What soil is needed when planting garlic, what does garlic like, what soil is preferable

To grow garlic and obtain a bountiful harvest of large garlic, you need to select a site with suitable soil, which this vegetable crop loves most.

Garlic soil enriched with minerals and vitamins is the key to crop growth. To select a site, you will need information about the level of fertility, the absence of chemical and other contaminants, as well as soil acidity indicators.

In this article we will tell you what kind of soil garlic likes and in what soil it grows best.

What kind of soil does garlic need to grow?

Criteria for soil that garlic loves:

• Fertile.
• Fertilized.
• Loose.
• Neutral acidity.
• Processed (no debris, weeds).
• Without excess moisture, not frozen.

The most suitable are sandy, clayey (for winter varieties - Antonnik, Dubkovsky, Zubrenok, Komsomolets, Lekar, Novosibirsky, Petrovsky, Strelets, Caesar, Yubileiny Gribovsky) and loamy soil (for spring varieties - Abrek, Kledor, Elenovsky, Aleysky, Ershovsky, Victorio).

REFERENCE. Varieties of garlic for cultivation are chosen depending on the region of Russia, climate and soil fertility, among other things.

If problems arise with soil fertility, you can use imported soil from another site or region.

In addition, there are ways to deoxidize the soil, and if the groundwater level is high, make a high bed.

Purchased soil, which can be found at any agricultural store, will also help. It is fully prepared for growing crops - it is disinfected, saturated with fertilizers, and has an optimal acidity level.

Gardeners prepare a new nutritious soil substrate in order to obtain a good harvest.

Before planting garlic, you need to check that the soil is sufficiently aerated and loose.

The holes (holes) must be of the required depth and spacious so that the roots can grow normally. If there are problems with the growth of the root system, the garlic bulb may begin to rot. In this case, it will be useless to transplant the heads.

It is better to use for harvest those varieties that were bred specifically for specific regions. These varieties of garlic quickly adapt to favorable conditions, which promotes their growth.

Garlic storage

A cellar or basement is the best place for storage.

Winter garlic is stored in a cool room. The temperature should be from +2 to +4 degrees Celsius and air humidity should not exceed 70 percent. The shelf life is from 3 to 4 months.

Spring garlic is stored in a warm room at an air temperature of +16 to +20 degrees Celsius and a humidity not exceeding 70 percent. The shelf life is from 5 to 7 months.

Before storing garlic, you need to take care of processing the storage in advance. One of the treatment methods is fumigation of the room with sulfur dioxide. It is also necessary to remove all plant remains from last year's food supplies. This will help avoid contamination of the bulbs during storage.

The storage room for garlic should be clean and dry, with a good ventilation system. Boxes, thick cardboard boxes, finely woven baskets, old nylon stockings, fabric bags, that is, any breathable material or container, are used as storage containers.

Before placing the garlic in a container, it is important to sort through the bulbs, removing those damaged during digging. Clear the soil and leave it on the bed to dry or place it under a canopy for 4 to 5 days. Then cut off the root and stem, leaving a stick about 10 - 12 centimeters long.

During storage, periodically inspect the bulbs, selecting spoiled ones. Make sure that no moisture gets into the storage area.

If there is no special storage space, it is recommended to place the garlic in the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator.

Under no circumstances should you put garlic heads in a plastic bag, as it will quickly deteriorate. It is better to place the garlic in a paper bag and put it in the refrigerator.

To store it in an apartment, take a plywood box and place garlic in it, sprinkling layers with dry sawdust. Glass jars are also suitable as containers. In this case, the garlic is sprinkled with salt and the jars are left open.

Paraffin from a melted candle allows you to extend the shelf life of garlic. To do this, dip each onion in hot paraffin. This will create a conservation effect.

Basic criteria for storing garlic:

1. Room temperature;
2. Air humidity;
3. Pre-treatment of the room.

If you need to store garlic not as planting material, but for the purpose of using it as food, then pickling, canning and salting are widely used.

