What is the correct depth to plant garlic in winter?

Few gardeners know the correct depth to plant garlic before winter. Before planting, they prepare the soil, consider the best time of year, and choose the right method. The planting material plays a crucial role. Experienced gardeners select specific varieties of garlic and prepare the bulbs accordingly.

The main differences between spring and winter garlic

A head of spring garlic has 25 small cloves. They are arranged in 2-3 rows. There is no axial stem. It has a milder flavor than winter garlic. It stores well and can last for a year without losing its properties and qualities. spring garlic It's not worth it until spring.

The best time to plant winter garlic is in the fall. Each bulb consists of a single row of 12 cloves arranged around a round stem. The flavor is sharp, pungent, and rich. Winter varieties don't have a long shelf life. They are eaten in the fall and summer, and used for canning.

Predecessor crops: which plants should garlic be planted after?

Crop rotation is an important rule for achieving a high yield. Therefore, it is not advisable to sow the same crop more than two years in a row.

Planting garlic will be successful after growing:

• cucumbers;
• pumpkins;
• squash;
• zucchini;
• melons;
• bell pepper;
• eggplants.

All of the crops listed are annuals. They develop and grow quickly, enriching the soil with nitrogen, which garlic needs for proper development.

There are certain vegetables that are not recommended for planting garlic in the fall. They deplete the soil, removing all its nutrients. These include:

• carrot;
• beet;
• potato;
• turnip;
• potato;
• radish.

Winter garlic: planting rules

Before planting, add organic fertilizer to the soil. Cow manure is suitable. However, it can be used in combination with liming or additional dolomite flour. Rotate the growing locations of winter garlic varieties every third year. The next step is as follows:

1. Only healthy cloves are suitable for planting. Before planting, they are treated with potassium permanganate or copper sulfate.
2. Gardeners must be careful when sowing. Damage to the cloves is avoided. Planting should be shallow, otherwise the vegetable's root system will develop poorly, and the cloves will take a long time to emerge.
3. The rows are marked correctly.
4. The sowing method is selected taking into account the variety of the cultivar (medium, large or small slices).

Determining the planting depth for spicy vegetables

The main principle is this: the deeper you plant garlic, the more likely it is to survive the frost and sprout. Don't overdo it, either. It's important to sow it so that it doesn't rot in the spring due to high groundwater levels. If a clove can't penetrate a thick layer of soil, it simply won't germinate. For a successful harvest, the plant needs to send out roots.

Since garlic must be planted a month before the first frost, there's another rule: the depth of planting depends on the local agricultural climate. This includes how early the soil freezes. In cold Siberian soil, it freezes earlier than in other regions of Russia. In such weather, the root system won't develop on the surface.

In Siberian regions, winter garlic should be planted 10-15 cm deep. During frosty and snowy winters, the beds should be insulated. This can be done with dry grass. In warm southern climates (Kalmykia, Krasnodar Krai, Crimea, Sevastopol), winter garlic should be planted 4-5 cm deep. This depth is the same in the Astrakhan, Volgograd, and Rostov regions. In the central part of the country (Moscow, Vladimir, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, and Volga regions), it should be 5-10 cm.

What time to plant

The optimal time for planting winter garlic is considered to be late September to early October. The exact date varies by region, but the most important thing is to plant the cloves approximately 40 days before the first frost. This will give the garlic time to establish itself, develop a root system sufficient for overwintering, and prevent green shoots from sprouting until spring. You can also use the lunar calendar, which provides more precise dates: from September 26-30 to October 1-12.

Which variety should I choose?

The garlic variety for fall planting is selected based on the region's climate. Winter-bearing varieties are preferred. These produce high yields when planted outdoors. If planted in the spring, the resulting head may have 1-2 cloves.

Zoned varieties for the middle latitudes of Russia:

• Lyubasha;
• Union;
• Moscow region;
• Gribovsky Anniversary;
• Novosibirsk;
• Winter Komsomolets;
• Baby bison.

