How to plant garlic before winter: when to plant and how to prepare for planting

Garlic is valued for its unique taste and numerous beneficial properties. Growing garlic is not difficult, the main thing is to plant it at the right time and provide proper care for the plant.
Content:
- Optimal timing for planting
- Features of preparing soil and garlic for planting
- Rules for planting garlic before winter
- Necessary conditions for cultivation
- Garlic care measures
Optimal timing for planting
To get a good winter harvest garlic, you should know in what period to plant it. The optimal time for planting is mid-October and until the end of November. Planting should be done 1.5 months before the onset of cold weather. Gardeners and gardeners should monitor the weather. In addition, the timing may vary depending on the climate of a particular region.
In the middle zone, garlic is planted at the end of September and until mid-October. If you plant it late, the garlic will not take root and will freeze. Planting too early (late August or first ten days of September) also has a bad effect on the harvest. During this warm time, the teeth will begin to grow, and this weakens winter hardiness. If the temperature drops sharply, your teeth will suffer greatly.
Features of preparing soil and garlic for planting
The soil must be prepared 10-15 days before the cloves are planted. The site must be level, without slope. The ground is dug up to 20 cm and stones, weeds and other debris are removed.Then add manure or humus. You will need half a bucket per square meter. Fresh manure should absolutely not be added, as it will destroy the garlic. Next, it will take 1.5-2 weeks for the soil to settle.
If you rush and plant the cloves immediately after digging, they will go too deep into the soil and rooting will be delayed. In addition, in the spring the garlic will not have enough air, and it will spend energy on germination, which will ultimately affect the harvest.
For planting, it is important to select high-quality material. The teeth should be dense, without rot, dents, cracks or plaque. The outer shell must not be damaged. Even minor spots of rot or mold during planting can infect the remaining teeth.
After selection planting material disinfection is necessary. To do this, dip the garlic cloves in a 1% solution of copper sulfate for 30 minutes. Instead, you can use ash lye, a weak solution of potassium permanganate or table salt. After this, you can start planting garlic.
Rules for planting garlic before winter
Planting can be done in rows or in a semicircle. Preliminarily mark the planting site according to a 10x15 cm pattern. The depth depends on the size of the cloves. One clove should be deepened by 5-10 cm. Larger cloves should be planted at a distance of 15 cm from each other, and small cloves should be planted at a distance of 10 cm.
It is necessary to maintain a distance between rows of about 20 cm. When caring, you can easily loosen the soil, weed and apply fertilizer. When planting in grooves, it is advisable to pour sand on the bottom. This will help prevent the cloves from rotting while in wet soil.
When planting, you should not press the cloves too hard into the ground, as the garlic will stick out from the soil. Next, fill the holes with compost.In cold regions it is necessary to mulch soil. You can use spruce branches, fallen leaves, etc. as mulch. The mulch layer should be about 2 cm. With the onset of spring, the protective layer is removed.
Necessary conditions for cultivation
Experienced gardeners know that to obtain a bountiful and healthy harvest, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for all vegetable crops, and garlic is no exception. It is not recommended to grow garlic in the same place.
The location needs to be changed periodically. It is not advisable to plant garlic in place of onions, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. The listed vegetable crops spread fusarium. It's fungal disease often affects garlic heads. You can grow garlic in place of cabbage, pumpkin, and legumes.
It is important that the plant takes root, so it should be planted in a place where there is enough sunlight. It is not recommended to grow in the shade. It is better to plant on a hill.
Garlic care measures
To get a rich harvest, it is not enough just to plant garlic. It is necessary to provide proper care for it. The gardener starts work only when the snow begins to melt. When the soil dries out, weeding is carried out. This procedure ensures air exchange and promotes rapid growth of the vegetable crop.
In spring, the soil is usually moist and does not need watering, but during dry periods the plants need additional watering. This procedure should be carried out if they begin to dry out.
If it is not possible to water the garlic, then after the next watering you should mulch soil. Mulch will retain moisture in the soil. It is necessary to regularly clear the plant of weeds.In order to increase green mass, a sufficient amount of nutrients must be supplied to the crop in the spring.
Garlic loves nitrogen very much, so you can use any nitrogenous fertilizer. Urea is a good mineral fertilizer to use. Urea granules can be scattered between the beds and sprinkled with soil, or dissolve a tablespoon of fertilizer in a bucket of water and water the plants.
Caring for winter garlic is an important undertaking that should not be neglected. The future harvest of garlic will depend on proper and proper care.
Video on how to properly plant garlic before winter: