor or low-lying peat, humus or tyrsa will provide additional insulation landings on cold period, and as they decompose, they will saturate the soil with humus and mineral salts.

If you live in an area where winter temperature falls below -25°C, it is recommended to additional layer coarse mulch, covering the beds with coniferous spruce branches or branches. Such a shelter will ensure the accumulation of a large layer of snow, covering the ground like a duvet.

Caring for winter garlic in spring

If you insulated the beds with spruce branches, then after the snow melts, remove the coarse mulch. The organic layer does not need to be removed. The juicy and bright greens of garlic emerge from the ground one of the first in the garden (March - April).

After the emergence of mass shoots, the plant needs increased doses of nitrogen. 2 weeks after the plantation turns green, the seedlings are fed with a solution of ammonium nitrate or urea (20 g/bucket of water) or complex Nitroammophoska (20 g/bucket of water). After 15 days, fertilizing is repeated.

At the beginning of the growing season you need to constantly weed beds, removing weeds, and loosen the soil to a depth of 3 cm to provide the garlic root system with additional portions of oxygen.

In dry spring, regular watering once every 5-6 days.

Caring for garlic plantings in summer

In June, when the process of bulb formation is underway, third root feeding phosphorus and potassium, using ash infusion (1 glass of ash per bucket of water, leave for three days) or a solution of potassium monophosphate (20 g/bucket of water). Mono preparations are also suitable as fertilizers - superphosphate (25 g/bucket of water), potassium nitrate (15 g/bucket of water).

Watered plantation with the same frequency as in the spring, completely stopping watering 3 weeks before the expected harvest date. It is advisable to perform loosening after each scheduled watering.

After the appearance of arrows (in arrowing varieties), carry out the procedure for breaking them out. The arrows are removed when their height reaches 15 cm. This is necessary for outflow nutrients from the peduncle and their direction to the bulbs ripening in the ground.

Harvesting garlic

Garlic left overexposed even for several days in the ground loses its commercial qualities - the outer integumentary scales begin to crack, and the cloves begin to disintegrate into separate fractions.

To avoid this, carefully monitor the plantation. The bulbs are dug up when yellowing lower leaves plants and mass lodging tops

To determine the ripening of bolting crop varieties, 2-3 garlic shoots are left on the garden bed. The bulbs are ready for digging when the shell of the spherical inflorescences begins to crack.

After digging up the plants, they are left for several days right on the garden bed to drying under sun rays(together with stems). If weather If they don’t allow it, then the garlic is transferred under a canopy and kept in this form for about 5 days in the air.

Have a good harvest of vegetables, berries and fruit crops every summer season!

Useful experience

If you want to store garlic in braids, but the climate in your region is damp and rainy, as, for example, in the Leningrad region, and the weather does not allow the crop to dry well in the garden, the stems rot by the time of harvest, you can use the following method.

The rotten parts of the stem are cut off, and the heads are “sewn together” through the remaining parts using garden twine or other suitable dense rope and a thick needle with a wide eye. The heads of garlic are arranged in such a way that they form bundles that look like braids.

This must be done before the stems are dry, otherwise they will crack when pricked with a needle. Also, you don’t need to make knits heavier than 2-3 kg; the rope must support them.

The finished “braids” are hung to dry in a dry place.

When forming a loop for hanging, you can thread a needle and cord through a piece of a cocktail straw and move this piece to the top of the loop, to the place where it comes into contact with the nail. This will serve to protect against chafing.

Garlic is a highly demanding crop. Works well on fertile light loamy and sandy loam soils with the soil solution reaction close to neutral. If garlic is grown on poor soil, then decomposed manure or mineral fertilizers can be used to improve it. Only with a high agricultural background this crop can be grown in a relatively short time. growing season can give a high yield.

It consists of repeated loosening, watering and fertilizing. Winter garlic leaves begin to grow in the spring. At this time they have a pink-violet color. When the soil condition allows, the first loosening of the row spacing is carried out. At the same time, low beads are made along the edges of the beds so that when watering and fertilizing, water and fertilizer solutions do not roll into the furrows. At this time, carry out the first fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. urea per 10 liters of water, consumption per 2 linear meters, or 2 l chicken manure dissolve in 10 liters of water, mix, infuse, and dilute in 20 liters of water before use. You can feed the garlic with 2.5 liters of mullein, which is diluted in 20 liters of water to treat 10 sq.m. The solution is poured between the rows, and not poured at the root. After each watering and fertilizing, the soil between the plants is loosened.

As the soil dries, the garlic is carefully loosened to a depth of 4-5 cm. If there is a lack of moisture, watering is carried out in the evening. After watering, when the soil dries out slightly, it is lightly loosened again. If the spring is dry, then immediately after watering the rows are mulched with peat or humus with a layer of up to 1.5 cm.

