“Woke up” and “hungry”: how, when and with what to fertilize garlic planted before winter

Only weeds grow well in any conditions, and cultivated plants require constant care and balanced nutrition to obtain a good harvest. At different stages of development, a vegetable requires certain elements.

In addition, garlic can be spring or winter, and this has a significant impact on the basic filling of the soil with fertilizers and the timing of fertilizing. To really help the plant, and not harm it by thoughtlessly applying fertilizers, you need to learn to assess its condition and know when and with what to fertilize.

What fertilizers to apply for garlic when planting in the fall

Garlic is a spicy crop with a bright aroma, a strong antiseptic and antioxidant, an indispensable spice for canning, cooking and salads. Garlic is used on the farm almost every day, so it is impossible to imagine a garden without a large bed of this useful spice. Fertilizing in the fall during planting will guarantee a rich harvest of this unique vegetable.

Do you need fertilizer for garlic?

The root system of the crop is rather weak, limited and superficial, therefore, for full growth and large heads, it is necessary to fertilize the soil and feed the plants themselves, and you should not skimp on fertilizers.

Garlic can be planted in two ways - winter and spring, i.e. before winter or with the onset of spring. In both cases, it is necessary to feed the vegetable. In order for winter garlic to grow strong, not get sick, and produce a good, high-quality harvest, soil preparation for the garden bed must begin 2-3 weeks before planting, or even a month.

Garlic bed

How do fertilizers for winter garlic differ from fertilizers for spring garlic?

Before deciding what to fertilize garlic with, you also need to take into account the type of crop. There are winter and spring garlic. The same substances can be used to feed and fertilize these varieties, but at different times. For example, before winter, you should not apply chemical mineral fertilizers with nitrogen for winter crops - such an additive can provoke accelerated growth of the above-ground parts. And, on the contrary, a garden bed for spring crops can be generously enriched with this product, including at the very beginning.

Preparing the bed

Before the onset of winter, the plant needs time to form a well-developed root system. Organics can help with this - for 2 varieties it is mandatory to use from the very beginning. They also need to be fed according to different schemes, differing in the proportions of the components included in them.

Preparing the soil for planting

Garlic, along with other crops, should be included in a 4-5 year crop rotation cycle; the best predecessors are cucumbers, zucchini, legumes, early or cauliflower, early greens, and salads. For disinfection, the bed must first be treated with a solution of copper sulfate - 1 spoon per bucket of water.

Then the ground needs to be dug up to a depth of about 20 cm, removing weeds and their roots, generously fertilizing with humus. For 1 sq. m add at least 5 kg of rotted humus or compost, adding to it 20 g of superphosphate and a glass of wood ash. After this, the soil is well watered and covered with film for a while. Before planting the cloves, the soil will remain loose, saturated with oxygen and settle slightly.

The best fertilizers in spring and autumn

Organic (ash and manure)

Fresh manure works very well as a top dressing, but it is not recommended to apply it in the fall: the heads will become loose, and the plant itself will be susceptible to fungal diseases. In addition, manure will provoke active growth of green mass , and the heads will remain small. It is best to feed the beds with slurry in the spring, diluting with water in a ratio of 1:6, repeating 2-3 times throughout the entire growing season.

Wood ash is great for fertilizing garlic.

An excellent organic fertilizer is ash. It is added along with compost during digging or added directly to the furrows during planting. A couple of weeks after planting, you can pour in a solution of ash: 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water, 2-3 liters per square meter. m landings. Wood ash is a complete complex fertilizer consisting of a set of microelements; its application promotes the growth of large heads.

Feeding with chemicals

Chemical mineral fertilizers also have a very good effect on the growth and development of heads. Before planting in the fall, it is necessary to fertilize the soil with superphosphate and potassium salts. Potassium will help form a powerful root system of cloves before the onset of cold weather, when the soil is still warm enough, and this will allow plants to withstand winter cold well.

Nitrogen-containing organic matter or nitrogen fertilizers cannot be applied in the fall - after all, nitrogen causes active growth of green mass of plants, and winter vegetables do not need this. But we must remember that in the spring they fertilize with nitrogen before germination.

Potassium salts are especially useful in autumn

The most useful in the fall will be potassium salts, double superphosphate, potassium sulfate, nitrophoska - at your discretion. It is best to apply them comprehensively, mixing with ash and organic fertilizers - humus or compost.

What kind of green manure to plant?

Since garlic responds very well to organic matter and “green” predecessors, and loves fertile and well-fertilized soils, it goes without saying that using green manure as a fertilizer will be very useful.

The land where the bed will be located should be free of crops around the end of July . And immediately green manure plants are sown on it - legumes, cereals (rye, barley), but the best option is mustard or phacelia.

The roots and all the green mass of these plants contain a large amount of phytoncides and essential oils, which are destructive to many pests and eradicate viral and fungal diseases. Phacelia very quickly gains green mass - in 1.5 months up to 200-300 kg per hundred square meters (equivalent to 250 kg of mullein per hundred square meters).

