How to Grow Garlic Well? A Detailed Guide to Practical Growing Methods
Garlic is an indispensable seasoning in cooking, needed by every household, and the market capacity is relatively large. Garlic bulbs are easy to store and transport, and can be pickled into many kinds of food, so they can be supplied to the market all year round. Garlic contains phytoncides, which have inhibitory and bactericidal effects. The edible parts of garlic include green garlic (green leaves and false stem), garlic scapes (flower stems) and garlic bulbs (bulbs). Growing garlic offers relatively high economic returns.
Garlic should be planted in fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam soil. The sowing period is from August to mid-September; for cultivation as green garlic, it should be earlier, and sowing can be done before mid-August, while for cultivation of garlic bulbs and garlic scapes, sowing can be done from late August to early-to-mid September. Before sowing, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied; generally, more than 2000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure such as pig, sheep or duck manure per mu, 30 kg of superphosphate, and 5 kg of potassium sulfate; for acidic soil, 50-70 kg of quicklime should be added to adjust the soil pH. After plowing, harrow finely and make beds, with a bed width of 1.4 m (including ditches).
The main garlic varieties in my area are Chengdu Ershuizao and Sichuan Yundingzao. Both varieties are dual-purpose types for green garlic, garlic scapes and garlic bulbs, and belong to early-maturing varieties. Generally, green garlic can be harvested from October to March of the following year, garlic scapes from March to April, and garlic bulbs from May to June. The seeding rate per mu is 50-70 kg of garlic cloves. The cloves should also be graded by size to help achieve uniform emergence and growth. The row spacing and plant spacing are 15 x 10 cm, and the cloves are inserted into the soil until level with the mud. After sowing, cover with 1 cm of soil. Then use 100 ml of 50% acetochlor per mu diluted in 45 kg of water for a fine spray over the whole field to prevent and control weeds. Then cover with pigpen manure or rice straw, and apply dilute human and livestock manure. After that, pay attention to watering to preserve soil moisture to help emergence; generally, seedlings emerge in 10-15 days. Garlic has a relatively high fertilizer requirement; when the seedlings are 3-5 cm tall, topdressing should begin, applying 20 loads of human excrement and urine or 10 kg of urea per mu each time, once every 15 days, for 3-4 consecutive times. Two months after emergence, green garlic can be harvested, with harvests done in stages until March, generally yielding more than 1000 kg of green garlic. After each harvest of green garlic, topdressing should be applied once; in early March and at the end of March, a heavy fertilizer application should be given each time, using 15 kg of urea per mu diluted in water and poured on to promote the growth of garlic scapes and garlic bulbs.
The main diseases of garlic include white rot, leaf blight and purple blotch. When they occur, 70% thiophanate-methyl or 50% carbendazim can be diluted in water and sprayed for control. The main pests include garlic maggots and onion thrips. For garlic maggots, 50% phoxim at 500 times can be used as a root drench; for onion thrips, 10% imidacloprid or 80% dichlorvos can be used for control.
From April to June, during the garlic bulb enlargement period, fertilizer should be applied appropriately; by the late stage of bulb enlargement, stop fertilizing and watering, and pay attention to field drainage to avoid rotting of the garlic skin and the appearance of separated cloves. When the garlic scapes have grown about 10 cm out of the leaf sheath, the scapes can be harvested, generally yielding around 200 kg per mu. When the garlic leaves turn yellow and withered, choose a sunny day to pull up the whole garlic plant, tie it into bundles, and hang it in a cool place for storage or take it to market @#@136@#@.