A frequent guest at our table is garlic. The popularity of this product increases in the autumn-winter period. It is characterized by a strong smell and pungent taste, so garlic is often used in the preparation of salads, sauces and meat dishes. On household plots you can grow spring and winter.
Distinguishing between these varieties is quite simple. The head of winter garlic consists of 5-6 cloves, and in the middle is a false stem. But spring garlic consists of 10-20 cloves, while there is no false stem.
The difference between these varieties is also in the planting period. Winter garlic is planted in the ground at the end of autumn, until the first frost, and ardent in early spring. But when to clean garlic correctly and how to store it?
Which garlic is better: winter or spring?
So which garlic is better? Often in the temperate and middle climatic zones, winter vegetables are grown. This method of planting allows you to get a good crop with large teeth, which are evenly located in the head. But spring garlic is characterized by a longer storage period.
Characteristics of spring garlic:
- a lot of small teeth in the head;
- ripening in late August - early September;
- shelf life of about 12 months.
Characteristics of winter garlic:
- large teeth;
- ripening in late July - early August;
- shelf life - up to 6 months.
Many summer residents can not decide which garlic is better to plant. Most often, both varieties are planted on the site. One gives an early harvest, and the second is ideal for storage.
When to harvest
Many summer residents plant winter garlic. The people believe that it is necessary to plant cloves into the ground before October 14, that is, before the Orthodox holiday of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. Everything is clear here. But you should correctly determine the date when you should harvest.
Overripe garlic is practically not stored, so it is used first of all, otherwise it will simply disappear. How to identify an overripe crop?
- squeezing the head a little with your fingers, it becomes loose and soft.
- immediately after cleaning, the cloves scatter or easily detach from the head.
To know when to pick garlic, it is important to be able to identify signs of ripening.
Signs of ripening and timing
Experienced summer residents argue that garlic is enough for 100 calendar days to fully ripen. Most often this period falls in the middle of summer. Harvesting of garlic begins from July 20 to August 1.
The exact date of harvesting of garlic can not be called. It all depends on weather conditions throughout the growth of the plant. But you can verify the ripening of garlic by paying attention to such signs:
- arrows of garlic straighten, and inflorescences open;
- if the variety is non-shooting, you can pay attention to the stem, its neck softens, while the leaves begin to turn yellow;
- the lower leaves on the stem begin to dry out;
- The dug head should be covered with durable purple scales.
Now you know when you can remove garlic. So how to prepare the plant?
Lunar calendar cleaning
Many summer residents are guided not only by the appearance of garlic. The lunar calendar is an effective assistant in determining signs of maturity.
Everyone knows that the moon is an active helper for all agronomists. It is enough to listen to the biorhythms of nature to collect a good harvest. In addition, this method of harvesting garlic always indicates its long-term safety.
So, how and when to remove garlic according to the lunar calendar in 2018?
- in July it is best to start cleaning on such days: 5-7, 15-16, 19-20, 23-24;
- in August, it is better to collect garlic: 1-3, 11-12, 15-16, 29-30.
But harvesting has its own characteristics. It’s not enough just to dig out the heads. Given the lunar calendar, it is necessary to carry out manipulations before removing winter garlic.
- Loosening the earth. Before harvesting winter garlic, you must carefully loosen the ground and clear it around the head. This procedure must be performed 25 days prior to direct digging.
- Arrows set. This procedure is performed so that all the forces of the plant are directed directly to the head of garlic. Immediately after tying the arrows and tops, it stops growing, and, therefore, new shoots do not develop. According to the lunar calendar, this procedure must be performed on July 19-20, 2018.
- Delete arrows. About 30 days before harvesting, summer residents break off the arrows of the plant. Leave only a few for the sample. In 2018, July 1, 2, 10 are suitable for these purposes.
- Watering. About a month before harvesting, garlic is stopped being watered. This manipulation prevents the development of the process of decay in the soil.
How to dig
If you are convinced that the garlic is definitely ripe, you need to dig it up correctly. First of all, you should pay attention to the weather. It should be clear and dry.