In conclusion, it can be noted that garlic is not only a useful product for humans, but also a good opportunity to make a monetary profit without investing large amounts of material and labor resources.

Growing this plant does not require a large area of ​​land and already in the first year, if you follow the growing technology, you can get a good harvest.

How acidic should the soil be?

One of the most important indicators of soil quality when growing garlic is its acidity level.

The acidity level should be low and not low - Ph 6.5 - Ph 7. This vegetable crop will not withstand an environment that is too acidic and too alkaline, in which the garlic bulb will not be able to develop properly.

IMPORTANT! You don’t need to change soil acidity levels yourself if you don’t have the necessary tools. You can buy a soil acid meter or a set of special litmus papers at a hardware store.

To change the acidity level of the soil, you need to use specialized purchased mixtures to reduce or increase the level.

What soil is best suited for planting garlic in the fall before winter?

When growing winter garlic in the fall, sandy or loamy soil is suitable.

The acidity level must be maintained in the region of Ph 6.5 - Ph 7.

ON A NOTE. To check the indicator, use currant leaves soaked in boiling water. If after adding a handful of soil it turns greenish, the soil is suitable for planting garlic.

Red peat and sulfuric acid will also help increase or decrease acidity. Proportions – 1 drop of substance per 1 liter of water. Consumption - a ten-liter bucket of mixture per square meter of garlic beds.

The most fertile will be the beds on which spices, legumes, zucchini, and cucumbers grew before garlic.

It is also recommended to spray the planting holes with agents against fungus and pests (boric alcohol, copper sulfate and others).

Botanical description

The root system of garlic is fibrous, the bulb is round, slightly flattened, complex, forming in the axils of scales from 2 to 50 children, called lobules or cloves, covered with white, yellowish, pink-violet or dark purple leathery scales. The leaves are narrow, lanceolate, grooved, keeled on the underside, entire, drooping and erect, up to 1 cm wide, 30 to 100 cm long. The leaves sprout from one another, forming a false stem like the stem of an onion, but more durable. The peduncle reaches a height of 60 to 150 cm and ends in an umbrella-shaped inflorescence, hidden by a filmy membrane until the opening of sterile flowers on long stalks with pale lilac or white petals up to 3 mm long and six stamens. The fruit is a capsule. There are spring and winter garlic.

How to prepare a bed for growing garlic in the spring?

Need to:

• Level the area, get rid of weeds and debris.
• Build beds of any length, with a width of at least 1 m.
• If it is dry, moisten the soil and let it sit for several days.
• Add fertilizer - ash, compost or mineral fertilizers.
• Then you need to move on to digging planting holes. It is better to plant garlic at a depth of 8 to 13 cm.

Ways to increase productivity

Even novice gardeners know that without fertile soil it is impossible to get a good harvest of any crop, including garlic. For intensive growth and development of seedlings, the soil should be well prepared. Garlic begins to grow from the root, so it is necessary to improve its rooting without burdening the soil with water.

To do this, you need to add mature humus with mineral fertilizers to the soil at the rate of 8-10 kg per 1 m². In addition, superphosphate with a high potassium content can be used. At the end of site preparation, it is necessary to feed the soil with charcoal or sawdust. Before planting garlic, all the soil must be thoroughly dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, large clods must be broken up with a rake and leveled.

It is best to use long-acting drugs, because... This will not only protect plants from diseases, but will also help them more easily tolerate negative external environmental influences. In the spring, such seedlings will acquire good immunity.

Garlic. The illustration for the article is used from open sources.

Some gardeners do not welcome chemicals, so they use such a secret ingredient when planting garlic as humus, which contains large amounts of phosphorus and potassium.

Those gardeners who use chemicals can buy Fitosporin. It is diluted with water in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and filled with perlite. This composition is a good protection of plants from various fungal diseases. It is added before planting garlic, 1 tsp. into each hole.

This culture also requires the right neighborhood. It could be carrots that repel the onion fly, which harms not only onions, but also garlic.

What kind of soil does garlic not like?

