Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Garlic is winter and spring, and the difference between the two types lies in the timing of planting. Winter is traditionally planted in autumn, and spring – in spring, usually in the last days of April or early May. But it happens that the owner of the site wants (or is forced) to experiment and plant winter garlic in the spring.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

What happens if you plant winter garlic in spring?

Spring (or summer) garlic is much more suitable for spring planting. He will not release shooters, will not form the so-called bulblets, he multiplies with the teeth of the head. So, in one head there will be up to 30 cloves (and in winter there are less than 10). And even the localization of the cloves in the two types of garlic is different: in the spring they go in a spiral, and in the winter – in a “dance” around the core. But the main thing that distinguishes spring garlic is its keeping quality: it is stored well and for a long time. And yet, planting winter garlic in the spring is also possible. It happens that a vegetable planted for the winter did not sprout (or its seedlings are so-so), and then winter varieties are planted in early spring. But you need to wait until the soil warms up to at least +5 degrees.

Why spring planting can be successful:

  • garlic planted in the spring is stored for a long time;
  • it is more resistant to diseases and pathogens;
  • the germination of such specimens is also better, because they need to be sown in warm ground, frosts are not terrible.

But the disadvantages include the fact that the taste of the cloves is not so bright, the yield may be lower than when planting for the winter. Yes, and spring is an active time for gardeners, there is so much trouble, and then there is garlic.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Deadlines

And here it is especially important not to make a mistake. For example, if the planting is delayed, the crop may not ripen. For the northern regions, meeting the deadlines is especially important. But if you land, on the contrary, earlier, the planting material will freeze. In the southern regions, landing is planned for the end of March, the first week of April. In the middle lane, garlic is planted from mid-April to the first days of May, in the northern regions – in May. The timing can also be affected by the weather, which is different every year.

The optimal temperature for garlic to take root and sprout safely is + 10-15 degrees (for the initial vegetation), + 15-20 (cloves formation stage), + 20-25 (ripening). By the way, you can briefly shift the landing if the ground is still wet. You need to let the soil dry out. Due to excess moisture, dangerous putrefactive processes can begin.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Preparing for planting

And this is the most difficult thing about planting winter garlic, because it affects several important aspects at once.

Required Tools

There is a tool that will seriously facilitate manual landing. It’s called “marker”. And it is necessary to accurately mark and prepare the holes into which the garlic cloves will fall. The tool itself is a plank and teeth nailed to it. A large marker may also have a handle. The markers themselves are metal and wooden. They are bought at retail outlets for gardeners or do it yourself. They are needle-shaped, serrated and slatted. Inventory differs in size and the very principle of creating holes. If the bed is small, you can get by with a needle marker. If the area is larger, you will need a serrated one.

And besides this special tool, most likely, you will also need rakes, choppers, buckets, a bayonet shovel, a pitchfork, a manual flat cutter and a watering can for planting garlic.

soil

Open and elevated places in the garden with good natural light are more suitable for planting. The vegetable grows well in loose fertile soil with neutral acidity. It is better if it is loamy or sandy soil. The culture does not like acidic soils at all, places where groundwater is high, as well as areas in the shade with poor ventilation. If you recall the rules of crop rotation, there are conditions here. The best predecessors for garlic are cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, melons, watermelons. And it’s also good if cruciferous plants grew before garlic: cabbage and radish, turnip and radish, arugula, watercress and spinach. A good option for predecessors will be cereals and green manure: mustard, rye, lupine (annual).

Not bad if cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, black currants grow next to garlic. It is also good if gladioli and roses are nearby. But cabbage and legumes promise an unsuccessful neighborhood, because garlic will inhibit the growth of these crops. In the garden where potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and all kinds of onions grew last season, it is better not to plant garlic. And if you do this, then not earlier than after 4 years. It is better to prepare the garden bed in the fall. The place must be cleared of weeds and plant debris, dig the ground to a depth of 25 cm. For each square, 5 kg of humus (or so) must be added, you can replace it with compost or rotted manure.

There you can also add 200 g of ash and a tablespoon of mineral fertilizer. In the spring, before planting, the ground will need to be thoroughly loosened again.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Planting material

Preparing planting material is, if not a quest, then a multi-stage process. And he looks like this.