If you decide when to remove winter garlic, you should prepare a pitchfork or a shovel. The pitchfork allows you to carefully remove the head from the ground, to avoid injury.
The dug garlic is left for several hours in the garden to dry well. If the weather permits, then the plant is left on the bed for 5 days for complete drying. But if the weather changes, delaying the harvest of garlic is not recommended. In this case, it is dried in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area for 1 week.
Today you can find out a lot of secrets of summer residents. When it is clear to remove garlic, but what to do next? Cutting the sheet is not recommended. During drying, garlic absorbs all the nutrients from the top.
Agronomists recommend drying garlic on the street, directly under the sun. This method eliminates the spores of mold, fungi, parasites and ticks. In addition, this increases the resistance to the spread of diseases.
Storage: recommendations
When winter garlic is removed from the garden, it is dried in the sun, then lumps of earth should be gently shaken from it. The roots are carefully trimmed, leaving a length of 3-5 mm. At this stage, you can cut the foliage and tops up to 1 cm in length.
Garlic is quite moody in terms of storage. Therefore, it is necessary to create ideal conditions for this. Keep it in a dry place. To remove excess moisture, pour large table salt in a container with garlic. It absorbs excess moisture.
You should know not only when to remove garlic for storage, but also in what conditions it should be in the future. For example, it should not be in a well-lit room with high humidity and temperature.
Optimal storage conditions
By creating the most optimal conditions for storing garlic, you can contribute to its longer shelf life.
- The ideal temperature for storing garlic is +5 ° C.
- Humidity in the room should be between 50 - 80%.
- It is best to store garlic in a darkened or semi-shaded room. Many lay heads in boxes of several. You can store crops in boxes, baskets. Often garlic is tied in pigtails or in bunches, hanging them from the ceiling.
Possible problems with storing garlic
Particular attention must be paid to the proper storage of the crop. Otherwise, you will encounter such problems:
- decay;
- mold;
- discoloration;
- drying of cloves;
- germination;
- defeat by barn pests.
Rotting and moldiness of the head of garlic often develop with high humidity. In this case, it is necessary not only to sort out the crop, removing the affected specimens, but also to dry the remaining heads. The drying time is about 6 days. You can dry the garlic near the central heating radiators. After that, it is necessary to hide the crop in a dry room for storage. If the humidity is high, then you can sprinkle the remaining garlic with salt.
Often summer residents are faced with the problem of drying teeth. Natural drying is typical for winter varieties at the end of the shelf life. This process can be delayed for several weeks. It is enough to just wrap the heads in cling film. If the drying period has come much earlier, then the cause may be too dry air. In this case, you can put the heads in the refrigerator for several days. But long-term storage in this place is not recommended, because the teeth can become damp and rot.
If the cloves changed their color at the base to yellow, then the crop was hit by a stem nematode. In the summer, the female lays eggs in the bottom of the plant and the soil. Such garlic is poorly stored. It is sorted out, sick heads are separated from healthy ones and they are burned. After all the seed material must be treated with insecticides. After drying, send to storage in a dry room.
All cloves starting to germinate must be cleaned and poured with vegetable oil. In this state, they can be stored for a long time. Sometimes they carry out cauterization of the bottom by fire. The cloves that have already sprouted lose their firmness and elasticity. They are not eaten.
Damage of garlic by barn pests is quite rare. The main pests are flour and root ticks. They fall into the clove through the bottom and feed on the juice of the crop. Over time, the bottom becomes rotten and falls. If you find a possible development of these pests, the whole crop must be sprinkled with powdered chalk.
If infection by pests was detected during storage, all heads must be placed for 1.5 minutes in an oven preheated to 100 ° C. After the garlic is sorted, the affected heads are burned.
Conclusion
Many inexperienced summer residents are interested in - when to remove garlic? The timing and signs of ripening will allow you to properly harvest the crop, which will beneficially affect its further storage. Experienced summer residents recommend not to forget about the lunar calendar, which monitors the biorhythms of nature.