Three weeks before planting the crop, green manure crops are mowed (before flowering begins), the bed is dug up and young greenery is planted in the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. You can water the bed for faster decomposition of biomass, which will saturate the soil with all the necessary microelements: nitrogen, phosphorus , potassium, calcium and others necessary for the vegetable to grow and develop.

Before planting garlic, it’s a good idea to plant green manure

Before planting garlic, additional loosening is not required; it is enough to make grooves and plant the cloves in them. Many experienced gardeners advise using this particular method of improving the quality of soil for onions and garlic.

Garlic culture has gained popularity and become necessary for consumption due to its beneficial antiseptic properties and unique bright aroma . It is impossible to imagine winter preserves, pickles, delicious first and second courses, savory snacks without this spice. No matter how unpretentious garlic may be, proper cultivation techniques, care and feeding will help achieve excellent harvests and provide any family with a supply of tight, aromatic cloves all year round.

Types of fertilizer

How to feed garlic in May to prevent it from turning yellow

To nourish garlic, both winter (winter) and summer (spring), various nutrients are required throughout its growth. Therefore, the logical question arises of what to feed in the spring and throughout the entire growth period. To obtain a good harvest, it is equally important that nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and other nutritional components enter the soil. All fertilizers can be divided into three main groups:

• organic;
• mineral;
• folk remedies.

Organic fertilizers

The culture responds very well to organic fertilizers applied to the soil, which contain a large amount of humus in their composition. Very often, one application of organic fertilizer in the autumn, after planting, is enough to provide the plant with all the necessary substances.

Organic fertilizers

But you should be very careful with organic matter, as it contributes to the development of fungal diseases.

Among all types of organic fertilizers, the following should be highlighted:

1. Manure. Manure should be well scattered over the beds and then dug up. Some gardeners strive to increase productivity by feeding garlic seedlings with fresh manure. With this type of soil nutrition, there is a high probability of burning the plantings;
2. Mullein. After the snow melts, using an infusion of this type of organic matter, you can stimulate the plant and give it the necessary strength for the growing season. For the solution, take 7 parts of water for one part of mullein. They should carefully water the seedlings, but try not to touch the greens;
3. Compost can be used to enrich the soil. Garlic, in principle, reacts equally well to any version of such organic matter, but it is best to use fertilizers obtained from food waste.

Mineral compositions

Mineral complex fertilizers have long been and remain the most popular fertilizer option. You can add such nutritional compositions independently, or you can use them in conjunction with organic compositions.

As practice shows, the soil is depleted as it is used, and few nutrients remain in it. Therefore, it will not be possible to obtain a harvest without additional fertilizer. Often organic matter alone is not enough.

Mineral complex fertilizers

The amount and volume of mineral fertilizers depends on the type of soil and its fertility, as well as the climate.

Modern flower specialty stores offer a large list of mineral complex fertilizers. Below are the names of the most popular ones and the rate of use for watering:

• nitrophoska - for 10 liters of water 2 tbsp. l;
• superphosphate - add 50-60 g per bucket;
• urea - 1 tbsp per 10 liters of water. l.;
• urea - a tablespoon is diluted into a bucket;
• nitroammophoska - 60 grams are added per 10 liters. substances.

In some cases, it is very good to combine different components that will help stimulate plant growth more successfully. To increase the accumulation of nutrients in root vegetables and stimulate the growth of greenery, you can combine nitrogen and phosphorus in a 2:3 ratio.

Experts recommend sprinkling the beds with dry mixtures after watering or rain. You can use a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The composition is prepared in a ratio of 8:15:35.

The volume and type of mineral fertilizers used depend on many factors:

• climatic features of the area (precipitation volume, temperature conditions, the possibility of spring frosts);
• characteristics of the garlic variety, including growing season conditions, ripening periods, etc.;
• soil characteristics (soil type, acidity);
• degree of illumination and duration of daylight hours;
• carried out crop rotation (it is best to plant garlic in areas where zucchini, squash, grains, and cucumbers sprouted in the previous year).

Crop rotation

Traditional feeding methods

In addition to mineral and organic compounds, there are many options for fertilizing that have been tested by time, since our grandparents used them to fertilize garlic plantings.

1. Watering with a saline solution can have a beneficial effect on the harvest. For each bucket of water, take 3 tablespoons of salt;
2. Wood ash. This option will also have a beneficial effect on plant growth. Garlic plantings can simply be sprinkled on top, or they can be watered with a solution (200 grams of dry matter per 10 liters of water);
3. Ammonia. A solution prepared with the addition of ammonia is used for spraying (25 ml of ammonia is added to a bucket of water);
4. Herbal infusion. To prepare the solution, take 7-8 liters of water and ¼ bucket of chopped grass. The infusion should be left to steep for a day, and only then watered;
5. Yeast. A yeast solution significantly accelerates the growth of garlic, as well as other crops. First, you should dilute 100 grams of yeast in 1 bucket of water. The solution is allowed to brew for about a day and the plantings are watered. A bucket of this product is enough for 2 square meters.