When the plants begin to set cloves, a second feeding is carried out in the second or third decade of May. mineral fertilizers at the rate of 10 g of nitrogen, 15 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium - per 1 sq.m. or mullein solution. These feedings with simultaneous watering promote good leaf growth and the formation of larger heads. At the same time they spend foliar feeding Agricola for onions and garlic. At the beginning of July, the plantings are fed with wood ash, scattering it over the beds, after which the plants are watered with water from a watering can.

Summer care

It consists of shallow loosening (3-4 cm) of row spacing, weeding and watering.

In the second half of summer - in July, watering is stopped altogether, since its continuation can cause an extension of the ripening period of garlic heads, deteriorate their quality and reduce the yield.

Two months after regrowth, in June, arrows form in some forms of garlic. Later, aerial bulbs-bulbs form in the inflorescences at the ends of the arrows. They can be used as planting material for accelerated and additional propagation of winter, shooting garlic. In addition, this contributes to the improvement of varieties and the cultivation of more productive offspring. If aerial bulbs are not used as planting material, then after the shoots grow 10-12 cm before twisting into a ring, they are removed by cutting or plucking out the last leaf in the axil, which helps increase the yield by 20-30%. Cut arrows are not thrown away, but are eaten in fresh, frozen or pickled. On some plants, the shoots are left to control the ripening of the heads, since the opening of the inflorescence wrappers is a sign that the shoots are ready for harvesting. As soon as they begin to crack, immediately begin harvesting the garlic.

Material prepared by: Nadezhda Zimina, gardener with 24 years of experience, industrial engineer

© When using site materials (quotes, tables, images), the source must be indicated.

Garlic is the oldest spice on earth. It has been grown in our country for more than 10 centuries. The ancient Slavs called it “combed onion,” apparently because of the special structure of the flat leaves.

Garlic has always been used as fertilizer for garlic, which it loves very much. And only after its appearance in the 19th century, this vegetable began to be fed with agrochemicals. The positive results obtained allowed agronomists to recommend fertilizers for fertilizing this crop.

Private gardeners and small farmers most often use A complex approach to his feeding. They apply manure and compost in the fall, or a year before planting garlic in the garden; phosphorus is also usually applied in September-October. And here and feeding is carried out throughout the season, stopping their application approximately three weeks before harvesting the finished product.

When cultivating this spice plant Crop rotation must be observed. It is usually planted after melons, . But this is not the best predecessor for garlic. They belong to the same family and suffer from the same diseases (furasiosis, bacterial rot, black mold). By the way, they also have common pests (stem nematode, root mite, onion moth).

How to prepare the soil for garlic?

More often beds for planting garlic are prepared in the fall, which makes it possible to apply all the necessary fertilizers for garlic in advance. Usually the work is carried out in September - October, when the predecessor plants are harvested and uprooted, but the earth has not yet had time to be thoroughly overgrown with the ubiquitous weeds. When digging, humus is added to the soil - about 5 kg per 1 sq. m., and about 20 g per 1 sq. m. Before winter, you can also add potassium chloride in small quantities (about 15 g per 1 sq.m.), but this is not necessary. In any case, next year you will have to fertilize with potassium.

You can also use the following scheme for applying fertilizers to the garlic bed (per 1 square meter):

• Manure or compost (well rotted) – 4-5 kg;
• Double granulated superphosphate – 35 g;
• Potassium salt – 25 g.

How to plant garlic?

Winter varieties are usually planted in the fall, because in the spring this gives them at least a couple of weeks of head start to extend the growing season in favorable period. The plant also benefits from the fact that seedlings appear precisely at the moment when there is a lot of moisture in the ground. It helps the plant to actively develop.

Before winter, you can plant any planting material of winter varieties of garlic. It is recommended to use the following categories:

1. Large cloves – they produce the largest heads.
2. Single-toothed ones are a little smaller, about 4 g, but they also produce a harvest of good quality.
3. Aerial bulbs are seeds that are planted to grow garlic. small sizes. After a year, it is used to renew planting material.

For middle zone it is necessary to choose zoned varieties of winter garlic, such as: “Nadezhny”, “Gribovsky”, “Ryazhsky”, “Yubileiny Gribovsky”, “Polet”. These varieties are adapted to winter temperature changes, are resistant to freezing, and provide good spring germination rates.

In the central and northwestern regions of Russia planting is usually carried out at the end of September. These terms allow the tooth to take root, but at the same time, it does not have time to germinate. Garlic can be planted either in a separate bed or as a sealing crop in strawberries, which it protects from pests.

By the way, garlic itself can protect the disinfection of planting material from pests. To do this:

1 tsp copper sulfate is diluted in 1 liter hot water and leave for about 30 minutes. Also for this disinfection you can use, which will not only serve as protection against diseases and pests, but will also feed the planting material with useful substances.

Cloves and seeds are planted in rows in loose soil, with well compacted top layer. Following the growing technology, a distance of 7 cm is left between the cloves, and 25 cm between the rows. But the “air” is planted much more densely. But in this case it is necessary to maintain rows, otherwise there is a high risk of tearing out the young shoots of the main crop along with the weeds.

