Everyone is proud of their compact vegetable gardens on their summer cottage or even on the balcony of their apartment. In the autumn-winter period, when a person lacks vitamins, we think of onion or parsley seedlings that have turned green, for example, on a windowsill. But garlic is considered especially popular among gardeners. This is not only an excellent seasoning for any homemade dishes, but also an excellent antiviral agent. This is the best medicine for colds. Therefore, if you decide to cultivate this plant at home, you need to understand in more detail how to grow garlic at home.
Planting material
What is growing garlic at home? In order to be ultimately satisfied with the results, it is recommended to strictly follow the recommendations from real experts. Garlic is an unpretentious crop, but you also need to know how to care for it. First of all, it is necessary to correctly select planting material.
As a rule, almost all winter plant varieties produce special arrows, on which bulbs then form over time. You will grow such a crop for too long, since this plant is a perennial, and during the first year after planting it in the ground it forms its root system. Therefore, it is not advisable to use this method if you want to get the first results quickly enough.
The best solution for you is to plant garlic cloves in the ground. Examine them carefully, select large ones. They can even be slightly dried - this will not affect the result. The main thing is that there is no damage to the teeth. At the same time, it is also undesirable to select yellow or too soft cloves for planting.
If you notice that small green shoots have appeared on some of your garlic cloves, be sure to plant them in open ground first.
Such planting material will emerge from the ground much faster.
How to grow garlic from bulbs?
Garlic does not have seeds. Garlic is a crop with a three-year cycle: from a bulb to a single clove, then to a clove, and from a clove to the same bulb again.
The arrows are cut off as soon as the outer wrapper holding the bulbs begins to burst. They are tied into bunches and hung in a cool, shaded place to ripen.
The material is calibrated by selecting formed, dense bulbs with a diameter of 3 mm or more.
When sowing bulbs 5x5 cm per 1 sq. m, almost 400 single-toothed plants will grow , they will be enough for a bed of 10 square meters. m. When planted 20x20 cm, heads of 100 g or more will grow.
Using seeders, sow to a depth of 2–4 cm at the same time as winter garlic.
After sowing, the beds are mulched with humus or compost with a layer of 8–10 cm.
Growing bulbs in the second year will reduce the cost of seed. Plants from sets are more viable and productive.
Soil preparation
How to grow garlic at home? Some novice gardeners believe that they can simply collect soil from the garden into pots. However, this is not really the best solution. The thing is that garden soil can most often be used exclusively as a base for a substrate. The reason is quite clear: the crop is mainly planted in small compact containers. Due to frequent watering (and you can’t do without it), all nutritional components will gradually be washed out of the soil. In addition, the structure itself feels compacted to the touch and does not conduct air well. Be sure to take care to include peat or sand in your culture substrate.
In order for the garlic to be large, it is necessary to consider the presence of fertilizing. It is best to add humus to the soil. It is noteworthy that garlic requires mandatory mineral supplements. Wood ash can serve as such.
How to prepare the soil for planting garlic cloves at home? It is necessary to disinfect the earth mixture. To do this, place it in a hot oven for about half an hour. If you decide to purchase a ready-made substrate in a specialized store, choose a universal mixture that also includes fertilizers.
Possible problems and difficulties
The only problem is the lighting, which in most cases is insufficient, and it is because of this that the appearance of the entrances occurs later than the specified period. And therefore, before planting garlic at home, you need to make sure that this condition is met, because otherwise all the labor put in will be in vain.
Advice : If you use a certain type of garlic during a certain period of time when it should grow, then no problems with cultivation should arise, because garlic is very tenacious and can resist any pests and diseases.
Landing rules
How can you grow garlic on a windowsill? First of all, it is worth understanding the planting technology. Basically, special containers are chosen for this purpose. Firstly, caring for such a plant is much easier. Secondly, such a container will protect the garlic from penetration of all kinds of parasites into the soil. The depth of the container must be at least 20 cm. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the presence of holes for drainage in the lower part. Some farmers prefer to choose small individual containers for 1-2 cloves of garlic. But if you decide to plant them in one large container, keep in mind that the distance between the cloves should be at least 10 cm.
How to ensure the process of planting garlic cloves in the ground, taking into account all the basic recommendations? First, mix the soil with sand. Fill the container with the mixture, leaving about 2 cm of space. Plant the garlic cloves (the pointed end should be at the top). When all the planting material is in the container, place it in a sunny place, for example, on a windowsill.
Be sure to ensure that the plants have constant access to light: garlic requires approximately 8 hours of sunlight per day. Another important point when planting garlic at home is the presence of a stand. The container must be placed on some kind of base, where excess water will drain. Knowing how to properly plant garlic cloves in the ground, you will get a high harvest and in winter you will be able to add the favorite spices and vitamins of domestic gardeners to your food.
Tips for growing gorgeous garlic on an apartment windowsill
Growing garlic on a windowsill is an easy task that will give you fresh green stalks, shoots, and even garlic heads. You can plant it at any time, even in winter. One of the main reasons why you should do this: you will have a healthy, tasty seasoning that is not treated with toxic chemicals. Learn more about how to grow garlic at home!
How to grow garlic on a windowsill
You can use Chinese garlic from the supermarket as a planting material, but it is treated with long-term storage chemicals and bleached with chlorine, so it may not germinate. For best results, get homemade garlic from local farmers or visit a garden center.
Pot and soil
If you decide to grow garlic cloves, look for a pot large enough to maintain a ten-centimeter distance between each clove. If you are growing garlic only for herbs, you can plant them more closely.