As you can see, growing garlic is not so easy, despite the unpretentiousness of the crop. Great achievements and efforts are not required, but it is still worth following certain rules. In order to harvest a healthy large harvest at the end of summer, you need to carry out regular fertilizing throughout the season. If you follow the correct fertilizer application schedule, the harvest will be good and tasty, and there will be no question why the garlic did not grow this year.

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The best fertilizers for garlic in the fall. Planting garlic in the fall: timing

It is reliably known that garlic was grown even in ancient Egypt; this fact makes this vegetable the patriarch of cultural vegetable growing. Depending on the timing of planting, garlic is divided into spring and winter - that which is planted in the fall, “before winter”. It is this garlic that is most popular, as it ripens a couple of weeks earlier and has increased shelf life; with proper storage, the winter harvest can be saved until next winter.

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How to feed garlic planted before winter

Often, for growing garlic, a technology is used that involves planting before winter. But the harvest does not always live up to expectations, which is due to non-compliance with the feeding schedule. Although the crop is considered unpretentious, it requires some attention, especially in matters of fertilization at the beginning of the season, in anticipation of the period of increased growth. You need to know how to feed a spring vegetable planted before winter.

In addition to chemicals, you can fertilize winter garlic with folk remedies - yeast, chicken droppings, and so on. Spring and winter garlic require different feedings in open ground. Also, seedlings in May and April must be properly cared for.

Winter garlic

The entire variety of varieties can be divided into 2 groups: bolting and non-shooting. Of the former, the most popular varieties are Promin, Spas, Duchess, Prometheus, Zubrenok, etc., and of the latter, Gribovsky Yubileiny, Dubovsky, Gribovsky 60, Aleysky. If you are in doubt which species this or that variety belongs to, look carefully at the head: the bolting one has from 5 to 12 large cloves arranged in one circle, and the non-shooting one has 14-30 small cloves arranged in a spiral. Planting garlic in the fall is good for non-shooting winter varieties. Fertilizers applied to the soil depend not only on the variety and type of soil, but also on the timing of planting.

Summer feeding of garlic

Approximately a month before the planned harvest, final fertilizing is carried out. Fertilizers for garlic that do not contain nitrogen are used:

• potassium humate , which contains fulvic acids. It is these substances that help garlic absorb the nutrients remaining in the soil. This fertilizer also provides the plant with potassium;
• potassium sulfate . This fertilizer contains sulfur, which is necessary for garlic.

For processing it is necessary to prepare a solution. 2–3 grams of potassium humate concentrate and 10–20 grams of potassium sulfate are added to water (10 liters). Fertilizer can be applied superficially.

The main task of the final treatment is to saturate the soil with potassium. This substance will promote the filling of the head. Thus, everything that has been built up above the soil surface will be diverted into the head.

After this, the garlic will ripen, growing the bulb. But so that your efforts are not in vain, the arrows should be removed from the plants. If this is not done, the seeds will take most of the nutrients from the head.

Optimal planting dates

Planting garlic in the fall gives the best results. Planting dates may vary slightly depending on weather conditions, but experienced gardeners advise planting garlic between September 30 and October 20. Of course, if the autumn turned out to be warm and sunny, the planting dates can be shifted a little, but you should remember that the garlic must be well strengthened before frost, but not have time to germinate much, otherwise the entire crop may die. The optimal t˚C should be at least 13–15˚C. At this temperature, planting garlic in the fall, fertilizing the soil and other work on the site will bring not only pleasure, but also a good harvest.

Before planting, it is necessary to prepare the site, remove weeds and apply the necessary fertilizing. It is quite difficult to say which fertilizer is best for garlic. It all depends on the quality of the soil on your site.

Second phase

The second feeding of garlic is carried out approximately a month after the first. The plant should have 7–8 true leaves by this time. For this purpose , a complex fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium with the formula 20:20:20 . There are many similar products on sale.

Garlic processing consists of the following steps:

1. The solution is being prepared. Fertilizer manufacturers provide detailed instructions for their preparations. Typically, 20–30 grams of fertilizer are used to prepare a solution for 10 liters of water.
2. The solution is applied under the root in the manner described above.
3. Garlic is being mulched. Straw is used for this purpose. Mulching allows you to regulate temperature and humidity. In addition, a layer of straw will prevent weeds from growing and prevent soil compaction.

After about a month, this feeding can be repeated.

The process of fertilizing garlic in the spring is necessary for the active growth of foliage and the accumulation of nutrients in them. But it's important not to overdo it. Excess nitrogen will cause the bush to have very lush greenery, but a fairly small head.

Preparing the ground

If your site has sandy loam soil, you are lucky - this crop loves it very much. Fertilizers for garlic are applied in the fall two weeks before planting; to do this, you need to dig the bed to a depth of about 20 cm and add humus of about 5-6 kg/m2. Please note that fresh manure cannot be used in this case. If the soil on your site is clayey, then you need to add peat in the amount of 1 bucket/m2.

