How many people, so many opinions. This statement fits perfectly into the problem of whether garlic should be knotted and when to do it. Some are absolutely sure that even without these manipulations, their plant grows well for itself. And others believe that knotting in knots allowed them to get a wonderful harvest of this culture. Let's look in order: when to tie garlic and whether to do it.
Garlic and its varieties
Garlic is a cold-resistant crop with long narrow leaves and an onion, which includes 11-25 cloves. This culture does not form seeds, its propagation is carried out in a vegetative way: cloves are used as planting material. Garlic belongs to the onion subfamily, and Central Asia is considered its homeland. It is divided into winter (winter) and spring (summer). These species have some differences.
Planting winter garlic is made in late autumn, and spring - in early spring. Winter culture shoots, that is, in addition to the bulb, an arrow forms in it, including an inflorescence, in which bulbs are formed. In the spring variety, only bulbs are formed, including cloves. The harvesting periods for each species are different, therefore the timing when to tie garlic is also different.
Landing Recommendations
Agricultural technology of garlic is not difficult:
- We observe crop rotation: every year we plant culture in a new place (it can be returned to the old one no earlier than in 4-5 years). Important! The best precursors of garlic are cabbage, zucchini and cucumber; and the worst are onions and potatoes.
- We start preparing for planting in the fall. We select a sunny place for the beds, on which we add 2-3 buckets of compost (a 2-3-year-old humus is also suitable), we carefully level everything with a rake. Advice! Since garlic does not like acidic soils at all, we recommend adding dolomite flour to the soil once every four years. It is necessary for deoxidation.
- In that case, if we do not add dolomite flour, then we sprinkle complex fertilizer along the bed, strictly following the instructions on the packaging. From above we pour earth and wood ash.
- We dig the beds to a depth slightly less than the shovel bayonet and level them with a rake.
- In early spring we loosen the soil, make the beds a little higher, because during the winter they sank a little.
- Landing is as follows: we leave between the rows a distance of more than 20 cm; we plant teeth no closer than 7-9 cm from each other; to a depth of about 4 cm.
- After planting in a bed with a layer of about 2 cm, we scatter humus with ash (about 1-2 buckets per 1 m²) or peat.
- After two weeks, the first shoots appear.
- We regularly water and loosen.
Advice! It is better to use large teeth for planting, and about 45-50 teeth per 1 m² are needed. Before starting the first weeding, we recommend scattering potassium salt (10 g per 1 m²), superphosphate (20 g per 1 m²) and ammonium nitrate (10 g per 1 m²) along the bed. It will be nice to feed vegetables either with infusion of chicken manure or with mullein infusion once during the summer.
Winter garlic
Tricks of planting this crop:
- We make landing, starting from the middle of October and ending with the last days of November.
- 7-8 days before work, the heads are carefully divided into teeth. Only the largest and most extreme teeth, that is, not central, are suitable for seeds. Defective material is categorically not suitable, so it is ruthlessly thrown away. On a note! We select for seeds a head with a small number of teeth (the best option is 4 pieces). In this case, you have a great chance to get large garlic.
- We examine the bottom of the clove and, if necessary, clean it with a knife. This is necessary so that subsequently the roots develop more actively.
- With a knife, trim the top of the clove, quite a bit, only 2-3 mm.
- 15-20 minutes before planting, soak the teeth in a solution of potassium permanganate. The temperature of the mixture should be about 35-37 degrees. Performing these manipulations, you remove the teeth from a state of rest, and also relieve them of any parasites. Important! After the teeth hatch (after 1-2 weeks), it becomes clear which of them are affected by rot: the patients simply will not give any shoots.
- The soil on the beds should be fertile and not acidic, and the place should be as sunny as possible.
- We prepare the beds based on the above recommendations.
- The landing pattern is determined by the following parameters: row from row - at a distance of 12-15 cm; the holes are staggered at a distance of 10 cm from each other.
- Holes are covered with earth from a compost pile.
