Detailed Explanation of Garlic Planting Methods and Key Technical Points

Garlic, also known as garlic bulb, garlic head, hu garlic, hu, single-clove garlic, or single-head garlic, is the collective term for plants of the garlic group. It is a half-year herbaceous plant of the genus Allium in the lily family (Liliaceae), and its bulb is used medicinally. It is harvested in spring and summer, tied into bundles, hung in a ventilated place, and dried in the shade for later use. As the farming proverb says, "Plant garlic before the ninth month, or you will get single-clove garlic"; when the leaves wither in June, dig it up, remove the mud and sand, and dry it in a ventilated place or roast it until the outer skin is dry.

Garlic Planting Methods

1. Select Good Varieties

Choosing a suitable garlic variety according to the different parts to be harvested is crucial.

According to clove size, garlic can be divided into large-clove garlic and small-clove garlic. To harvest mainly garlic sprouts, choose early-maturing small-clove varieties, such as white-skin garlic, which has a short growth period and comes to market early.

To harvest mainly garlic scapes and garlic bulbs, choose large-clove garlic with larger cloves, mainly purple-skin garlic varieties.

To ensure yield and quality, the seed garlic should be selected from cloves of uniform size, free of mildew and rot, and with a good stem plate. Before sowing, peel off part of the garlic skin and remove the small cloves.

2. Sow at the Right Time

If garlic is sown too early, it will sprout slowly because it is still in the dormant period; after sprouting, the high early temperatures and excessive growth before winter will greatly weaken the cold resistance of the garlic sprouts, and in the later growth stage the lower leaves of the plant are also prone to turning yellow and senescing early.

If sown too late, the growth period of stems and leaves will be shortened and the number of leaves will be fewer, but the garlic bulb maturation period will be the same as or slightly later than that of early sowing, so the garlic bulbs will be smaller, the yield low, and the quality poor.

3. Planting Density

For green garlic (garlic sprouts), a plant spacing of 2-3 cm and a row spacing of 13-17 cm is generally required, with 250-350 kg of seed used per mu;

For garlic grown mainly for harvesting scapes and bulbs, a plant spacing of 7-8 cm and a row spacing of 14-17 cm is generally required, with 150-200 kg of seed used per mu.

Reasonable close planting not only ensures quality but also ensures yield.

4. Sowing Method

Before sowing, the garlic can be sun-dried for 1-2 days; to prevent mildew and rot after sowing, the seed garlic can be soaked in a chemical solution for 4-6 hours.

The sowing depth is generally 3-4 cm; too deep or too shallow will both affect emergence.

5. Land Preparation and Sowing

Garlic should not be continuously cropped on the same land; continuous cropping will cause various diseases to worsen year by year and disturb the soil nutrient balance, thereby affecting the yield and quality of garlic. Rotating in separate plots should be advocated, with a full rotation once every 2-3 years.

For autumn-sown garlic, after the previous crop is harvested, promptly clean up diseased and fallen leaves, weeds, and other debris in the field, and apply 5000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer, 40 kg of diammonium phosphate, 25 kg of urea, and 25 kg of potassium sulfate per mu.

Mix these fertilizers evenly and spread them together on the soil surface, plow the soil more than 25 cm deep so that the fertilizers are distributed evenly in the soil, then level and finely prepare the land, make beds, and sow.