As a fertilizer for garlic in the fall, potassium salt is also added to the soil - 20 g/m2 and superphosphate - 30 g/m2. And chalk, fluffy lime or dolomite flour are also added to loamy soil. But you shouldn’t use nitrogen fertilizers, they provoke the growth of the green mass of the plant, and for garlic the most important thing is the root part.

Basic feeding rules

Most farmers apply fertilizers almost uncontrollably. Despite the increase in the above-ground mass of plants, this does not always have a positive effect on the volume of harvests and their quality. In order for really large garlic to grow, you must not only adhere to the amount of fertilizing, but also know when the most favorable time for the procedure comes.

When feeding in spring, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. The first fertilizers are applied to the soil 2–2.5 weeks before planting, this improves the efficiency of spring fertilizing.
2. Fertilizers are selected based on the needs of plants for certain nutrients, which is determined by the type of soil and its properties.
3. Fertilizing should be comprehensive; the application of individual substances is ineffective and impractical.
4. Fertilize the beds when it is cool, early in the morning or in the evening, this helps to avoid the volatilization of substances under the influence of solar ultraviolet radiation.
5. When applying dry fertilizers, the soil must be watered, otherwise their digestibility is reduced significantly.
6. The dosages of certain substances must be strictly observed, otherwise they can cause chemical burns to plants and their death.

Spring feeding of garlic involves three successive stages of the procedure:

1. The first time the beds are fertilized 5–10 days after the snow melts. This helps plants to stimulate growth and become stronger. The most necessary during this period are mineral preparations based on urea or other urea compounds.
2. The next feeding is applied 14–20 days after the first. With its help, the gardener can achieve active formation of garlic heads. All kinds of liquid solutions consisting of potassium and phosphorus are best suited for this.
3. The last spring feeding is applied in early June. It helps to avoid the early formation of shoots on garlic, which inhibit its yield. In order for the heads to be large, the plant must be protected from nitrogenous compounds. The most common means for this is crushed wood ash.

Important! The first and second stages of feeding can be shifted by 1–2 weeks, the third must be completed on time. Otherwise, the procedure will be ineffective or will cause the green mass to wilt.

How to properly place garlic in the garden

You should not start planting the crop immediately, but about a week after applying the fertilizer. For garlic in the fall, it is very important to follow the planting rules, since watering at this time of year is very limited and the cloves may not take root well.

The most common way to plant garlic is in beds made with a hoe, but you can do it another way - make a hole for planting each clove. To do this, you need to take a metal tube or peg and push holes to the required depth.

When you use large cloves for planting, the holes should be 7 cm deep, and if the planting material is not too large, then 4–5 cm. Just before planting, pour a little wood ash into the hole - this will provide feeding for your garlic until spring.

Whatever planting method you choose, remember that the rows need to be placed at a distance of at least 25 cm from each other, and the spaces between the cloves should be about 7–10 cm wide in the palm of your hand. Do not press the cloves themselves too much - you can damage the bottom and they will not take root well, it is better to simply “put” them at the required depth and carefully cover them with soil.

Timing for fertilizing garlic in spring

Winter garlic loves moist soil, so after the snow melts, green feathers jump to the surface of the ground very early. As soon as the vegetable has released its arrows, you can start fertilizing. It is important to carry them out in a timely manner, then the heads will ripen evenly and there will be a lot of harvest. Fertilizers are applied at the specified time:

• a week after the snow finally melts (this happens differently in each region, but approximately mid-to-late March);
• 2 weeks after the first fertilization, around the 10th of April;
• at the end of spring, at the initial stage of head formation;
• in early or mid June.

Usually 3-4 times is enough; there is no need to spray the crop additionally with nutritional compounds if the soil on the site is fertile. If garlic is grown in unfavorable weather conditions and in clay soil, then additional spraying will not hurt. When performing any fertilizing, regardless of its composition, it is important to take into account a number of factors influencing the development of the crop:

• soil acidification;
• climatic features of the region;
• illumination of the ridge;
• garlic precursors;
• characteristics of the variety.

Improper application of fertilizers contributes to acidification or, conversely, the formation of highly alkaline soil, and the culture does not accept such radical changes. Before starting fertilizing, follow the correct agricultural cultivation technique. Before planting garlic before winter, make a fertile planting consisting of humus (10 kg per 1 m2), potassium sulfate (2 tbsp per m2), superphosphate (2 tbsp per 1 m2). Learn how to prepare the soil for planting garlic.

You can check the acidity of the soil by looking at currant leaves if the bushes grow close to the garden bed. Pluck a few leaves and steam them in boiling water in a transparent glass jar. After cooling, put some soil from the ridge into the jar and watch the reaction. Red color indicates increased acidity, green indicates a neutral environment, and blue indicates that the soil is alkaline.

Do I need to cook garlic and how to do it?

The day before planting, the garlic heads should be disassembled into cloves; you should not do this earlier - the cloves can dry out greatly and partially lose their properties. Also, you should not peel the skin from the cloves, because some fertilizers for garlic are applied directly into the hole in the fall, and the seed may “burn.”

