Garlic is a fairly useful crop, so almost all summer residents grow it. You can plant both summer and winter varieties. In the article, we will consider how one subspecies differs from another.
Appearance and taste
You can even distinguish winter garlic from summer garlic in appearance: spring has a light color, and winter has a purple-reddish tint.. You can also determine the variety by size: spring garlic has small heads with small teeth, while its winter counterpart grows larger cloves, and the head itself looks large. Small bulbs of the spring variety can produce 12-30 cloves, which are arranged in a spiral. There is no dense stem core in the head of such garlic. The pulp is quite firm, which allows the product to be stored for a long time, while all useful properties are preserved in it. Spring garlic is propagated by planting cloves in the ground.
The winter variety of garlic gives large cloves (on average 6-8 pieces), the same in shape and size. They are located around a dense rod, which is absent from the spring counterpart. It grows from both cloves and aerial seeds that form on a mature plant. Winter garlic is sharp and burning in taste and has a distinctive feature – a wax coating. Spring is not so burning due to the fact that it does not release essential oils so intensively. It has a mild and spicy semi-sharp taste. The two types differ in other respects as well. Next, we will consider them separately.
Landing time differences
The main difference between winter and spring garlic is planting time. The first, judging by the name, tolerates cold well, which is why winter varieties are planted in the autumn without any fear that it will freeze. Winter garlic can be placed in the ground 20 days before frost, and it will overwinter well. But for a spring fellow, this will be disastrous.
Such garlic is planted only in warm soil (minimum + 5-6 degrees). Depending on the region, this is the end of March, April or even May.
Differences in care
The spring species needs more moisture, but an overabundance can lead to rotting of the heads. Such garlic grows well in loamy soil enriched with organic elements. It is recommended to plant seed material in moist soil. In rainy weather, the spring variety will grow and ripen better than in the heat. The heat will stop the growth processes of spring garlic. But for winter, dry weather and dry land are important. For him, it is preferable to choose sandy soils.
14-15 days after planting, winter garlic plantations are recommended to be enriched with humus or peat composition. If severe frosts are expected, which are not characteristic of the region where plants grow, it is better to cover the garlic beds with improvised material for the winter.
Spring does not need additional shelter, as it is planted in a consistently warm season.
Comparison of other characteristics
Winter garlic is dug up 15-20 days earlier than spring garlic. The latter is harvested no earlier than the end of August, when the feathers begin to turn yellow at the bottom. It is dried in a suspended position, then cleaned and distributed in storage containers. Most often stored in glass containers. Winter garlic is inferior in terms of storage: it can be kept for no more than six months. Spring in this regard has more successful indicators – from 10 months to two years. Moreover, it is not particularly demanding on temperature, it will be well stored in the room.
The last indicator is very important for those summer residents who grow crops, but do not have a basement. Winter varieties are stored exclusively in cool places, and if the bulbs do not dry out ahead of time, and the garlic does not lose its properties, then it will be possible to feast on the winter variety only for 6 months. Dried heads of spring garlic are stored either in a cool room where the temperature does not fall below +1, or in a warm place at an average temperature of +16-18 degrees. So they will be preserved until the next harvest. The winter variety is placed where the thermometer does not rise above + 3-4 degrees.
It is possible to determine which garlic grows in the country even at the growth stage: winter produces few feathers, they are wide and large, and spring gives a richer green mass, but the feathers are narrow. This explains the number of cloves: winter has fewer, and spring has much more. Each feather feeds one clove of garlic. Winter varieties of garlic give a harvest in the middle of summer, while spring garlic does not always have time to ripen if the summer turned out to be cool. The spring harvest time is the end of August or the beginning of September. Many gardeners from central Russia or in regions with more severe climatic conditions are afraid to plant this species and prefer winter varieties.
Which garlic is best?
No one can accurately answer this question, because each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on the goal.
- For storage, it is better to choose spring garlic: in terms of keeping quality, it has much better indicators than winter garlic. Proper storage will provide you with garlic for 1,5-2 years.
- If you want garlic for harvesting and preservation, then winter garlic is definitely suitable.. By the time of seasonal sunsets, it will just ripen, it will be juicy and exuding a rich aroma.
- If you want to harvest a large crop, plant winter varieties: such garlic has a higher yield than spring garlic.
- If there is no opportunity and patience to clean small teeth, then again choose the winter option with large heads. Yarovoy gives not such large specimens.
- You also need to focus on your own taste. If burning varieties do not suit you, it is better to choose a spring subspecies.
Another nuance: if you have a shortage of space on the site, then plant winter garlic. This species will give more yield, and it will not ripen for so long. On large plantations, spring varieties are usually grown. The winter species is not afraid of drought, frost: it is immune to any bad weather, but the spring species in an unfavorable environment can give a poor harvest. If garlic is grown for profit, then it is more profitable to plant winter varieties. They have a high yield: one head weighs from 50 to 300 g, while the spring one does not shine with such results. Its heads are much smaller (from 30 to 100 g) and it does not produce many fruits.
As for the usefulness of the exact answer, no one will give. Among summer residents, it is generally accepted that spring is more useful, but there is no scientific explanation for this. Agronomists and scientists do not distinguish any of the species, so when planting garlic, decide on the goal, and then choose the species.
People believe that spring is more useful for the reason that winter shoots arrows into which some of the nutrients go. By the way, they can also be used for culinary purposes, plus winter varieties give bulbs, from which you can grow a whole garlic head.