Choose a pot that is at least 15 cm deep. Make sure it has drainage holes at the bottom.
The soil is suitable universal, well-drained. Fill the container with soil, leaving about 2 cm from the top of the pot to the soil.
Preparation
Separate the cloves from the head. The largest ones, those located outside, are ideal for planting.
Landing
- Make a hole in the soil with your finger or stick about twice the size of the clove (about 5 cm).
- Plant the garlic, pointed side up, 10cm apart.
- Sprinkle about 1-2 cm of soil and water.
- Place on a well-lit windowsill.
In a few days you will see green shoots.
Home care
Garlic is not very demanding! Just a few simple recommendations.
Lighting
Garlic requires at least six hours of direct sunlight per day to thrive. If you provide it with additional lighting with fluorescent lamps, growth will be more effective.
Watering
Water the plant regularly to keep the soil slightly moist.
Fertilizer
Feed your garlic plant twice a month with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer.
Harvesting
Use herbs in place of garlic or leeks in recipes as needed. Cut it off with a sharp knife or scissors if it is at least 10-15 cm high. When the leaves of the plant turn yellow and dry (after 9-10 months), dig it up to collect the garlic heads.
Growing garlic on a windowsill is usually not a good method for producing high-quality heads because the greens must remain on the plant for many months for this purpose. However, by following these simple tips, you'll be harvesting fresh, flavorful garlic herbs.
Seedling care
Growing indoor garlic is not a very labor-intensive process. You just need to understand the theory in order to then create an algorithm of actions for yourself. In general, you won’t face anything difficult; even novice gardeners will be able to cope with this task. Moreover, if you have already grown onions on a windowsill, the experience gained will be useful to you in this process.
So, the first sprouts will appear 1-3 weeks after they are planted in the ground. Why such a big discrepancy in time? The thing is that the speed of garlic germination depends on several factors, for example, on the depth of planting of the cloves. As soon as the first garlic shoots appear, it’s time to get down to business more actively. The key task of every farmer is a full-fledged harvest. And this can be achieved without much effort.
Watering
How to care for garlic sprouts planted on the windowsill? First of all, it is recommended to ensure adequate watering of the soil. The main thing is to adhere to the principle of the golden mean: not to over-moisten the substrate, but it is also undesirable to wait until its top crust dries.
Water or spray the soil after about 2-3 days. However, if your room maintains a consistently high temperature, the frequency of watering can be increased slightly.
Top dressing
In order to grow a full-fledged harvest of homemade garlic on your windowsill, it is not enough just to know how to plant cloves in the ground. It is necessary to be able to create all the conditions for the full development of the plant. For example, feeding garlic is of great importance. It mainly prefers organic matter, especially nitrogen. You can also feed the soil from time to time with mineral fertilizers.
Regarding the composition that will be most effective for garlic, it is difficult to determine one thing. In this situation, farmers use both store-bought mixtures and homemade fertilizers, for example, mullein or poultry manure. Interestingly, you can also experiment with the consistency of fertilizers. Garlic takes well both liquid nutrient mixtures and granular fertilizers or mineral sticks. It all depends on the cost of funds and your preferences.
Temperature
It cannot be said that garlic is a heat-loving plant. It will be enough to maintain the room temperature at about 20 degrees. However, experts recommend not leaving containers with seedlings in the room, but placing them on a windowsill, balcony or loggia. The main thing is that the balcony in this case should be glazed, since drafts are undesirable for any plant.
Sometimes gardeners prefer to grow garlic in order to obtain not only a harvest, but also heads. However, it is not always possible to achieve this goal at home, and if it is possible, the heads for the most part turn out to be too large. Therefore, this method of growing garlic is impractical. And for this you need to ensure an individual temperature regime: -15-16 degrees. Therefore, experienced experts advise gardeners to abandon such an undertaking.
In general, the process of cultivating garlic at home is not particularly difficult. The main thing is to approach this wisely. Follow all the basic recommendations of experts, and the results will not take long to arrive, and you will be able to enjoy fresh garlic even in early spring.
Features of varieties
Types of garlic can be divided into two main groups: winter and summer. They are distinguished by the absence of a period of “winter dormancy”, the number of teeth and their size. The choice of garlic variety for apartment conditions is similar to garden variety, but is not tied to a specific area.
The best winter varieties:
- Alcor. Mid-season, high yield. It is frost tolerant but vulnerable to yellow dwarf disease
- Gribovsky anniversary. Mid-season and high-yielding variety. Resistant to drought (which makes it easier to care for in an apartment or balcony), temperature changes and diseases.
- Varieties such as Belorussky, Lyubasha, Parus and Podmoskovny are also popular. Their characteristics are not inferior to the others, but with them it is important to monitor the shoots. Almost all varieties of winter garlic have a purple tint.
The best summer varieties:
- Sochi 56. Early ripening variety that does not shoot arrows. Resistant to temperature changes and diseases. The bulbs are large (55 g) and can hold up to thirty cloves. Suitable for those apartment gardeners who dare to grow heads of garlic. Shelf life – 1.5 years.
- Elenovsky. Mid-season, resistant to diseases and temperature changes (although it was bred for the southern regions). The bulbs are half the size of Sochi bulbs and contain from 10 to 16 cloves. Although the variety is considered a summer one, it can also be planted in winter. Shelf life – 2 years.
- Permyak. Mid-season, characterized by a sharp taste. It is distinguished by its extreme unpretentiousness and durability, but this is achieved at the expense of productivity. The head is dense and weighs 40-45 g and contains from 10 to 13 cloves. The harvest is stored for eight months.
