Key Technical Points for Pollution-Free Cultivation of Garlic Chives (Blanched Garlic Leaves) in Winter

1. Variety Selection

It is best to choose fast-growing varieties among the purple-skin garlic types or white-skin garlic types, such as purple-skin garlic, bamboo garlic, Baigong garlic, etc. Garlic chives produced from these garlic types grow robustly, are uniform and cold-tolerant, have strong disease resistance, and give relatively high yields.

2. Building Beds and Insulation

Choose vegetable plots, vacant land in front of or behind the house, or spare indoor rooms, etc., and build beds with bricks to a height (depth) of about 60 cm; the length and width depend on the cultivation site and the number of plants to be grown.

3. Planting Garlic at the Right Time

Choose garlic heads with large, uniform cloves and good color. Remove the outer skin, discard rotten cloves, the stem plate, and garlic scapes, and soak in clean water for 18-24 hours. Arrange the garlic cloves in the bed (or on the surface of the flat plot), with the tops level, then cover with about 2-4 cm of moist fine sand or sandy loam soil. Use about 15-20 kg of garlic seed per square meter. Generally, continuous production can be carried out from Cold Dew (early October) until the Spring Equinox of the following year (late March). When most of the garlic shoots have emerged, cover the bed with grass to shade the light (close the windows and doors for indoor cultivation). When the shoots are about 10 cm tall, spray or sprinkle water once every 1-2 days. For cultivation directly in flat plots, the garlic cloves sprout 1-3 days after planting; at this time, set up a frame and cover it with grass curtains to shade the light, soften the garlic leaves, and promote their yellowing growth.

4. Temperature Management

Before emergence, keep the daytime temperature at 25°C and the nighttime temperature at 18-20°C; after the garlic shoots emerge, keep the daytime temperature at at least 18-22°C and the nighttime temperature preferably not lower than 16°C. When the shoots are more than 24 cm tall, keep the temperature at 14-18°C, and it can be lowered to about 12°C 4-5 days before harvest.

5. Water Management

Spray water once immediately after planting, and spray water once every 4-5 days during seedling growth. Use less water in the early growth stage; in the later stage, because the growing temperature is higher, the seedlings are larger, or sandy loam soil drains faster, more water should be sprinkled. Stop sprinkling water 3-4 days before harvest so the garlic chives grow plump and firm. About once a week, spray with a 0.1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution or a 0.2%-0.3% urea water solution, which helps increase yield.

6. Ventilation and Light Exposure

For softening cultivation of garlic chives, the grass curtains are generally not removed. If the garlic chives are snow-white, the bed or arched shed can be opened at noon on a sunny day a few days before harvest to improve color and quality. If high temperature and high humidity occur, ventilate to prevent seedling rot.

7. Harvesting at the Right Time

Generally, after 20-25 days of cultivation (30-40 days for direct flat-plot cultivation), when the garlic chives are 36-43 cm tall, they can be harvested. After another 20 days or so (about 30 days for direct flat-plot cultivation), the second crop can be harvested. Generally, after harvesting the second crop of cultivated garlic chives, the garlic heads should be lifted out, the sand and soil removed, and the flat plot (or bed) prepared, then the second sowing should be carried out promptly.