Select the strongest and largest cloves for planting; small ones weighing less than 3 g will not yield a good harvest. Please note that if the entire head consists of two or three cloves, then it is not suitable for planting - it is degenerate material and there will be no harvest.

For better rooting, you can soak the culture in a solution of ordinary salt - 1 tbsp/2 l of water, and then in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This will protect the seedlings from many diseases. For the same purposes, you can use copper sulfate, a 1% solution, or use ready-made preparations. “Fitosporin”, “Barrier”, “Immunocytophyte”, “Barrier” are suitable.

Recommendations from gardeners

Some nutrient solutions can harm garlic. To provide fertilizing, it is forbidden to take fresh mullein. Rotted mass is used to feed onions.

There is a need to combine organic and mineral elements. Nitrogen-containing preparations are always used at the start of growth to form feathers, but are not added during the formation of the head.

By maintaining the regime and volumes of nutrient use, you can get a bountiful harvest that can retain its properties for a long time.

You should also pay attention to the following tips:

• in bolting varieties, you need to trim the peduncle in a timely manner when it reaches 10 cm in length;
• to prevent diseases, the teeth should be etched with a slightly pink solution of potassium manganese before planting;
• To prevent various diseases, the planting can be sprayed with peroxide. It also works as an adaptogen.

If the garlic harvest leaves much to be desired, the heads are small, despite the fact that good garlic cloves are used for planting? Please note that certain varieties must be “revived” every 3-5 years by planting bulbs.

Remember that the size of the heads depends on the variety. Study the characteristics of the plant you are growing. If the parameters indicate that a mature bulb reaches 50-60 g, it is impossible to obtain a harvest of 100 gram heads. If desired, you can find a large-fruited variety that has similar taste qualities.

Garlic seems like an undemanding plant, but it is not. For a good harvest, you need to take into account all the subtleties and nuances. Fertilizing, loosening the soil, weeding and other procedures must be carried out on time. If you ignore any rules, the collection will not be abundant.

We must remember that classical care is not enough for a good harvest. It is important to use the correct agricultural technology. The gardener should focus on the planting dates recommended for his region regarding winter and spring crops.

The peduncles of bolting garlic must be removed (broken out), otherwise the underground part will not be complete. Consequently, timely fertilizing, of course, increases productivity, but it does not guarantee success if other rules are ignored.

You may also find the following materials useful:

• Summer care calendar for sweet peppers
• If the onion shoots up in the garden: how to save the spicy crop harvest
• What to plant after harvesting early potato varieties: plan planting according to crop rotation
• Reasons why garlic turns yellow in the garden and what to do?
• Why there are no ovaries on greenhouse tomatoes: top 5 ways to solve the problem

Fertilizers for garlic in autumn and spring: when, where and how much

Autumn fertilization practically ends before planting garlic and is limited to preparing the soil layer. After planting, it is recommended to mulch the beds with dead grass, sawdust or plant tops. This will help retain moisture longer and protect the plant from severe frosts.

In early spring, as soon as the first shoots hatch, the garlic needs to be fed with a urea solution at the rate of 1 tbsp. l/10l of water. For one sq. meter should take about five liters.

A little later, in April, fertilizing should be done twice more. The first time, use a solution of chicken manure and nitroammophoska, the first you need to take 0.5 l, and the second - 1 tbsp. spoon. Mix all this in 10 liters of water. And at the end of the month, use a slightly different composition: for 10 liters of water you will need 1 tsp. urea, 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and double superphosphate.

One of the main secrets of a good harvest is foliar feeding of garlic. It differs from the usual one in that fertilizers are not poured under the roots, but sprayed from above. This is done most often when the feathers begin to turn yellow. For foliar fertilizer, ammonium nitrate or urea is used; the concentration of the solution should be much less than usual. It is necessary to carry out foliar feeding only in the evening, in cloudy weather, otherwise you can “burn” the green mass.

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Garlic loves crumbly soil and a complete absence of weeds, so the next day after applying fertilizer or watering, the soil must be loosened. By the way, if the weather is not too rainy, then the beds need to be watered abundantly - this crop loves water. However, do not overdo it - overwatering is just as harmful as drought.

What and when to feed garlic

Fertilizing garlic begins in early spring, after the snow has melted. There are several feeding schemes for this crop. The very first time they are fed after the snow melts, then the fertilizer is repeated after 2 weeks. The third time, it is imperative to fertilize during the formation of the heads.

How to feed spring onions planted before winter

If the first two feedings are carried out in a timely manner, the formation of heads will occur at the very beginning of summer.

Everything is clear about the periods of fertilization; all that remains is to figure out how to carry out these procedures. There are several options: mineral and organic fertilizers. If you do not want to use chemicals that are sold in the store, you can turn to folk recipes and use old-fashioned methods, which at one time showed good results.

Important! It is very good to fertilize with ash, since the process is simple: ash is distributed over the surface of the soil in a volume of 1 cup per square meter.

Traditional fertilization scheme

According to the rules, fertilizing winter garlic plantings coincides with fertilizing winter crops. There is only one difference: winter crops germinate earlier, so the first fertilizers are applied earlier.

