How to plant garlic in the winter correctly

There are two varieties of garlic - spring and winter. Spring garlic is planted in the spring, while winter garlic is planted in the fall, and its bulbs can be planted in April and in the fall to get planting material for the next season. In order for the harvest of winter garlic to be good and not freeze out in winter, you need to know how to plant garlic in winter, we will talk about it in this article.

How to plant garlic for the winter and when

Like all winter crops, garlic is planted in the fall. According to folk beliefs, all plantings must be completed before Pokrov Day - October 14th. For the central part of Russia, the optimal time for planting garlic approximately mid-September to mid-October. In order not to plant garlic too early, experienced agronomists recommend waiting for the moment when an ice crust will cover the soil at night, thawing in the daytime.

Since the climatic conditions in Russia are very different, the main rule is to complete the planting of garlic 30-45 days before the onset of frost. During this time, the garlic will have time to grow roots up to 12 mm long, while the green shoots will not have time to sprout. Planting garlic for the winter of 2017 according to the lunar calendar will take into account not only the timing of planting, but also the optimal days for planting in accordance with the lunar phases.

Auspicious days for planting garlic in the fall in 2017 according to the lunar calendar:

• September: 7, 10, 11, 14, 15;
• October: 7, 8, 11, 12, 18;
• November: 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 6, 17.

If you plant garlic earlier, then it may have time to sprout and then the young green shoots will freeze, and if you plant it too late, then the garlic will not have time to take root and will freeze.

Preparing a bed for planting winter garlic

Garlic is a rather capricious culture, respectively, soil should be:

• Nutrient. In at least two weeks, all the necessary fertilizers must be applied to the soil for garlic (the best choice would be to apply humus - 5 kg per 1 sq. M) and dig.
• Easy. Garlic does not grow well on heavy soils and prefers sandy loam soil.
• Subacid. The culture practically does not develop on acidic soils and gives a poor harvest, and therefore the soil must be deoxidized.

Place for planting garlic must meet the following requirements:

• Illumination. Garlic is a light-loving crop, therefore, when choosing a place for it, you must definitely take this into account.
• Elevated place. The place where the garlic bed will be organized should be elevated so that there is no stagnation of melt water on it.
• Be protected from the wind. If in winter there is no snow on the garden with garlic, then it must be covered, otherwise it will simply freeze. Therefore, it is desirable that the wind does not blow snow from the garlic garden in winter.

A good plot for the garden will be fence on the north side. After the place for planting has been chosen and the soil has been fertilized, cover the bed with a film until the garlic is planted.

When choosing a site for garlic, planting before winter, when planting, it is necessary to take into account the rules of crop rotation, otherwise the harvest will be poor. Failure to follow these rules can lead to the fact that the soil will lack the elements necessary for garlic nutrition. In the ground there may be pathogens and larvae of pests of the previous crop. In addition, planting garlic after the recommended crops contributes to a good harvest due to the accumulation of garlic-friendly substances in the previous crop.

• Garlic is not recommended to be planted after root crops, as their harvest is late and the soil may not have time to recover. In addition, you can not plant garlic after garlic and onions.
• Experts recommend planting garlic after annual crops with a short growing season (cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and others).
• Planting garlic in the same place, including after related crops, is allowed only after 3-4 years.

Also, when choosing a place to plant garlic, it is worth considering the compatibility of crops. Before planting garlic in the fall, plan your next year's planting so that incompatible crops don't get planted next to each other.

How to plant winter garlic in the fall

For planting, only good and strong cloves are selected that do not contain damage. Before planting, the cloves are disinfected in a chilled ash solution (0.5 kg of ash per 2 liters of water) for 2 hours.

Rules for planting winter garlic

• To plant garlic for the winter, having prepared a garden bed, you need to make grooves or indentations with a thin handle 15 cm deep. The planting scheme is as follows - 15 x 20 cm (15 cm is the distance in the row, 20 cm is the distance between the rows).
• A 1.5 cm layer of sand is poured at the bottom of the recess to prevent rotting of the teeth and increase drainage. Then we lay the cloves bottom down and fall asleep with earth.
• From above, the bed must be mulched with a layer of dry peat or a layer of sawdust mixed with the ground.
• In a winter with little snow, as well as in the Urals and Siberia, garlic for the winter must be covered with roofing felt or film so that it does not suffer from frost.
• Bulbs planted in April will give planting material for the next year by autumn. They can be planted in a denser pattern to a depth of about 3 cm.

Care rules

After the garlic is planted, the bed is mulched and, if necessary, covered, all work stops until spring. For a good harvest of garlic next season, you need to carry out the following work:

• remove roofing material and mulch layer;
• at the first shoots, apply nitrogenous fertilizers;
• abundant watering at the stage of active growth and head formation;
• loosening and weeding the beds after watering;
• periodic breaking off of the issued arrows;
• in late June - early July, add ash to the soil.

Popular varieties of winter garlic

Garlic, when planted before winter, first of all choose zoned ones, i.e. varieties suitable for the region, so that the harvest is good and pleases the gardener. The most popular and sought-after varieties of garlic are: Lyubasha, Spas, Komsomolets, Petrovsky, Gribovsky 60 and Yubileiny Gribovsky, Messidor and many others.

How to plant garlic in the winter correctly - step by step plan

1. Drawing up a plan for planting crops for the next year, taking into account the compatibility of plants, crop rotation rules and soil requirements.
2. Choosing a place for planting winter garlic, fertilizing and covering with a film until the garlic is planted. Work period: from the end of August to the beginning of September.
3. Selection of planting material (we select exceptionally strong, intact and with a whole shell cloves). Carrying out their disinfection. Deadline: before landing, but no later than October 14.
4. Removing the film from the bed and preparing the grooves, taking into account the scheme and depth of planting, planting cloves. Deadline for completion of work: mid-September - mid-October.
5. Sheltering beds with roofing material or film in the event that winters in your area are severe or have little snow. Deadline: immediately after planting the garlic.