Description of the Kharkov purple garlic variety, features of cultivation and care
A useful additive for any dish is more than easy to grow with your own hands. Garlic is one of the most unpretentious vegetables around, and all it needs is sunlight and some water.
But you will get a healthy harvest for many years to come (garlic is stored for a long time, and last year's air bulbs or cloves can be planted in the soil, which will give a rich harvest next year).
Description of the variety
The Ukrainian garlic variety has cloves of 4–5 cm in diameter. On average, the bulbs are round and slightly flattened on top, 40-50 grams each and have 4-6 cloves. The fruits of this variety have a pungent taste that is significantly different from others in this factor. The variety is arrow-headed, the plants, as they grow, reach a height of 70 cm, or even higher.
Air bulbs are formed on the arrows, containing about 100 inflorescences. It has a striped color in the form of bright purple veins on a white husk. Over time, the husk becomes darker in color and almost completely turns purple.
Growing
The variety is mid-season, that is, the crop can be harvested a little more than 3 months after the germination of the first shoots. Winter varieties of garlic are planted in the soil in the fall, and there they must spend the whole winter. The cloves or air bulbs are planted with an interval of 10 cm, and are covered with a 5–6 cm layer of earth on top. got spoiled. Immediately before planting, it is important to thoroughly dry the workpieces so that they do not germinate in the soil ahead of time.
For planting, you can use:
- air bulbs;
- teeth;
- one-pronged bulbs.
Planting air bulbs has a number of advantages, firstly, you will save a lot on planting material. Secondly, the likelihood of contracting diseases when planting bulbs is much lower. They are planted in the ground in the same way as the cloves. Garlic can be grown in the same place for 2 years, this time is just enough for the development of a full-fledged crop from air bulbs. In the first year, one-pronged bulbs are obtained from them, which are used for sowing a year later.
Care features
Recommended for growing in the south of Russia in the open field, garlic needs a lot of sunlight and heat. When the sprouts of garlic that have just appeared are strong enough, first of all you need to carefully loosen the soil.
It is imperative to thin out the beds from time to time, remove weeds from them.Plants need constant watering, especially during early ripening periods. However, care must be taken to ensure that there is no excess moisture, otherwise the bulbs will start to rot. This factor should be guided by when choosing a landing site. Watering should be stopped almost completely a few weeks before harvest.
Extra arrows must be removed, otherwise it can seriously reduce the yield. The use of traditional humus and potassium salt is suitable as fertilizers. Also, regularly sprinkle the soil with ash or lime. At night, it is better to cover young garlic with spunbond, and in the winter it is possible to use spruce branches for this.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of Kharkiv garlic is the stability of the harvest, in addition, it stands out due to its taste. Arrows of garlic can be eaten, for example, in salads or in garlic sauce. Boiled greens are even considered a delicacy.
This culture is unpretentious and it is not at all difficult to grow it. Caring for plants will not take you much time, money, or much effort. In addition, Kharkiv garlic is resistant to cold temperatures and theoretically it will grow even during low temperatures, up to 0 °, unless the bulbs are as large as at normal temperatures.
Pests and diseases
Purple garlic is very weakly affected by diseases, pests are also not afraid of him. Most gardeners plant garlic bulbs specifically to protect other plants.
But it is still better to apply preventive measures to prevent diseases. Most often, plants are infected with fungal diseases, for example: bacterial rot, black mold or fusarium. You can fight them with fungicides and other solutions, depending on what the garlic can infect. Often, simple digging along with weed control can greatly reduce the likelihood of injury.
Harvesting and storage
Harvesting should begin when the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall, the tops must be cut off immediately, leaving a maximum of 10 cm from the stem. Then the bulbs must be thoroughly washed, dried and peeled from the top layer of husk.
The crop is well stored throughout the year and more in a dry, warm room, for example, in living rooms, closets or in the kitchen. It is most convenient to tie the crop in bunches and store in this form, thus constant ventilation will be provided and excess moisture will not accumulate on the bulbs.
Gardeners reviews
Most gardeners who plant Kharkiv purple garlic are satisfied with the result. It is recommended to plant them around the edges of strawberry or strawberry beds. This will make the cloves much tastier and juicy.
Garlic of this variety can be used raw, as an addition to meat or salad, and for canning. The only thing is that in its raw form, the taste may seem too spicy, so it takes less to cook than is indicated in the recipes.
Bulbs keep well if minimum conditions are met, or they may start to rot or shrivel. It is better to select a dry room with an average air temperature, then it will be possible to enjoy healthy fruits for a long time.