The general feeding scheme is as follows:

1. After the first shoots appear;
2. Two weeks after the first application of additional nutrients;
3. During the formation of the heads.

Important! Several additional feedings may be carried out. The need for them is determined by the sheet, which will help identify the presence of nutritional deficiencies.

A plant like garlic does not like stagnant water. It is best to apply nutrient formulations along with watering. You should be very careful with organic preparations, as they often cause the proliferation of fungal diseases. Experienced summer residents recommend using mineral formulations that contain humates. These preparations are used to feed at the roots or along the leaves.

It is worth considering the features of fertilizing in terms of their composition:

1. First application of fertilizers.
   Immediately after the snow melts, most often in early April, the crop is strengthened and green mass is stimulated. Therefore, for the first spring feeding of winter garlic, it is best to use nitrogen-containing compounds. This can be primitive urea or ammonium nitrate. It is best to use watering. For 10 liters of water add 15 g of urea or saltpeter. This amount of solution can be poured up to 3 square meters. meters; Interesting fact. A yellowed and dry leaf may also indicate a lack of moisture. Therefore, it is important to monitor the condition of the soil and water it in a timely manner.
2. Second feeding. The duration of its implementation is determined depending on the period of the first feeding. To add nutrients to the soil, it will be necessary to use complex formulations, which, in addition to nitrogen, which stimulates the growth of greenery, must contain phosphorus and potassium. Among the simplest fertilizers available to everyone is nitrophoska. 30 grams should be diluted per 10 liters of water. fertilizers, the solution should be distributed over approximately 3 squares of beds. Most likely it will be late April or early May;
3. Third feeding. It is carried out during the period of active formation of root crops. Most often this period occurs in mid-June. At this time, garlic needs potassium and phosphorus as much as possible. If you give the plant more nitrogen, the tops will actively grow, but the root crop will not form to the size you want. The most commonly used fertilizers are potassium salt and superphosphate. 15 grams of the substance are diluted in 10 liters of water and distributed over 2 square meters.

If desired, fertilizing with potassium fertilizers can be replaced with simple wood ash. Place a glass of the substance in a bucket of water and pour the resulting solution over approximately 2 square meters.

Important! You can fertilize with superphosphate and wood ash separately. It is important to maintain an interval of at least 2 weeks between fertilizer applications. Pollination of tops with ash will also have a beneficial effect on the harvest.

Additional pollination

Most often, the plant is fed according to the described scheme. But sometimes, when determining a nutritional deficiency, it will be necessary to fertilize the plantings with the addition of stimulants and nutrients. Depending on the appearance of the foliage, you can understand what substances the plant lacks:

1. If the garlic foliage begins to lighten, then the crop lacks potassium. In this case, you can spray with potassium salt or simply powder the garlic plantings with wood ash;
2. If the garlic tops begin to dry out and turn yellow, then most likely there is not enough nitrogen. In this case, you can simply carry out the treatment by spraying with a solution containing urea.

Important to remember! When carrying out additional foliar feeding to create a solution, half as much fertilizer is used as when carrying out root irrigation.

Harvesting

Garlic can be harvested when a couple of lower leaves have turned yellow or dried out. The bulbs are pulled out and, together with the leaves, laid out on beds or hung in bunches in a dry, ventilated room. As the stems dry, the nutrients from them move into the bulb. Garlic is considered ready for storage when it begins to rustle in your hands. It is tied into braids or, after cutting off dry foliage, placed in linen bags for subsequent storage.

What fertilizer is best to apply in the fall under winter garlic?

Almost all gardeners plant garlic, while some prefer winter, which is planted before winter, while others prefer spring or, as it is also called, early, summer. Supporters of growing winter varieties explain that it is they that produce large heads, and that the taste and aroma are particularly rich; its teeth are rich in various useful substances.

In addition, if you know what fertilizer to apply to garlic in the fall, follow the rules of planting and care, the crop harvest will be generous. The shoots will sprout early and gain strength throughout the summer, and in July you can begin harvesting the bulbs. Unlike spring varieties, winter garlic is well stored until the next planting season and does not lose either taste or vitamins. It will ripen on the hundredth day after the shoots appear, and if the soil is well fertilized, it will be preserved well until the next season.

Winter varieties of garlic planted before winter are fertilized three times:

1. As soon as the snow melts and a stable above-zero air temperature is established during the day, nitrogen is added, which promotes the development of the crop as a whole and is necessary for garlic to grow greenery. Urea is often the chosen remedy;
2. 2-3 weeks after the first feeding, garlic needs to strengthen the immune system and continue development, for which nitrogen is again added, as well as phosphorus, which accelerates photosynthesis. It is recommended to choose nitroammophoska;
3. the third feeding is no longer spring, but early summer, that is, in mid-June, which occurs at the time of formation of the bulbs. The plant needs phosphorus, for which it is best to take superphosphate.

