When Is the Best Time to Plant Garlic? Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Methods
Garlic, also called garlic bulb, is a common seasoning in our daily life. When stir-frying, people add some to remove odors or add flavor. In addition, it can also be used as medicine and has excellent anti-cancer effects, making it a rare health vegetable. But when is the best time to plant garlic? And how should it be planted? Let's take a look.
1. Planting Time
Garlic is a crop that prefers a cool environment, so depending on the climate and variety conditions in each region, it can be divided into spring planting and autumn planting. In northern regions, autumn and winter temperatures are relatively low and cold, and seedlings cannot safely overwinter, so autumn planting is not suitable. Instead, seedlings can be raised in greenhouses, sown in early spring, and harvested in summer. In southern regions, temperatures are relatively low but autumn and winter are still warm enough that seedlings can safely overwinter in the open field during autumn planting, so autumn planting is the main method there.
2. Land Preparation
Garlic does not have strict soil requirements, but it yields better in soil rich in organic matter, loose and fertile, and well-drained. Choose a plot with flat terrain for planting. Before planting, first prepare the land. First deep-plow the soil 20-25cm, then fine-plow to rake the clods fine and level, with no obvious stones or clods. Then make beds. The beds are about 1 meter long and about 4 meters wide. You can also make beds 50cm long and 4 meters wide, depending on the actual situation.
3. Sowing
Choose garlic bulbs that are larger and better colored. Manually peel the skin and separate the cloves, remove the base plate and stem plate of the garlic bulb, and grade the cloves. Select cloves that are large, pure white on the outside, undamaged, and without glossy skin as seeds. Each one should weigh up to 5 grams. The size of the seed affects the yield, so choose large seeds as much as possible. Before sowing, sun-dry the seeds for one or two days to increase the germination rate. Be careful not to do this during high-temperature periods. At a temperature of 15-17 degrees, with cool weather and not strong sunlight, this is suitable. If the seeds are sun-dried under fierce sunlight, they may be killed directly. Open furrows on the bed surface for sowing, with a furrow depth of 4-5cm and a plant-row spacing of 20×16cm. Sow 1-2 seeds per furrow, cover with a thin layer of soil 1cm thick after sowing, and water to make the soil moist.
4. Field Management
Garlic is a crop with high water demand. The soil must be kept moist so it can grow quickly. Generally, watering is done four times throughout the growing period: the first after sowing, to promote rapid germination; the second at the seedling stage, to promote rapid seedling growth; the third at the bolting stage, to promote garlic bolt growth; and the fourth at the bulb expansion stage, to increase moisture for bulb expansion and avoid poor bulb growth. At the same time, to achieve high yield, fertilization is also essential. The fertilization principle is to mainly use organic fertilizer and apply a small amount of chemical fertilizer; mainly base fertilizer, with topdressing as a supplement. When planting, apply 5000kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, combine it with an appropriate amount of compound fertilizer, spread it evenly on the ground, and mix it evenly with the soil during deep plowing; topdressing can be carried out together with watering. In addition, cultivation and weeding are also needed to increase soil aeration, avoid weeds taking away nutrients, and strengthen the prevention and control of pests and diseases.
The above is the planting time and methods for garlic. We hope it helps you. If you want to learn more about garlic cultivation, please follow us.