  • Spring. The largest, elastic, healthy-looking heads are sent to the refrigerator, to the bottom shelf, a month and a half before planting. You can just dig them into the snow. This is all you need to stimulate the growing season. And the day before planting, the heads should again be in a warm place.
  • Calibration Onions must be peeled, disassembled into cloves. The latter cannot be cleaned from the shell. The bulbs are then sorted by size. Usually large or medium ones are suitable for landing, which are located in the two extreme rows. And if you take small internal cloves, weak plants will grow out of them. It is better to select them for greenery or simply use them as pest control for other crops.
  • Team. Sorted specimens are carefully examined, sick and lethargic are selected. Deformed, wrinkled – also to the side. Doubles should also be removed, because this is a sign of degeneration in fact.
  • Disinfection. This is done to prevent the development of diseases typical of garlic. The selected material is soaked for several hours in a weak manganese solution (a one percent solution of copper sulphate can also be used). A couple of hours the teeth can be kept in a decoction of wood resin.
  • Growth stimulation. The cloves must be soaked for 24 hours in a growth stimulator. You can use “Kornevin”, “Epin”, “Zircon” or a home-made nutritional composition. Then the cloves will have to be thoroughly dried in a place that is normally ventilated.

Spring garlic does not require pre-germination. This is necessary only if winter varieties are used in the spring – just in the case described. The cloves should be wrapped in a damp cloth, sent in a plastic bag and left at room temperature for a couple of days. And as soon as sprouts appear, the cloves can be planted in the ground. But with bare garlic cloves it is better not to “get in touch”. If they do not have a so-called shirt, this is either a symptom of a disease, or even parasites of nematodes. Therefore, the extra risk is useless.

Yes, and it is better to select planting varieties that are zoned, which are recommended for certain regions, have good characteristics and recommendations. They are more likely to adapt well in the garden and produce the expected yield.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

How to plant?

Teeth can be planted in an ordinary way according to two types of patterns: in several lines and in two lines. If planted in two lines, the distance between them will be 20 cm or slightly less. Between the cloves in a row – 5-6 cm. But it is also important which varieties are planted. If large-fruited, there will be a distance of 30 cm between the lines, and 10 cm between the cloves. If the sowing is thickened in open ground, the heads will grow small. And if the planting material is too deep, the ripening time will be delayed. You should get about 50 cloves per square meter this way. In the step-by-step instructions for planting garlic, there will definitely be such preliminary steps as moistening, loosening and leveling the soil. This is where it all starts.

The process then looks like this:

  • form grooves, be sure to powder them with wood ash (this is excellent nutrition and protection from pests);
  • send the cloves into the ground with the bottom down, sprinkle with soil and slam a little (without effort) with the palm of your hand – this is what fixation looks like;
  • it is good if the beds on top are mulched with dry grass, tree bark, needles or sawdust.

And a week before planting, garlic can be watered with a manganese solution. After that, after a couple of days, walk on the ground with a solution of Fitosporin. This is a good preplant decontamination, which will not be superfluous.

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

Is it possible to plant winter garlic in spring as spring and how to do it?

The nuances of care

Then everything goes according to a more or less standard scenario: the garden bed should be watered regularly, shallow, but systematically loosened, and also carry out standard prevention of diseases and pests. When garlic is just building up the root system, gaining greenery, it must be watered abundantly: about 10 liters of water per square every 5 days. If the soil remains dry even for a day, the bulbs will form single-toothed, that is, the crop will not grow well. But in the second half of the growing season, watering should be done moderately: the same 10 liters per square meter, only once every 10 days, or even once a week. But if it rains at this time, there is no need for such watering. Excessive moisture at the end of the growing season is dangerous for the development of diseases and the fact that the heads of garlic get wet. Therefore, in August, weeks 3 (or a little more) before the expected harvest, watering is completely stopped. There will be enough natural moisture, that is, rain.

As for top dressing, the approximate plan is as follows.

  • 2,5 weeks after planting, in order to stimulate the aerial part of the garlic, potassium and nitrogen compounds are needed – this is urea (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water), ammonium nitrate (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water), mullein solution (1 to 10 ), as well as herbal infusions, mineral complexes and humus. And this is a two-time application with an interval of one and a half to two weeks.
  • When bulbs are formed (and this happens when there are at least 4 true leaves on the plant), the plant needs to be fed with superphosphate, potassium salt (15–20 g and 10 g per square), as well as wood ash diluted in water. And such a fertilizer will have to be repeated after another one and a half weeks.
  • So that the feather does not turn yellow, even before the onset of real heat, you need to have time to shed the plants twice with a solution of ammonia (at the rate of 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

Important! Not at all an option for feeding – fresh manure. If you use it, the garlic will be vulnerable to fungal infections, and the bulbs will most likely not have time to ripen. The garlic will be loose and will not last long. If the summer is cold, the heads may not have time to fully ripen. And then you can do this: back in mid-August, collect the leaves of garlic in a bunch, tie in a knot. So they will stop growing, and all the forces will be spent on the process of aging. All recommendations are predictable, logical, and there is nothing daunting in such care. Discipline and work – and winter garlic in the spring will quite thank itself with a good and timely harvest.

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Anna Evans

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