Spring garlic, planted in early spring, is fertilized in the same order and with the same substances, but slightly shifting the timing of fertilizing:

1. the first - when 2-3 leaves of each plant sprout appear above the ground;
2. the second - about 3 weeks after the first;
3. the third - towards the end of June.

Experienced gardeners advise that it is better to apply less fertilizer than to overfeed the garlic - the excess activates the development of the above-ground part to the detriment of the underground, the vegetable heads are formed small, are not stored for a long time and do not have good taste and benefits due to the low content of essential oils.

Autumn planting dates

Determining exactly when to plant this crop should depend on the climate of the region. But in any case, you need to guess the time a month to a month and a half before the onset of frost. If you hurry, the first frost will kill the crops, but if you are late, the bulbs will not have time to take root and will develop sluggishly in the spring.

Practice has shown that in central Russia, “winter” garlic, like winter onions, is best planted from September 20 to October 15, in Siberia - from September 15 to October 5, in the southern regions - at the end of October - beginning of November.

Preparation for disinfection of beds

The most favorable option is if pumpkin and legume plants, cabbage and green plants were previously cultivated in the area chosen for winter garlic. In addition, potatoes, garlic and onions should not be planted in this place during the previous 4 years.

Beds for winter garlic should be ready no later than a week and a half before planting. First of all, the soil is dug up to a depth of 25 cm and thoroughly loosened to saturate the soil with oxygen. At the same time, the remaining weed roots are removed. If you do not do this, in the spring the grass may clog the garlic shoots.

Important! It is recommended to grow garlic and onions in the same area no earlier than after 4 years.

Soil disinfection is a mandatory procedure in the process of land preparation. In this case, special drugs are used, such as Topsin-M and Fitosporin. They not only quickly destroy fungal spores, but also keep the soil clean in the next season. There are alternative drugs - Ridomil Gold and Acrobat, which are applied to the soil in combination with other chemicals.

You can treat the soil before fertilizing with your own means:

• copper sulfate solution (40 g of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water);
• Bordeaux mixture (100 g of the drug per 10 liters of water);
• a solution of boric acid, copper sulfate and potassium permanganate (1 g of each ingredient per 1 liter of water);
• manganese solution (powder is added to 10 liters of water until a bright crimson color is formed).

The following recipe for autumn tillage is common among gardeners: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of copper sulfate is poured into hot water (2 l). In another container with the same amount of cold water, dissolve 1 tbsp. spoon of soda and ammonia. The solutions are poured into a 10-liter bucket and topped up with cold water. It turns out to be an effective preventive remedy, which is used to water the garlic bed: 1 bucket per 2 square meters. m.

Fertilizers for garlic

The composition of the soil will tell you how to fertilize garlic when planting before winter. Different types of fertilizers are used for fertilizing:

1. Loamy soil is enriched with organic matter and mineral mixtures. For each square meter you will need 1 bucket of humus or compost, 1 glass of lime and one tablespoon of superphosphate and nitrophoska.
2. If planting is done in heavy clay soil, its structure needs to be improved. Then the fertilizer composition is supplemented with a bucket of peat.
3. When planting garlic in autumn in fertile soil, fertilizers will be required in smaller quantities: for each square meter - a bucket of humus mixed with superphosphate (30 g) and potassium additive (20 g). To improve the drainage properties of the soil, it is advisable to add peat or sand to the bed.

The benefits of mineral fertilizers

Among gardeners there are supporters of exclusively organic farming who ignore inorganic substances as fertilizers and top dressing. However, when deciding how to fertilize garlic so that it grows large, any of them will understand that mineral fertilizers are necessary for plants; they are sources of nutrients that accelerate the ripening of vegetables:

• nitrogen - a regulator of the correct balance between the above-ground part of the plant and its heads - is found in calcium, sodium and ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, urea;
• phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (phosphorus flour, potassium salt, potassium carbonate, potassium magnesium and superphosphate) will increase the garlic yield and protect against diseases.

Read also: Potatoes: preparation for planting in spring, preparation for germination

Mineral fertilizers are certainly useful, but require a sense of proportion and caution. One of the main rules when it comes to feeding plantings: the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus-potassium fertilizers should be 1:2.

Attention! When fertilizing in autumn, you cannot use a lot of nitrogen fertilizers. Excess nitrogen stimulates the active growth of green mass, which is undesirable for plants on the eve of winter.

The need for organic fertilizers

The best results are obtained by combining mineral fertilizers with organic ones. This applies to all soil and climatic regions. Large bulbs with large cloves can be obtained if you use compost, rotted manure, and bird droppings along with mineral supplements.

Important! Wood ash for garlic is not only a source of nutrition, but also a cure for diseases.

You can use the following recipes to prepare a complex fertilizer when planting garlic for the winter:

1. Mix 20 g of potassium salt with 30 g of granulated superphosphate and 5 liters of humus. If the soil is muddy, add another bucket of peat. This amount is enough for one square. meter of land.
2. Mix a bucket of humus, ½ liter of wood ash, 2 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate and one tbsp. a spoonful of double superphosphate.
3. Add 3 kg of rotted leaves and grass with wood ash, nitrophoska and superphosphate (one tablespoon each).

