How to harvest garlic scapes? Remember these four tips

In recent years, many scape farmers have changed the old cultivation method of growing green garlic and digging up green garlic for market into the cultivation method of harvesting garlic scapes and digging up garlic bulbs for market. Among them, many farmers, because they do not know how to harvest garlic scapes scientifically, either end up with poor-quality garlic scapes and low yields, or with small garlic bulbs and heavy yield reductions, and cannot achieve the best results in increasing production and income. To ensure harvesting high-quality, high-yield garlic scapes while also getting a bumper harvest of garlic bulbs, I will introduce to everyone the four "secrets" of scientifically harvesting garlic scapes.

1. Choose the right harvest time when the "scape tip" curves nearly a full circle. Garlic scapes must be harvested at the right time. Harvesting too early will, because the scape has not fully emerged, cause a low garlic scape yield, and after harvesting another section of "surplus scape" will extend out. Harvesting too late will not only affect the fresh, tender quality of the garlic scapes because the scapes are "over-mature", but also, because after the garlic scapes are harvested the leaves are already near senescence and transmit less energy to the underground garlic bulbs for growth, affect the yield of the garlic bulbs. The most suitable harvest period is: when the garlic scape has emerged and the "scape tip" curves nearly a full circle.

2. Choose cloudy weather or after the sun slants west on a sunny day for harvesting. Harvesting garlic scapes leaves "wounds" on the stems and leaves of the garlic. If harvested under strong sunlight on a sunny day, the large transpiration and excessive water loss will shorten leaf lifespan and affect garlic bulb growth. Cloudy days and after the sun slants west on sunny days are the best harvest weather; when harvesting on rainy days, take care to step as little as possible between the garlic rows to prevent soil compaction.

3. Cleverly use a "needle" when harvesting, harvest the scape without harvesting the leaves. In the past, many garlic farmers, when harvesting garlic scapes, pinched off the garlic scapes together with the garlic leaves. This method cuts off more than half of the source of life for garlic bulb growth. The best method is to use a "large needle" for sewing clothes or sack openings to pierce in from the part where the garlic scape is to be harvested, slit vertically from bottom to top, then pinch off the garlic scape and pull out the garlic scape, leaving all the leaves for garlic bulb growth.

4. Apply fertilizer once in time after harvesting

Garlic after harvesting garlic scapes is like a patient after suffering injury to muscles and bones, or a woman after "childbirth": physically weak, it needs timely nutritional supplementation. Generally, per mu apply 20 to 30 loads of decomposed dilute human and livestock manure and urine as a drench, or 100 g to 150 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate plus 0.5 kg to 1 kg of urea for foliar topdressing.