What is the best time to plant garlic in northern China?

The time for planting garlic in northern China is mainly around September. Before sowing, the garlic cloves need to be sun-dried for one to two days, and it is best to plant at the end of September and the beginning of October.

Garlic cultivation techniques

1. Land preparation

The plowing depth is generally about 20cm, and the soil should be finely plowed, raked level, and raked firm, with no obvious clods, achieving “even, loose, fine, clean”. Determine the length of the beds according to the water source; you can make beds 80-100m long and 4.2-4.4m wide; you can also make beds 40-50m long and 4.2-4.4m wide.

2. Seed selection

Peel and break apart the cloves by hand, remove the base plate and stem plate of the garlic, and grade them as large, medium, small, and garlic heart; small garlic cloves are handled according to the specific situation. The seed selection requirements are pure white with no red streaks, no wounds, no candying, and no shiny skin. In principle, each clove should weigh about 5g. Seed size is the key to obtaining high yield.

3. Sow at the right time

Garlic should be sown at the right time. The planting time is at the end of White Dew and the beginning of Autumn Equinox (late September to early October), with a temperature of about 17°C. Before sowing, sun-dry the garlic cloves for 1-2 days.

4. Reasonable close planting

Generally, the row spacing is 20cm, the plant spacing is 16-17cm, and about 20,000 plants per 667 sq m. The method is to open furrows with a rake or furrow opener, with a furrow depth of about 5cm, and after planting cover the garlic with about 1cm of soil.