When to remove garlic from the garden
Content:
It is a known fact that most often experienced gardeners plant winter garlic in winter, and spring garlic in spring, but unfortunately even the most experienced summer resident does not always know when to harvest garlic so that the harvest will last as long as possible and delight the household with its piquant taste. Garlic is a vegetable that can be found in almost every vegetable garden, since rarely can anyone refuse to grow such a healthy and tasty plant.
Returning to the question - when to remove garlic - we note that it is highly not recommended to overexpose it in the garden. Since the plant can start growing again, and the head will fall apart over the teeth. In this case, there is no question of a long shelf life. At the same time, if the garlic is not allowed to ripen, dig it up ahead of time, then the cloves will not be dense and loose.
How long the garlic is stored in the future is a consequence of whether or not it was dug up in a timely manner, and how much it was properly dried. In this article, you will learn the main signs of ripe garlic, how to dry it properly, and what to plant after garlic. Remembering a number of simple recommendations, you will always dig up the garlic in a timely manner, and its taste will delight you for a very long time.
The main signs of ripe garlic: when to remove the garlic, what to look for
When you need to remove garlic from the garden: photo
How can we still recognize whether our spicy plant is ripe or not? The most basic symptom is when the lower foliage of the garlic begins to dry and turn yellow. Of course, this is influenced not only by the stage of ripening of the garlic, but also by weather conditions, sunny or cloudy summer, what is the air temperature, the type of plant, and also the region of residence.
Experienced gardeners have their own signs and tricks, by which they uniquely determine whether the garlic is ripe or is it worth the wait.
- For example, when you remove the arrows that garlic puts out, they should be left on some plants. As soon as you find that the curl at the arrow has straightened, this signals that the garlic is ripe and can be dug out;
- Gardeners also pay attention to the flower heads of garlic. As soon as these heads crack and airy bulbs (the so-called bulbs) peep out from there, this indicates the full maturity of the garlic. Therefore, the time has come to reap the harvest.
I would also like to note that there are a number of folk "tricks" for growing larger cloves of garlic:
- at the moment when you pull out the arrow from the garlic, you need to stick a burnt match into this place. It is the burnt match that stops the release of juice, hence the cloves of garlic grow more juicy and large;
- you can also tighten the garlic feathers into a knot at the moment the arrows are cut off. Experienced gardeners promise that by using this method, the head of garlic begins to develop faster. Therefore, a large harvest will be formed later.
On a note, not all varieties are allowed to shoot, but only winter crops. Spring varieties are not allowed, the only exception is the Gulliver variety.
When to remove garlic from the garden: the difference between winter and spring garlic
Sowing of winter garlic most often falls in September-early October. If we take the southern regions, then this is done later - around the beginning of November. The approximate date for planting spring garlic is the second half of March-April.
When you need to remove garlic from the garden: photo
The growing season of winter garlic is 95-105 days, from the moment the first sprouts emerge. Therefore, it is harvested, depending on weather conditions and the region of cultivation, it falls around the third decade of July - early August.
Spring varieties "ripen" later. This is due to the fact that they need a certain time to germinate the seeds. Accordingly, the harvesting of this type of garlic falls at the end of August and the beginning of September. During this period, it is worth closely monitoring the harvest, in search of signs of ripening.
If you find signs that your plant is ripe, but doubt it, then you can always dig in a couple of heads and make sure that the crop is really ripe.
How do you know when the garlic is ripe? Everything here is easy and simple - a ripe head of garlic is always hard. While unripe is characterized by increased softness. The film that envelops the cloves should be easily removed in ripe garlic, and the cloves should separate without much effort.
Let's return to the "tricks" of the people. To accelerate the ripening of a savory vegetable, gardeners, gardeners, about a week before the expected day of digging, remove the top of the soil from the garlic bulb.
Before digging out the garlic and meeting the approximate ripening period indicated above, also pay attention to which variety is planted and familiarize yourself with its characteristics. Each variety of winter garlic has its own timing, and you should definitely pay attention to this.
