How to plant garlic correctly, planting dates and rates, preparation and processing of beds
To get a good harvest, you need to know how to properly plant garlic. It is worth considering that the planting methods of this plant depend on its variety. But in any case, before all the manipulations, it will be necessary to prepare the garden for garlic. The garden bed must be prepared in advance, since for a favorable plant growth, not only temperature is needed, but also soil fertility, soil structure, and crop rotation.
Planting dates for winter and spring garlic
Before you start planting garlic, you need to decide on its variety. Each of them will have their own terms, planting rates. Spring varieties are planted in spring and winter varieties in autumn. Winter crops will sprout earlier and, accordingly, yield faster. Winter heads are much larger than spring ones, but they are inferior in keeping quality. The spring variety keeps well, but its bulbs are slightly smaller. Many summer residents recommend growing both species in order to fully provide themselves with this healthy vegetable for the whole year.
Winter varieties of garlic should be planted no earlier than 1–1.5 months before the onset of stable cold weather. If this condition was not met, the plant will rise earlier, and the seedlings will freeze under the influence of negative temperatures. Spring varieties are planted in mid-spring: in the second half of March, early April. Active growth of the culture will be observed when the temperature is set at 18–20 degrees. The garlic should be planted with cloves, after 3 weeks the seed will take root.
Choosing a place for a garden for garlic
In order for the plant to give a good harvest, it is necessary not only to properly prepare the seed, but also to correctly choose the site. For this crop, sun and a moderate amount of moisture are very important. Planting crops in the shade of trees and shrubs is not recommended, as in this case the garlic will not have enough sunlight. If the bed is located in a damp area, it should be made higher to ensure a full outflow of excess moisture.
Also, when choosing a place, it is necessary to take into account the principles of crop rotation. For several years in a row, this plant culture should not be planted on the same plot. The best option is to plant the plant in its original place after 5 years, at least this period can be reduced to 3 years.It is best to plant garlic in the place of growth of cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, cabbage, beans. Spring varieties thrive on loam, and winter varieties - on sandy loam.
Is it possible to plant garlic grown older than the required period and where? Harvesting is required on time, but if the crop is "overripe", it should not be used as a seed. It does not matter where the landing is planned.
How to prepare a garlic bed?
To get a good quality harvest, you need to properly prepare the beds before planting. When preparing a bed for garlic, special attention should be paid to disinfecting the soil. This procedure helps to protect the plant from most pathologies. Most often, soil cultivation is carried out using the following compounds:
- antiseptic Acrobat;
- antiseptic Radomil Gold;
- antifungal drug Fitosporin;
- antimycotic composition Topsin-M.
A solution of copper sulfate, a saturated solution of potassium permanganate can also be used. For this purpose, many summer residents use a liquid prepared from a bucket of water and 100 grams of Brod's mixture. A solution prepared from 1 liter of water, a gram of boric acid, a similar amount of potassium permanganate, and copper sulfate also shows high efficiency.
Preparing the soil for garlic
There are general requirements for preparing the soil for planting garlic for spring and winter varieties. Among them are:
- if the soil is clayey, it is required to add 1 bucket of sand or peat to it at the rate of 1 square meter;
- in situations where the earth is sandy, it must be mixed with 2 buckets of clay soil, 1 bucket of peat per 1 square meter;
- if peat soil prevails, 1 bucket of sand and a similar amount of loamy soil must be added to it.
To increase the rate of fertility, it is required to fertilize the land with organic substances. How to fertilize the soil before planting garlic? Humus and compost are perfect for this. In 1 bucket of the selected organic matter, chalk or dolomite flour is added in a volume of 1 cup, 1 cup of wood ash, 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate. You need to distribute the prepared fertilizer over untreated soil. If earlier, when growing another crop, manure was already introduced, such soil treatment is not required.
We form a garden
Measures for preparing the beds for planting garlic include digging the soil. In this case, the necessary fertilizers are evenly distributed in accordance with the recommended proportions. Further, the earth is dug up, while the depth equal to the shovel bayonet should be observed. During digging, you need to immediately form a ridge. The optimal dimensions are considered to be a width of 1 meter, and a height of 20 centimeters.
At what distance should the rows be placed on the garlic bed? The optimal distance between the rows is considered to be a gap of 30 centimeters.
During digging, it is required to immediately eliminate weeds so that they do not interfere with the growth of the planted crop. Then the soil is loosened in order to enrich the earth with oxygen.
We give time for soil shrinkage
After loosening, it is necessary to let the soil settle a little. This usually takes 14 days. The settlement of the soil will allow the landing at the distance planned during planting: that is, the teeth will not be buried above the norm.
In order for the soil to settle more actively, it should be watered with water. The introduction of the necessary moisture will accelerate the settling process by 1.5 times. In rainy weather, the watering procedure should be abandoned.