The soil should not contain:

• There are a lot of nitrogenous compounds, since the growth of teeth may stop.
• Excess organic matter, which will lead to premature rotting.
• Lots of liquid before planting, as excess moisture will cause the fruit to rot.
• Frozen soil, since the garlic may not take root, and the cloves may even freeze out.

When carrying out work, it must be taken into account that the amount of fertilizer should not be excessive. An excess or deficiency of one or the other can lead to crop loss.

What fertilizers can be applied to the soil before planting garlic?

Gardeners recommend mineral and organic fertilizers and folk remedies. The first include superphosphate, nitroammophosphate, potassium salt, potassium sulfate. For the second and third - compost, ash, yeast.

NOTE! When planting garlic in the fall, you cannot use preparations that contain large quantities of nitrogen. These are urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia. If you plant spring garlic in the spring, then such products can be used.

Disease and pest prevention measures

The most effective preventive measures are:

• compliance with crop rotation;
• timely removal of plant residues and deep digging of the soil;
• disinfection of seeds and soil before planting.

To combat fungal diseases, use “Fitosporin” or Bordeaux mixture.

To combat pests, a folk remedy is used - an infusion of tobacco dust (1 glass) with ground pepper (1-2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

Minor physical effort, proper care and small financial resources spent on growing garlic in open ground will certainly pay off with a good harvest.

After what can and cannot be planted garlic?

It is not recommended to plant garlic after crops such as:

• Pepper.
• Onion.
• Greenery.
• Carrot.
• Physalis.

Growing nearby have an adverse effect:

• Radish.
• Salad.
• Turnip.
• Celery.
• Mint.

Neutral yield indicators after:

• Beetroot.
• Tomatoes.

The best garlic harvest is obtained after planting:

• Potatoes.
• Beans.
• Peas.
• Ogurtsov.
• Eggplant.
• Pumpkins.
• Cabbages.
• Strawberries.

IMPORTANT! It is necessary to follow the rules for forming beds and preparing the soil for planting vegetables. Garlic should be grown in the same place no more than once every 4 years to prevent soil depletion.

Garden bed care

Garlic is one of the unpretentious garden crops. All it needs is proper watering, loosening and fertilizing if necessary.

Garlic beds are watered once a week or two in normal weather, and during the rainy season, watering is reduced to a minimum. They are stopped two weeks before harvest. Periodically, the beds are loosened for better moisture saturation.

Feed garlic three times per season:

• after the first 2-3 leaves appear, the bed is watered with water and urea at the rate of one tablespoon per bucket of water;
• after a couple of weeks, water with another solution: half a spoon of urea and one spoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate per bucket of water;
• when the bulbs are formed and the arrows appear, do the last feeding: two spoons of superphosphate and a spoon of potassium sulfate in a bucket of water.

Features of planting garlic at different times of the year

Gardeners advise preparing a site for planting garlic before winter (autumn) and spring. Before this, the soil is thoroughly loosened.

The following substances are used to enrich the soil with minerals:

1. Copper sulfate.
2. Peat (in clay soil).
3. Humus, compost, potassium, lime, clay (in loamy soil).

Gardeners use nitrogen and potassium salt for winter varieties. The crop will grow healthy if the soil is oxidized according to the rules. It is recommended to perform these tasks before the onset of cold weather.

Preparations before landing

The time of planting and the variety of garlic determine the nature of the preliminary soil preparation. It is customary to divide garlic into spring (planted in the spring) and winter (planted in the fall).

In spring (for spring)

Before sowing, you must wait until the soil has completely warmed up. Planting is usually done in April. The seed material is preliminarily removed for 14-21 days in the refrigerator. It is this trick that allows you to get a quick and rich harvest.

Preparing the soil for spring garlic begins in advance - in the fall. The area for the beds is fertilized and dug up. The choice of fertilizing is determined by the type of soil. So, for 1 sq. m. of loam you will need 4000 g of humus, two large spoons of Superphosphate, a small spoon of urea.