Since many summer residents confuse varieties and subsequently plant them in the same bed, after which they do not know where which variety is. To prevent this from happening to you, before planting, carefully evaluate the garlic by the color of the shell, by the shape, by the size and by the number of cloves. After such a simple selection, you will find representatives of the same variety and subsequently plant them on the same bed.
Many newcomers to gardening, as well as experienced summer residents, ask “do I need to roll the garlic before harvesting” (trample the tops)? This method is more often used when growing onions. This is done in order to speed up the ripening process and slow down the growth of feathers.
Garlic does not need such manipulations. If you are worried that your crop will not have time to ripen, stop watering the garlic one and a half weeks before the planned harvest, thereby you let the earth dry out.
When to remove garlic from the garden for storage and how to dry it?
When you need to remove garlic from the garden: photo
It is recommended to start cleaning only on a clear, sunny day. The heads of garlic are dug in with a tool convenient for you - a pitchfork or a shovel. Then we take out our heads and gently shake them off the ground.
Most often, it is recommended to clean the soil with your hands, so as not to damage the garlic. This process will take a little longer, so if you are not sure that you can shake it off without negative consequences, then resort to the manual method.
If you accidentally damage the heads, either in the process of digging, or when shaking off the ground, set aside this garlic separately and use it in food first, so that this crop is no longer suitable for storage.
Then the garlic is laid out on paper, plywood under a canopy (if possible), or in a room with good air circulation.
After the garlic has been dug up, it is necessary to dry for one to one and a half weeks. Most often, gardeners dry the crop right in the garden bed, bringing it under a canopy at night. You can sprinkle it on nets, trellises, or you can leave it directly on the ground. But in this case, do not forget to periodically turn the heads.
Well-ventilated rooms are also great for drying garlic - verandas, sheds, attics, a shed, a summer kitchen and other similar places.
The final drying takes place indoors and additionally takes another week and a half, after which the roots are carefully removed, while not injuring the bottom.
From here, our ancestors stored and many still keep garlic weaving from it into braids. To do this, you just need tops, which they do not recommend to remove. This "grandmother's" method is popular in our time, it is not only useful, but also beautiful.
One such pigtail contains on average 15 heads of garlic, a braid is woven from feathers, and twine is woven for greater reliability. The leaves can be removed if desired before starting to weave the braid.
In the spit, garlic is stored for a very long time, if they did not have time to eat it, then it can safely remain until the next harvest. Braids should be stored hanging on a loop (made from twine) in a dry, cool place, but most often they are stored in the kitchen and used, including for decorative purposes.
If you do not want to store the garlic in pigtails, then after the garlic has dried out, you need to cut the stem, leaving the neck about 7 cm, packaged in size, discard the deformed, unhealthy, damaged garlic. Then put the healthy heads in containers: in boxes, boxes, nets - and store them in a dark, dry, ventilated place.
What is recommended to plant after garlic?
Immediately after the garlic has left the garden, you can immediately plant greens so that the vacated area does not "stand idle". For herbs such as parsley, dill, arugula, spinach and others, it is ideal if garlic was their predecessor, and they grow very quickly.
Also, according to the crop rotation table, vegetables such as beets, carrots, radishes, radishes grow well after a spicy plant, they develop more rapidly, and the taste and quality characteristics become noticeably better.
In the southern part of the country, after garlic, early-maturing cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi are planted - these are those plants that have a short growing season. In addition, asparagus beans and sugar peas of early ripening varieties will also feel good.
Often summer residents ask themselves the question - "what is recommended to plant in the garden after garlic next year"? Remember that according to the rules of crop rotation, you cannot plant garlic in one place for two or more years in a row.
The same rule applies to onions, besides, onions cannot be planted after garlic. Onions and garlic are members of the same family. They carry the same diseases and are susceptible to attacks by the same insect pests.
After garlic, they will feel great: potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini, cabbage, melons, as well as eggplants, peppers and corn.
Follow the simple recommendations indicated in the article, follow all agrotechnical rules, carefully monitoring the signs of ripening - they will be the same regardless of where you live and grow garlic, remove it in a timely manner, dry it correctly - and only then you will enjoy the wonderful spicy taste of this plant. long time.
