When is the best time to sow garlic? Planting times vary from region to region
In 2017, demand for garlic increased compared with previous years, easing the situation of excess production. Total garlic demand in 2017 is expected to be around 7.2 million tons. If no major natural disasters occur, the garlic market price during the 2017 garlic season will run in the range of 4 to 6 yuan/kg. It is clear that the prospects for growing it are still quite good, so when is the best time to sow garlic in China? Do planting times differ from region to region?
Looking at the garlic supply market, garlic-producing areas in Yunnan, Sichuan and other places only supply garlic from February to April each year, while from May onward the domestic market is mainly supplied by producing areas in Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Hebei and other places. Therefore, the planting times in China's main garlic-growing regions can be worked out as follows:
1. Urumqi
Spring sowing period: mid-April.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: early to mid-September.
Autumn sowing period: mid to late October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: early to mid-August of the following year.
2. Qinghai
Spring sowing period: early to mid-April.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: early to mid-September.
3. Lhasa
Spring sowing period: early to mid-March.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: early to mid-September.
Autumn sowing period: early to mid-October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: late August to early September of the following year.
4. Harbin
Spring sowing period: early to mid-April.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: mid-July.
5. Changchun
Spring sowing period: early April.
6. Shenyang
Spring sowing period: mid to late March.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: mid-July.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: early to mid-July.
7. Hohhot
Spring sowing period: mid to late March.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: mid-July.
8. Shaanxi
Autumn sowing period: mid to late September.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: early June of the following year.
9. Taiyuan
Spring sowing period: mid-March.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: late June to early July.
10. Beijing
Spring sowing period: early March.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: late June.
Autumn sowing period: mid to late September.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: mid-June of the following year.
11. Jinan
Spring sowing period: mid-February.
Spring-sown garlic head harvest period: early June.
Autumn sowing period: late September to early October
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: early June of the following year.
12. Sichuan
Autumn sowing period: August to September
Autumn sowing period: early October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: early April of the following year.
13. Guizhou
Autumn sowing period: mid to late August.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: late June of the following year.
14. Shanghai
Autumn sowing period: late September to early October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: mid to late May of the following year.
15. Jiangsu
Autumn sowing period: late September.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: late May of the following year.
16. Anhui
Autumn sowing period: late September to early October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: late May of the following year.
17. Zhejiang
Autumn sowing period: late September to early October.
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: early June of the following year.
18. Guangdong
Autumn-sown garlic head harvest period: mid-March of the following year.
In addition, it is essential to select good garlic seed. Choosing good seed garlic is the foundation for obtaining high and stable yields, especially for crops grown from vegetative organs. It is best to use large cloves as seed garlic; although this uses more seed, the resulting garlic has a thick false stem and poor quality. Therefore, small cloves, as well as cloves affected by pests, diseases or mechanical damage, should be removed.
Harvesting also requires attention:
1. Harvesting garlic scapes. Generally, when the garlic scape emerges from the leaf sheath and begins to bend, it is the suitable time to harvest garlic scapes. It is best to harvest garlic scapes at noon and in the afternoon on a sunny day. At this time the plants are somewhat wilted, the leaf sheath separates easily from the scape, and the leaves are flexible and less likely to break, which reduces leaf damage.
2. Harvesting garlic heads. Garlic heads can be harvested 15 to 20 days (mostly 18 days) after harvesting the scapes. The signs that it is time to harvest garlic heads are: most leaves have dried up, the upper leaves have faded to grayish green, the leaf tips are dry and drooping, the false stem is soft, and the garlic heads have basically formed.