Attention! Fresh manure, contrary to the opinion of many gardeners, should not be used for autumn feeding of winter garlic, as it can cause the development of various diseases.

The benefits of organic fertilizers

every farmstead has these necessary additives for plants

• compost: adding just two buckets of this valuable fertilizer per square meter when digging will greatly increase the yield;
• humus (rotted manure) - 2-3 kg per square meter is enough; wood and plant ash - will replace the effect of potassium monophosphate (norm - 3 liters per square meter of land), deoxidize the soil;
• peat manure compost composition.

Autumn soil fertilization with well-composed mineral-organic mixtures is done once. For the full development of winter garlic, this is enough for the winter.

Important! Timely feeding of garlic at the beginning of autumn will improve the structure of the soil, it will settle and become compacted. And the fertilizer applied to the garlic will have time to dissolve and transform into the form needed to feed the root crop.

First feeding of garlic in spring

Fertilizing in the spring is necessary to ensure that garlic has lush green leaves by summer. The more green mass there is on the plant, the larger the bulb will grow: its growth depends precisely on the amount of organic substances accumulated in the leaves.

The solution for the first feeding should contain three main elements:

• nitrogen _ It is necessary for the active formation of plant leaves. Lack of this element leads to yellowing and slow growth;
• sulfur _ Garlic is a serophilic plant, that is, it “loves” sulfur very much. Without this element, it does not absorb nitrogen from cold soil well;
• magnesium _ In early spring, plants poorly absorb the phosphorus they need from the soil. This is due to insufficient soil temperature. Magnesium is necessary so that garlic can receive phosphorus in a timely manner.

To provide garlic with these microelements, it is necessary to use ammonium nitrate and magnesium sulfate . To prepare the solution you need to take 20 grams of each fertilizer and 10 liters of water.

In early spring, it is not recommended to use fertilizers containing nitrogen in amide form ( urea or urea ). At low temperatures, such nitrogen is not absorbed by plants and remains in the soil. That is, such processing will be ineffective.

After feeding, you need to monitor the plant. If the volume of green mass does not increase and the leaves still turn yellow, then after 2–3 weeks you can re-fertilize the garlic with the same composition.

Green manure as garlic companions

When a gardener plans to plant a winter crop, it’s time to think about green manure. These are good neighbors for winter garlic: they enrich the soil with nutrients and distract pests from the root crop. In addition, green manure traps snow and thereby helps garlic survive low temperatures. Most often, white mustard is used as green manure. But legumes - peas and beans, as well as cereals - rye, wheat, oats are also in demand in garlic beds.

Sowing green manure does not exclude the use of mineral-organic fertilizers when planting garlic in the fall. Only soil treatment with copper sulfate is excluded. They simply water the garden bed so that the soil settles and sow green manure. Sowing is done in a strip method, parallel to the future rows of garlic.

To calculate exactly when you need to plant green manure, you need to do this: by the time the garlic cloves are planted, the height of the shoots of the companion plant should be at least 20 cm.

Attention! When using this method for garlic in the fall, nitrogen fertilizers should be used locally, only for green manure, otherwise it can harm future plantings.

What fertilizers are best not to use?

Garlic tolerates any mineral, organic and complex fertilizers well, but fertilizers must be handled with care. You should refrain from using undiluted solutions. Under no circumstances should you water the crop with undiluted mullein or chicken. Due to the high nitrogen content, the underground part of the plants will simply “burn” and it will be impossible to save it.

You cannot independently increase the number of fertilizing procedures; too frequent application is addictive at best, and at worst destroys the entire crop. Experienced gardeners always alternate complementary feeding with regular watering, so the substances are absorbed faster in the soil. Agronomists do not recommend using minerals in combination with organic matter, since the concentration of nutrients increases.

Preparing winter garlic

Don't be tempted by the beautiful heads of garlic in the supermarket. It is not a fact that they will have good germination. If you don’t have your own planting material, it’s best to go to the market and buy freshly dug up heads from a private owner, always with roots. If the bulb has a smooth bottom, devoid of roots, this is evidence of its special processing. It is useless to feed such an specimen; it will be a source of all sorts of problems.

Each garlic clove should be firm with a smooth surface without any yellowness. And the entire bulb has a hard consistency, outwardly healthy, with noticeable root tubercles. Such planting material will be the most reliable.

Of course, ideally, seedlings of this crop should be prepared with your own hands.

Any gardener can get seed bulbs. It is enough to leave 5-7 heads with arrows in the summer. The time has come ─ the film of the inflorescence has burst, the arrow needs to be cut off and dried. Small bulbous teeth have ripened inside the arrow. From these, next year, “one-toothed” trees will grow, the best planting material.

Whatever teeth the gardener uses, they must be treated in a weak solution of copper sulfate or potassium permanganate. Or you can use an extract from ash.

There is another way: 2 weeks before planting, treat the cloves with a solution of Fitosporin-M.

Important! The heads should be disassembled into cloves and processed just before planting, otherwise they may dry out and not sprout.