What is the most suitable month to plant single-clove garlic?

SummarySingle-clove garlic is generally planted in September in autumn, or before mid-March in spring. During bulb expansion, the temperature should be kept at around 20-25°C, not too high, and the sunshine duration should not be less than 13 hours. Therefore, single-clove garlic planting must be adapted to local conditions, choosing a suitable sowing period.

I. Seed selection and sowing

Before planting single-clove garlic, you must choose the planting variety according to your production purpose. If the main purpose is producing garlic bulbs, choose white-skin garlic with larger bulbs, plumper cloves and clear distinctions as seed garlic. If the main purpose is producing garlic scapes, choose paper-skin garlic with better bulbs and plumper cloves as seed garlic.

II. Land preparation and fertilization

Single-clove garlic should not be planted in continuously cropped land. Before planting, deep plow and loosen the soil first, then apply organic fertilizer, phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer in a certain ratio. Per mu, apply about 1500-2000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure, together with 15-20 kg of potassium fertilizer and 30-50 kg of phosphorus fertilizer.

III. Timely sowing

1. The temperature suitable for garlic bulb expansion should be stable at around 20-25°C. If the temperature is higher than 26°C, garlic will enter dormancy. During growth, garlic needs at least about 13 hours of sunshine. If the sunshine time is too short, new leaves cannot form lateral buds on the phosphorus disc. Therefore, adapt to local conditions and choose a suitable sowing time for sowing.

2. Generally, in autumn, garlic should be sown from the Autumn Equinox to Cold Dew, that is, in September, about 20-30 days later than normal garlic. In spring, sow before mid-March, when the soil begins to freeze and thaw. Then prepare the land into flat beds for broadcast sowing, or open furrows in the beds for drill sowing.

IV. Reasonable close planting

Garlic planting can be reasonably densely planted according to the overall and individual growth of garlic. White-skin garlic can be planted with a row spacing of about 16 cm and a plant spacing of about 10 cm; the total yield is more than 25% higher than the control, the bulbs are larger, and the cloves are plumper. Red-skin garlic can be planted with a row spacing of about 10 cm and a plant spacing of about 8 cm.

V. Later-stage management

1. Management should be strengthened in every growth cycle of single-clove garlic, especially during the phosphorus bud expansion stage. Water and fertilizer should be increased in time. Per mu, apply about 10-15 kg of urea. To keep the soil from drying out, water once every 3-5 days. In addition, appropriately apply additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; 600 times potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be selected for foliar spraying.

For garlic sown in autumn, strengthen management after autumn. Before overwintering, strengthen heat preservation and cover with a layer of firewood, grass and other materials. When the temperature rises in spring, remove the covering and water appropriately. By mid-March, carry out regular intertillage, which helps increase soil temperature, preserve soil moisture and control root maggots; 1000 times dimethoate can be sprayed.