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Not a single summer cottage is complete without garlic beds. After all, this is both a seasoning, and a medicine, and protection from pests.
It is not difficult to grow a vegetable, but if you miss the harvest time, then it will be problematic to keep it until spring. You need to dig the garlic on time, otherwise the heads will disintegrate and poorly stored.
There are two types of garlic - spring and winter. Planting dates are different for him, so harvesting will also have to be done at different times. The culture itself tells when to remove garlic from the garden. Watch the plant closely, and you can pinpoint the timing of harvesting the garlic.
The main signs of ripeness
Harvesting unripe or overripe garlic is unacceptable. In this case, all the efforts spent on growing the vegetable will be lost. If you dig it up earlier, the teeth will be soft. Although some summer residents use a digging ahead of time, so that the heads ripen during drying.
An overripe vegetable can re-germinate and sprout. The integumentary scales will crack, and the teeth will remain without husks. Naturally, such heads will be poorly stored. Therefore, the garlic must be harvested on time.
By what signs do summer residents determine the ripeness of the heads? The main indicators that it is time to remove garlic are:
- yellowing of the leaves, primarily the lower ones;
- the moment of drying of the outer films on the inflorescences;
- the acquisition of varietal colors by films;
- straightening the arrows in the shooting variety;
- lodging of stems;
- separation of teeth without effort;
- cracking of the seed bolls.
These signs indicate that the technical maturity of the garlic has come, but bulb formation has not yet taken place. The process will finally end after harvest.
How to determine the date when you need to remove garlic from the garden? There is no single number for all regions. There are several factors to consider. Climatic conditions are considered to be the main ones. For the middle lane serves as a reference point on July 12 - the day of Saints Peter and Paul. In the northern regions, garlic harvesting time comes a couple of weeks later. What number to remove the heads in other regions is calculated according to the recommendations of the lunar calendar and the weather forecast.
It is necessary to shift the period of harvesting the heads, focusing on the external signs of the plant. Frequent rains will cause the garlic to ripen earlier than usual, hot and dry days will delay this process a couple of weeks later. Another important factor is the fulfillment of agrotechnical requirements, namely the amount of fertilizing. Therefore the date when to dig the garlic, must be determined every year.
Summer residents are advised to start digging spring garlic in August, taking into account the planting time and the growing season of the variety. The spring species is stored better than the winter one, so precisely withstand the period when its heads must be removed for storage.
Ways to Improve the Quality of Garlic Heads
To properly harvest a vegetable, you need to start with proper preparation. Before harvesting garlic, summer residents perform pre-harvesting measures that significantly improve the quality of the heads. Preparation begins at the moment when the arrows are straightened. This indicator signals that the bulbs are starting to pour. It is necessary to increase the flow of nutrients to the garlic heads. This can be done by tying the leaves in a knot.
But it should be remembered that this will increase the ripening period of the garlic by 2 weeks.
The next nuance is that soil is shoveled from the bulbs to increase air access to the roots. This is done while the inflorescences are straightening.Reception prevents the bulbs from getting wet and accelerates their formation by 3-4 days.
Harvesting garlic according to the rules
Harvesting garlic has its own subtleties. How to harvest correctly in order to preserve all the bulbs with high quality? Gardeners adhere to some rules.
Choose a sunny and warm day. The main thing is that there should be no rain the day before.
You can dig up the bulbs with a pitchfork or a shovel. This must be done very carefully, trying not to damage the heads with a sharp instrument.
It is strictly forbidden to cut the tops and roots.
After digging up the plant, lightly shake it off the ground and set aside to dry. The place should be chosen dry, but out of direct sunlight. Experienced summer residents prepare a canopy in advance.
The vegetable is dried for at least 14 days. Then it must be cleared of the ground and the leaves must be cut off. 1-2 layers of integumentary scales are removed from the bulbs, no more. Otherwise, they will be poorly stored.
The heads are much better stored if the roots are cut with a sharp knife at a distance of 2-3 mm from the bottom, and the bottom itself is singed. Can be sealed with wax. Trimming the tops is done depending on the storage method. For a bundle, it is enough to leave 10-20 cm of the stem, and for a braid you will need at least 35 cm. Peduncles are tied and stored separately.
Storing the bulbs before planting
There are general requirements for high-quality storage of garlic:
- the bulbs must be perfectly dry;
- the room should be dark;
- for the winter species, cold (+ 3 ° С) is needed, the spring species also withstands heat (+ 18 ° С).
Places with high humidity, drafts and air temperatures above 22 ° C are categorically unsuitable for storage. Therefore, the refrigerator is not suitable for storing any kind of garlic due to the high humidity.
Methods for storing a spicy vegetable are known to many summer residents.
The option is chosen depending on possible conditions. In the presence of a dry basement or attic, garlic is well preserved in:
- Kosakh... The advantage is that it does not require a lot of space, it is easy to find and remove a broken head.
- Baskets... Good air permeability, very compact. The bulbs are folded in 3 layers, with high humidity they are sprinkled with onion husks.
- Bundles... Suitable for storing small quantities of garlic (up to 20 pieces) in a barn or attic.
- Nets... Hang on the wall in the basement, in the attic, in the shed.
In apartments only the option with glass jars is possible, and in a private house they use linen bags, boxes, jars and boxes.
Summer residents believe that harvesting garlic is easier than preserving it efficiently. During winter storage, problems may arise:
- The heads get moldy and rot. This is due to high humidity. The heads must be sorted by removing the damaged ones. The rest are placed for a week to dry in a warm place and continue to be stored in a dry place. You can sprinkle the garlic with salt.
- The teeth are drying out. The winter variety tends to dry out naturally at the end of its shelf life. To postpone this period, the heads are wrapped in cling film. With early drying, the bulbs are moved for several days in the refrigerator, then wrapped in foil.
- Color changes. Occurs when a stem nematode is affected. A bulkhead and separation of healthy garlic from the infected one is necessary. Burn the patient, the rest must be etched with an insecticide, dried and stored in optimal conditions.
- The teeth are sprouting. In this case, they are cleaned and filled with oil (vegetable). The storage temperature is maintained either not higher than + 2 ° С, or + 20 ° С and above.
- Damage by pests. With a small degree, the garlic is heated in an oven at a temperature of 100 ° C. Then they sort out, the affected are burned.
You can store garlic in different ways at the same time. The most suitable ones should be chosen in order to preserve the harvest before planting.
The one who collects the garlic efficiently and on time will always be in the best position.