The correct planting depth is two clove heights. If planted deeper, the sprout may not penetrate the layer of soil, and if shallower, the roots will push the plant to the surface. The seeds are buried into the soil, a maximum of 1 cm. It is advisable to mulch the bed after planting. For this purpose, use dry or sawdust. In winter, you can carry out additional insulation by throwing more snow on the bed.

Spring varieties are planted both before winter and in spring. For the middle zone, the following varieties are recommended: “Flavor”, “Rostovsky”, “Sterlitomaksky”, “Novosibirsky”, “Shirokolistny”. Before planting, the teeth must be soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). This will protect them from infection various diseases, and will repel pests such as nematodes. Spring garlic does not shoot, which makes caring for the plantings much easier. It can be planted in rows, 4-5 rows in one, leaving row spacing of 15-20 cm. This allows for economical use of soil and fertilizers for garlic.

Garlic shooting

An additional care procedure, without which good results cannot be obtained, is to remove the shoots that appear from the middle of the stem as soon as the plant gains strength. Garlic has a powerful reproductive instinct, and all the strength, juices and vitamins begin to move from the underground part to the above-ground part, feeding future seeds. Therefore, we must not miss the moment. The arrows must be mercilessly removed, otherwise you may be left without a harvest. There are several factors under which they may appear ahead of schedule:

• Cold and wet weather. The plant strives to form seed pods faster.
• Excess nitrogen in the soil. Therefore, it must be used in moderation when added to garlic.
• Lack of moisture. Such conditions give rise to an acceleration of the shooting process. The plant, feeling a lack of nutrients, directs all its forces to the formation of the arrow.

Fertilizing garlic

Many gardeners do not feed garlic very much, believing that it will grow just like that. In fact, this is a wrong belief. This plant responds to even a small feeding with a noticeable increase in useful mass. So what fertilizers should you use for garlic?

After winter, winter garlic is fertilized accordingly. It can be give to drink diluted slurry, which is diluted 1:10. If the leaves of the plant are light, you can additionally fertilize with potassium. For this they use wood ash, which is sprinkled on the soil before watering.

In summer, garlic actively grows and forms a marketable head. At this time, he needs large amounts of nutrients. At the end of June, mineral fertilizers are applied to the garlic:

Take 10 g and the same amount of potassium chloride. Dilute in 10 liters of water. The resulting solution is used to irrigate the soil under the plants in the evening, before the main watering.

There are many schemes for feeding spring and winter garlic. Here's another one. It was used on their plots (with good result), many summer residents of the middle zone, as well as the Urals and Siberia:

1. The first time fertilizing is applied to garlic (winter) two weeks after germination. Under spring - after the appearance of three or four leaves. Use – 1 tbsp. for 10 liters of water.
2. The second time - 12 days after the first feeding. Add - 2 tbsp. for 10 l.
3. The third is at the end of June. For this feeding, an extract is made from superphosphate (2 tbsp per 10 liters of water). Application rates – 3-4 liters per sq. m.

When to harvest garlic?

Very often, impatient gardeners dig up this plant when its heads have not yet reached their optimal mass. But it was possible to get a much better harvest. So how do you know when to remove garlic?

• IN open ground They begin to dig up this plant only after the stem and leaves turn yellow. If they are still green, then there is a lot of nitrogen in the biomass, which helps increase the volume of the head. It's worth waiting a couple of weeks.
• You can follow the arrows. They are broken off on all plants of the plantation, but on a few they are left. When the seeds are ripe and the seed sac bursts, you can start digging.
• Calculate required amount time from the moment of planting garlic. This method is suitable for beginner gardeners. It is also used when growing garlic in a greenhouse, in the autumn - winter period. It is necessary to be guided background information attached to the planting material.

Using tops and arrows

Growing garlic is a very profitable activity. After all, all its parts can be used - the tops, the heads, and the arrows. The above-ground part of this crop can be used in a number of ways. Here are the most common uses:

1. Garlic arrows are used to prepare various dishes. For example, they can be fried with meat; they taste like green beans. They are also salted, resulting in a tasty snack, which is popularly called “ramson”.
2. The largest amount of fungicides accumulates in the node and the tip of the arrow, which have a detrimental effect on pests of many plants. Having crushed these parts of the garlic, pour boiling water over them, and spray with the cooled solution. The strong smell creates unbearable living conditions for ants, which leave their anthills built in the beds.
3. Well-dried garlic tops are used to cover plants that do not have common pests with them.

By growing garlic in their garden plots, gardeners not only provide themselves with delicious snacks and seasonings. This plant helps strengthen the immune system (especially in winter time), and fight various diseases. It kills germs and putrefactive bacteria, has diuretic and choleretic properties, increases appetite, and strengthens blood vessels. It is also very tasty and is widely used in cooking. It’s not for nothing that even the famous ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras glorified this plant, calling it “the king of all spices.”

Video: seminars on growing garlic