- Sprinkle everything with sawdust about 4 cm thick.
Important! The depth of planting garlic (under winter) is three clove heights. By carrying out such a planting, you are guaranteed that the plant will not germinate in the fall, will survive the winter and spring frosts safely, and in the summer you will be pleased with a good harvest.
Methods to improve the quality of spring garlic heads
If you want to grow large garlic bulbs, you can do this:
- place the garlic bed in length from north to south;
- in the period from mid-June to early July, that is, 6-8 days before the proposed harvest, shovel the soil from the heads of garlic, exposing them 1/3;
- choose the moment when it is not too late to knot the garlic;
- at least 2 times, and maybe more, feed with mullein or chicken droppings.
Opinions were divided about the cutting off of arrows: someone considers this pointless, and someone firmly believes that these actions contribute to increasing the yield of garlic. And still others never even thought about it.
What to do with arrows
All stems must be regularly removed without fail. Otherwise, you can hardly wait for a good harvest. All the forces of the plant will be spent on growing arrows, when tying the leaves of garlic will no longer make sense, and nothing will remain on the bulbs. Advice! For reproduction, we recommend leaving 2-3 arrows. In one inflorescence you can get up to 200 "bulbs": as planting material, they will be enough "for the eyes and ears." Arrows break off when they reach a height of 10-15 cm.
On a note! Since garlic shoots at different times, often inspect the beds and pick flower stalks. In addition to the fact that the left arrows are a kind of base for planting material, so they also fulfill the role of beacons, signaling the timing of digging up the culture. So it's worth a closer look. The signal is the moment when the peel on the box begins to burst: this means that in the next 2-3 days it is necessary to harvest. Advice! The period after the arrows are torn off is most favorable for the application of potash or complex (potassium, MPA, ash) fertilizers to the bed.
Whether to tie garlic or not: that’s the question
Proponents of tying the culture are convinced that at the time this procedure is performed, nutrients begin to flow into the heads in full swing, thereby ensuring their active growth. As a result, there is an increase in the size and weight of the bulb, and hence the cloves too.
Should garlic be tied? “No, it is not necessary,” the others answer. They believe that such an agrotechnical technique can even harm the plant and lead to a decrease in yield. This category of gardeners is confident that only a complete cessation of watering can contribute to an active and rapid ripening of bulbs.
Should garlic be tied? “It makes no difference,” the third are sure. They are sure that such manipulations in no way affect the vegetation of the plant. That is, the garlic is “completely indifferent” whether they perform such actions with it or not.
When to tie garlic in knots
The question, of course, is interesting. The fact is that this moment depends on the plant variety, as well as on weather conditions. We propose in this matter to focus on the state of the shooter culture. Initially, it is folded in the form of a spiral, and as the bulb ripens, it straightens more and more. And when it is completely straightened, it must be removed, and the knotted leaves.
But still, specifically when to tie the garlic in knots? Someone says that this moment should occur 3-4 days before the proposed cleaning. Others oppose that it is advisable to do this 20-30 days before the harvest. Therefore, make your own decisions when topping garlic. Perhaps by trial and error you will find the best solution to this issue.
On a note! Basically, winter varieties ripen in mid-summer, that is, in July. A planted in early spring goes "to the finish line" in mid-August.
How to tie garlic
Before tying, we cut off the arrow: we do this with garden clippers. Do not pull out with your hands, because you can ruin the plant. Performing a slope obliquely. In order to avoid infection, for example, nematodes, we slice the cut with lime or ash. When all the precautions have been taken and there is a great desire to get a wonderful harvest, when it is time to tie the leaves of garlic, we begin to knit knots. Moreover, if the leaf length is up to 35 cm, then we make only one knot, and if it is longer, we recommend making two.
Finally
In conversation with any summer resident, the theme of the crop will surely be raised, namely, methods of growing plants and root crops. And it’s sure to talk about garlic. Indeed, not a single garden bed is complete without this culture. And each gardener has his own opinion about when to tie garlic and whether to do it.