Alumina is enriched with sand, peat and leaf humus (in a ratio of 2:1:1). Clay soil and humus are added to sandy soil, sand and humus are added to peat soil (in a ratio of 10:6).

After wintering, the soil must be loosened, watered and planting of spring garlic can begin.

In autumn (for winter crops)

Soil preparation for winter varieties of garlic begins in August. After removing the tops of the previous crop, rotted organic matter and mineral fertilizers are added to the soil, after which the area is dug up.

If the soil is acidic, lime is first added (2 kg of fluff per sq. m.). Wood ash is also great because it balances the pH of the soil and enriches it with minerals. Application rate – up to 3000 g per square meter. m.

Planting material is carefully inspected for mold, rot and other damage. Garlic is kept in a dry place for planting, since raw garlic will immediately begin to grow, which should not be allowed.

Note. You can protect planting material from diseases by soaking it for 2 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Only large, healthy cloves are suitable for planting. The depth of their embedding in the soil is 5 cm. The top of the beds is covered with a layer of mulch, which is removed with the arrival of spring in order to protect the crop from overheating.

Gardening Tips and Tricks

Professionals advise:

1. It is necessary to select the most level area for planting. Water will accumulate in the lowlands, and at higher elevations, winter varieties of garlic will not be able to take root.
2. A well-lit area that does not have trees with a dense crown is suitable. In the shade, garlic plantings will not be able to develop and grow.
3. The place should be free of weeds and garbage. It is not recommended to use soil on which crops have already grown for several seasons in a row.
4. Before planting, it is necessary to fertilize, oxidize, and loosen the soil.
5. For spring varieties of garlic, it is better to use humus and potassium salt.
6. 3-4 weeks after planting, you need to water the ground with an ash solution.

Gardeners need to monitor soil quality regularly.

Selection of varieties

Almost all types of garlic are grown and thrive in open ground. At the same time, for each region it is important to select zoned varieties that give the greatest return. Winter and spring varieties are cultivated in open ground. Among winter crops there are two groups:

• Shooters - Spas, Dobrynya, Alcor, Gribovsky-60, Gribovsky Jubilee, Komsomolets, Lazurny, Losevsky, Lyubasha, Nadezhny, Parus, Bogatyr, Rusich, Sagittarius, Caesar, Chechensky, Polet and others. The varieties of this group are the most common and popular. They reproduce by cloves from the mother bulb and by seeds.
• Non-shooters - Doctor, In Memory of Ershov, White Elephant, Novosibirsk. The group's varieties are small in number. They reproduce only by teeth.

Widespread spring, non-shooting varieties of different ripening periods:

• early - Sochi;
• late - Gulliver;
• mid-season - Elenovsky, Victorio, Ershovsky, Abrek, Demidovsky, Aleysky, Orlovsky, Degtyarsky, Samorodok, etc.

Common mistakes

When choosing a place to plant garlic, beginners often make the following mistakes:

1. Garlic cloves are planted in unprepared soil, which leads to slow development of the bulbs.
2. They do not fertilize, do not moisturize additionally, and do not monitor the temperature.
3. They do not follow the rules for seasonal planting.

Such actions by gardeners lead to consequences - rotting of planting material, slow growth, and changes in the taste characteristics of the variety.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Why is it not recommended to use garlic growth supplements?

Growth stimulants and other elements that promote weight gain and the appearance of special taste qualities in the fetus are harmful to the body. They contain chemical, unnatural substances.

Are store-bought soil mixes suitable for pre-planting?

Store-bought mixtures are better suited as fertilizers. They contain the entire complex of correctly selected beneficial substances. Thanks to this product, garlic will grow healthy and strong.

Is it possible to plant cloves between beds with other plants?

Many crops absorb all nutrients and minerals during the growth process. Planting is allowed only next to strawberries and some other plants.

Is it possible to plant seed that is more suitable for the temperate climate in the north?

It is possible, but the result can be disastrous. A gardener may harvest small-sized garlic or not grow a crop at all. It is better to follow the advice of professionals and avoid mistakes.