Spring planting of garlic in the open ground

Garlic is not only an indispensable spice in the kitchen, but also a plant that perfectly protects fellow garden beds from dangerous pests. In addition, this is a real storehouse of useful vitamins, and they are contained both in the cloves themselves and in the green leaves of the plant. Planning to grow a plant in your garden? Keep in mind that planting garlic in open ground should begin in early spring. Today, the vegetable is actively grown for industrial purposes.Thanks to its beneficial properties, it is successfully used in many fields, from cooking to medicine and cosmetology.

Spring planting of garlic in open ground

Preparing planting material

Planting of garlic in spring in open ground begins with the selection of material. Please note that for this purpose only spring varieties (unlike winter varieties) are suitable, which can propagate exclusively with cloves. As a rule, you can buy planting material in specialized stores, in the market or via the Internet. To get started, study the available assortment. Stop your choice on materials of domestic or foreign selection – it does not matter. The main thing is to carefully study the biological characteristics of the samples presented, and how they are suitable specifically for your region.

The process of preparing planting stock begins with the separation of garlic. Be careful not to break or damage the skin. Then the teeth should be wrapped in a wet towel and placed in the refrigerator for two to three days. These measures will help to adapt them to possible changes in weather conditions. It is better to do this three weeks before you plant in the open ground. After that, carefully sort through the material, separating healthy and strong teeth from the diseased and soft ones.

Do not forget to disinfect them. This can be done with ash diluted in water, treated with weak solutions of copper sulfate or manganese. The next stage of preparation is germination for several days, preferably in a wet napkin or towel. The garlic that you yourself have grown for planting should also be sorted out. Large teeth should be planted on the main garden bed. Small ones can be planted between carrots or potatoes, so that in the future the plant protects these vegetables from pests.

Planting dates and soil preparation

In the spring, planting garlic in open ground should start after the air temperature rises just above zero. For the spring variety, the most optimal mode is from 5 to 10 ºC. A suitable time is the end of March or the beginning of April, otherwise the vegetable simply does not have time to ripen by the summer season will be small and not high-quality.

Before planting garlic, it is important to properly prepare the soil.Do not be discouraged if you cannot plant all the prepared seedlings in one place. There is nothing to worry about. The plant is perfectly adjacent to other crops. In order to grow a good harvest, use the secrets of professionals.

We select the soil

The best option is loam, on the one hand, fertile, on the other – fairly neutral the soil. You can not plant a plant in the lowlands, since with the advent of winter this territory is intensively flooded, and in the spring earthen porridge forms there. The place where you will break your future beds should be located on a hill, be sunny and at the same time protected from drafts.

To cultivate a good crop, the site should be prepared in the fall (dig and fertilize with humus). If you carry out these works in advance, then in the spring you can only carry out harrowing the soil.

After which you can plant garlic

The most successful place is the site on which before cabbage, legumes, pumpkin, zucchini grew. In no case should you plant a vegetable in those places in the garden where tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic itself were previously grown.

The plant will become a profitable neighbor for many fruit crops (strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries). This vegetable is also an excellent bodyguard for delicate and tremulous flowers growing in the garden next to it.

Planting rules

Note that the teeth should be planted in a row no deeper than 4 cm. If the soil is hard, mix it with ash. Plant the cloves 5 cm apart, the most suitable distance for the rows is 35-40 cm.

In no case do not press the seedlings deep into the soil, as this may damage the sprouted sprouts. The soil must be moist, so if it has not rained for a long time, be sure to water it to get a good harvest.

How to leave

Coarse garlic with proper care

Growing garlic in open ground includes watering and cultivating soil, top dressing seedlings with mineral fertilizers. Consider these care methods in order below:

1. Watering the vegetable should be done as needed. If it rains all the time in spring, you can skip this procedure. The plant will have enough moisture that the soil has already absorbed. Is the winter season over and the weather is arid? In this case, the seedlings need abundant moisture (at least 10 liters per 1 sq. M of land).
2. Carefully monitor the cleanliness of the garlic beds, as weeds can cause significant damage to your crop. It is very important to dig the ground immediately after the first sprouts have risen.Typically, this occurs 14 days after planting material is planted. At this time, it is imperative to mulch the earth.
3. Nitrogen (for active growth), phosphorus and potash (for obtaining useful minerals) fertilizers are best suited for fertilizing plants. The procedure should be carried out three times per season. For the first time, substances are introduced shortly after the teeth have been planted. The second time feeding should be organized no earlier than a month later. But the third time it is held already when the vegetable is almost ripe.

Interestingly, growing winter garlic in the open field is practically no different from caring for a plant in spring.

Pests and diseases

As a rule, garlic planted in open ground is susceptible to the same diseases as onions. Most often, the plant suffers from diseases such as:

• gray rot;
• helminthosporiosis;
• fusarium;
• jaundice;
• powdery mildew;
• mosaic;
• rust.

At the heart of all these diseases is a fungal infection that affects vegetable. All parts of the plant suffer from it: cloves, leaves, and stem. First, small dark spots appear, which begin to spread rapidly, from which the seedling deteriorates and rots. Special preparations – fungicides will come to the aid of the gardener. A scrupulous selection of seed has been and remains one of the main methods for preventing the development of the disease.

Pests are also dangerous for the plant, so from time to time carefully examine your seedlings. You will immediately notice that the plant has been attacked by insects. Most often, an onion fly attacks this vegetable. The easiest way to deal with this pest is to wipe the plant with a not very cool saline solution.

Harvesting and storage for the winter

Collecting garlic planted in open ground lasts two months: from August to September. Remember, spring varieties often do not produce shooters. Therefore, to understand that a vegetable can already be cleaned for storage for the winter, examine its leaves. If they turned yellow and began to shrink, then the time has come. It is better to dig out the crop, and not pull it out with your hands. Then the vegetables should be carefully cleaned of excess land and transferred to a well-ventilated area so that they can ripen if necessary. Before storing them in the cellar, remove the dried stems.

By the way, the spring variety is stored much longer and better than winter. The most suitable temperature regime is 16-20 ºC. Most often, in winter, the vegetable is stored in the form of braided braids. In this case, the stem of the plant is not cut, but is used for weaving. At the end, a loop is necessarily made, after which vegetables are then suspended. If you do not want to waste time braiding, you can simply tie the garlic together, combining the stems in a single bunch.The vegetable is perfectly stored in nets and baskets, and if sprinkled with salt, then it can be placed in wooden boxes. However, most often, housewives prefer to hang vegetables in a dry, warm and quickly accessible place (shed or attic).

All of the above tips on how to plant garlic in the open ground in spring will certainly help to grow and collect excellent and tasty harvest to any gardener. However, do not forget that the care and growth of this plant must be carried out correctly so that you can reap the fruits you are counting on.