We cultivate the soil
How to cultivate the soil the moment the teeth are planted? Many summer residents recommend processing the beds, taking into account the following recommendations. For winter varieties, at the end of summer, mineral fertilizers are applied, which include organic components.The optimal time for this is the second half of August. Also at this time it is recommended to grow green manures for garlic.
- Digging the soil, watering is carried out.
- After planting, mustard seeds are sown in the aisles.
- By the time you need to plant the seed, the greens will sprout. Between its rows, teeth will need to be planted.
A couple of days before transplanting into the ground, urea is distributed along the ridges: 0.5 tablespoon of the product is used per 1 square meter. If the weather is dry, it is necessary to organize watering of the garden.
To prepare a bed for a spring variety, all manipulations must be started at the end of October. In this case, urea is not required to be applied, since nitrogenous fertilizers will be excessive in the autumn. It is best to spread this preparation over the soil in early spring.
How to prepare garlic for planting?
Many summer residents say: "I am preparing garlic seeds for planting in the fall." This approach to the preparation of seed is correct, since the harvested fresh harvest of the spring variety will be an excellent basis for the formation of new strong plant crops. Denticles spring garlic strong, therefore full-fledged plants grow from them, giving a rich harvest. That is why many summer residents are engaged in the cultivation of a spring variety to obtain not only a healthy vegetable, but also seed for the next year.
We disassemble the head into teeth
To get a good harvest, you need to understand: what material to leave for planting. The first step is to inspect the bulb: there should be no damage on it. Further, the head is disassembled into slices, while it is necessary to pay attention to the size of the clove. For planting, it is better to take large, dense teeth, as they can form a healthy, full-fledged plant. If the summer resident decided to use a variety that does not release the arrow for planting chives, it is necessary to give preference to the cloves located outside.
Disinfecting garlic
The selected planting material is soaked for 24 hours in a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate. Also for disinfection, you can use a 1% solution of copper sulfate. At the end of the specified period, the teeth become completely ready for planting.
Proper planting of one clove of garlic
Garlic should be planted in formed beds, keeping a distance between the cloves of 15 centimeters. If the summer resident has a small area, it is allowed to use the two-tiered garlic planting method. It is as follows:
- A stick is taken, on which the heights of 6 and 13 centimeters are marked.
- In a bed prepared in advance, with its help, a deepening of 13 centimeters is made.
- A clove is placed in the hole, and then it is covered with earth until the depth is reduced to 6 centimeters.
- Then another clove is laid.
The hole is covered with rotted compost. The distance between the holes should also be 15 centimeters.
1. Making holes
We sit on the prepared bed, outline the distance between the holes for planting garlic: it should be 15 centimeters. Deepening can be done with your fingers. You can also use a stick that has a marked depth in the range of 3-15 centimeters. In this case, the planting process will be simplified.
2. We deepen the chives
After the garlic is fully prepared for planting, it is laid out in the previously measured holes. It is not worth pressing the planting material into the soil, as this will cause compaction of the earth, strong deepening of the teeth, which will lead to late formation of the root system. The best option would be to lightly position the clove inside the hole.
3. We cultivate the land
If the preparation of the soil, soil for planting garlic was complete, additional processing of the land after planting planting material is not required.If the soil is dry, it should be treated by watering it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
4. We fill the holes
Garlic buried in the soil should be sprinkled with rotted compost. Fresh manure cannot be used for these purposes, as it will provoke the development of fungal diseases.
What green manures are sown for garlic? The best siderates for garlic are mustard and phacelia. However, they should be sown 2.5–3 months before planting the garlic. 3 weeks before the flowering of grasses, they should be mowed and dug up with a lot of soil. Such treatment will allow not only to disinfect the earth, but also to protect the plant from the nematode.
5. Mulch the garden
When growing winter garlic, the beds should be covered with a layer of mulch of 3-5 centimeters. When spring comes, the covering material remains to rot, while the summer resident needs to remove only the coarse mulch necessary to keep the snow on the ridges. Such processing increases the yield of the crop due to the enrichment of the soil with nutrients.
Mulching spring garlic when planted in early spring activates plant growth and development during the growing season. In this case, an important thing is required: the mulch should be light, for example, straw. This covering material will help:
- slowing down the growth of weed plants;
- moisture retention;
- frost protection;
- increasing the air permeability of the soil;
- an increase in soil moisture permeability;
- increasing the fertility of the land.
Mulching is required to be abandoned only in the rainy period, since mulch contributes to the accumulation of moisture. Because of this, a favorable environment is formed for the development of fungal, bacterial diseases. If the mulch has been laid, but the summer becomes rainy, you need to get rid of the covering material. In this case, part of the mulch from the planted garlic is removed with a shovel and sent to the compost pit for getting humus.
