How to water and feed garlic to prevent it from turning yellow

So, if you ignore the information on growing this healthy vegetable, you will certainly encounter the fact that garlic turns yellow: How to water and feed it to save the harvest. Of course, there are some very effective tips accumulated by gardeners, but it should be noted right away that solving a problem that has already arisen is not easy.

Basic agrotechnical requirements

It's much easier to prevent the appearance of symptoms of unfavorable plant development, for one reason or another, by initially planting and caring for garlic according to all the simple rules.

It's important to note that garlic is very sensitive to soil conditions. If you want to grow properly formed bulbs with large cloves, you should definitely take this into account. Yellowed leaves will become a serious obstacle to a high-quality and abundant harvest.

You'll be hard-pressed to determine the fertility of your soil or its mineral composition without laboratory testing. However, if you apply basic organic fertilizers regularly for preventative purposes, you can be confident that your soil's fertility is healthy.

It is quite enough if you:

— before planting, add wood ash, crushed into powder, to the holes;

- loosen the space between the rows and add rotted peat, mix it with the soil, cover with mulch, then you will definitely not see the garlic turning yellow, and folk remedies will help you water and feed it;

— Apply the first main fertilizer in the spring: if you're planting in winter, as soon as the snow melts, and if you're planting in spring, a week after planting. It's best to prepare the fertilizer yourself using organic fertilizers rather than mineral ones, as this will give you a much healthier harvest. Preparing the fertilizer is quite simple: dilute mullein with water at a ratio of 1:10 or chicken manure at a ratio of 1:12. You can also use wood ash dissolved in water at a rate of 200 g per bucket of water.

— you will carry out the second main feeding in June or early July, preparing the feeding as in the first case.

We recommend:When to dig up winter and spring garlic.

But soil fertility isn't the only factor to consider when deciding to grow garlic in your garden. Based on the accumulated experience of gardeners and the advice of professionals, it's clear that garlic prefers:

- fertile soils;

- sufficient amount of light;

- moderate watering;

- neutral soil acidity;

- correct rotation of beds;

This means that garlic should not be grown in the same bed for at least four years. Several factors come into play here: while the intense organic matter withdrawal can be compensated for by fertilizing, the toxic secretions from the root system (as with other crops) will interfere with proper growth, which will inevitably impact the quantity and quality of the harvest. There are several other possible causes, and you can explore this issue in more detail by asking the question "garlic is turning yellow, what should I water and feed it with" on the forum.

- sandy loam and loamy soils.

 

Planting garlic

As already mentioned, preventing yellowing of garlic leaves is much easier than worrying about the harvest and dealing with a problem that has already arisen. All you need to do is carefully study all the requirements for each agricultural procedure and follow them precisely. For example, it's crucial not only to consider the plant itself. planting garlic (as well as any other crop), but also the preparation of planting material.

This crop is propagated exclusively vegetatively, using garlic cloves as planting material. Briefly, it should be noted that garlic can be planted in both winter and spring, and depending on the method you choose, the general planting and care guidelines should be adjusted.

Preparation of planting material includes:

- visual selection of garlic cloves;

Before planting, cull the garlic cloves, removing any empty or small cloves when breaking the bulb. Only the outer cloves are used for planting. Also, check that each clove has roots; these should be present from the bulb itself; garlic bulbs with cut roots are not suitable for planting. Check the garlic cloves for fungi and other diseases, which are manifested by various mold spots. Also, check the integrity of the husk; the "clothing" of each clove should not be damaged, as this will otherwise lead to disease or rot of the planting material.

— disinfection;

Even if you're completely confident in the high quality of your chosen planting material, it's still worth treating it to eliminate various bacteria. This simple procedure will help you avoid the hassle of yellowing garlic and watering and fertilizing it later (video). There are several ways to disinfect it. For example, you can soak the garlic cloves in a potassium permanganate solution for 15 minutes, then let them dry. You can also follow the advice of experienced gardeners: soak the prepared planting material in a wood ash solution for two hours, then let it dry. Of course, you can also use numerous products specifically designed for disinfecting planting material.

In addition to these important measures to prevent future yellowing of garlic leaves, you can also use the additional technique of sprouting the cloves before planting. This isn't relevant to the issue discussed in this article, so we're simply reminding you that this simple pre-planting procedure can help speed up harvesting.

We recommend:Spring garlic, planting and care.

Once the planting material has been prepared, you can begin preparing the soil by thoroughly digging the garlic bed and removing weeds. Before digging the holes, keep in mind that the correct planting pattern can also affect the prevention of leaf yellowing. Typically, when spring-planted, a pattern of 20-25 x 8-10 cm is used, while for winter planting, the distance between cloves within the hole itself is slightly larger, while the distance between rows remains equal. Therefore, the pattern for winter garlic planting is 20-25 x 12-15 cm.

After preparing the holes, add a small amount of hollyhock and sand, sprinkling the sand both underneath and on top of the garlic cloves. Only then can the holes be filled with soil. This simple agricultural technique is directly related to the issue of garlic leaf yellowing. Garlic does not tolerate wet soil adhering to the soil, which can cause the cloves to become susceptible to various diseases common to this crop under unfavorable conditions.

The planting depth of the garlic bulb is also an important factor, influencing both the development of the bulb itself and, consequently, the yield, as well as the prevention of any underlying causes of yellowing garlic (we'll discuss watering and fertilizing options using folk remedies below). The optimal planting depth is twice the size of the garlic cloves intended for planting, or the approximate distance from the top of the cloves to the planting surface, which should be 4-5 cm.

 

Caring for garlic plantings

As with growing any vegetable crop, care mainly comes down to timely application of fertilizers, proper watering, taking into account the characteristics of each crop, weeding and loosening the soil.

As for fertilizer for garlicWe discussed this above, but here we'll focus on a unique agricultural technique called mulching. Mulching involves covering the planting with a material that allows for good air exchange, such as fine straw, dry grass, any wood chips, etc.

What mulching does specifically for growing garlic? Firstly, it allows for optimized watering. As we've already discussed, watering should be adequate, but never excessive. If we divide the growing season into stages, at the very beginning, when the plant is gaining strength and green mass, watering should be more generous, but still not excessive. This period continues until June (for spring planting), after which watering is significantly reduced, to once a week at most. Mulching will help prevent the soil from drying out and also protect the soil from mineral leaching due to frequent watering.

 

If yellowing of leaves does appear

Garlic soil typically lacks nitrogen and potassium, so adding these fertilizers is a good idea. If yellowing occurs in the first half of the growing season, apply nitrogen fertilizers, and if it occurs in the second half, apply potassium fertilizers.

Make a shallow furrow between the rows of garlic, add fertilizer, cover with soil, and water. It's also a good idea to mulch the fertilizer furrow afterward to prevent it from drying out and losing its potency. Another option is to water the garlic itself with fertilizer diluted in water, but this only applies if the soil hasn't been overwatered due to adverse weather conditions.

It is quite possible that the garlic planting was hit by frost, garlic turns yellow (What to water and feed), take immediate action. If this is the cause, treat the planting with any stimulant available at specialized agricultural stores.

Another cause of yellowing garlic leaf tips is a fungal infection. This can be confirmed by removing one of the plants and visually checking for black roots or other signs. In this case, it's necessary to immediately treat the garlic planting with a product specifically designed for fungal diseases (e.g., Epin or Zircon).