When choosing planting material, pay attention to whether the garlic produces stems as it grows or grows without them. Stemming varieties have large cloves arranged around a central ring. The head contains 4-12 cloves. If the head contains 14-25 cloves arranged in a spiral, the garlic will likely not produce stems.

Bolting varieties are frost-resistant and contain essential oils. The tips of the bolting stalks bear inflorescences with seeds (bulbs), which are often used for planting. These garlic tips are aromatic and have a distinctive flavor, so cooks often add them to various dishes.

In areas located in the Russian Federation, it's best to choose domestic varieties. Foreign varieties are more demanding and require special care, as they are sensitive to cold. They have a hard time adapting, and in the Moscow region, two-thirds of such planting material dies.

Soil preparation

The chemical composition of the soil is very important. The best soil for planting vegetables is sandy, moderately acidic soil, which can be created using a bucket of horse manure, 15 grams of nitrophoska, 10 grams of superphosphate, and a cup of dolomite flour. Sprinkle the fertilizer onto plowed or dug soil and distribute it evenly with a rake. Begin working after two weeks.

Dig up the beds and add fertilizer two weeks before planting the garlic. Add compost at a rate of one bucket per square meter. Next, form the bed (20-25 cm high). Next, mark it out using stakes and twine. Mark out the area, placing them along the edges for planting. It's best to use a spade handle or a thin metal tube to make the holes. Sprinkle ash between the rows. This will further demarcate the beds and protect the seedlings from pests.

Preparation of planting material

There are requirements not only for the soil in which seeds are sown, but also for the planting material itself. They are very simple:

1. Only healthy cloves without damage are used.
2. Before planting, make sure the vegetable has been stored properly (in a dry, well-ventilated area). A summer veranda or entryway is ideal.
3. The seedlings were taken from the agroclimatic zone where they are planned to be planted.
4. The largest ones are taken for planting, because they will grow larger.

Garlic is the most low-maintenance plant in the garden. But even for it, a little effort is worth it and you'll be rewarded with a bountiful harvest. This is possible provided the garden bed is fertilized, tilled, weeded, and watered regularly.

Weeding is essential as soon as the first shoots appear. The vegetable is most vulnerable at this time: weeds deprive it of moisture and minerals. Afterwards, you can loosen the soil periodically without resorting to weeding. This is necessary, as this crop grows best in loose soil.

Garlic needs to be watered regularly, except for the last month before harvest. To do this, carefully use a watering can or a hose with a shower attachment. As needed, ensure the soil doesn't dry out or become waterlogged.

Planting at a depth of 3-5 cm

Garlic is sown at a depth of 3-5 cm well before the first frost (40 days). The exact dates depend on the local climate. In central Russia, this is late September or early October. In Siberia, it begins in early autumn. Residents of the southern regions plant in November.

The spaces between cloves are 10-15 cm. The width between furrows is 15-20 cm, but if the planting material is small, the distance between rows is made less than 8-12 cm. If planting garlic seeds, then 5 cm are left between them, and 9-10 cm of space is left between rows.

The bed is prepared in advance, three weeks before work begins. This allows the soil to settle. The height should be at least 20 centimeters. The following steps are included:

1. Dig up the soil, add humus or compost (a bucket per square meter of area).
2. You can add 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and nitrophoska.
3. The fertilizer is mixed into the soil with a rake. All that remains is to shape the bed's appearance. For this, use a shovel blade. The bed is ready.

Planting at a depth of 10-15 cm

In cold climates, garlic is planted at a depth of 10-15 cm to ensure it survives the winter. Another reason is when the weather changes abruptly, and frosts are expected sooner.

Sequence of work:

• preparing the soil for planting (digging or plowing, fertilizing);
• forming the bed 3-4 weeks before starting work so that it has time to settle, then the cloves will not go deeper than they should and will germinate well;
• Before planting, arrange the planting material according to size from smaller to larger;
• watering the garden bed;
• prepare the markings.

Large cloves are planted at a distance of 15 cm, while small ones are planted at a distance of 8 cm.

By drawing marking lines, the rows are spaced 20 cm apart. Before this, the soil is watered to activate the fertilizer.

The best ways to plant garlic in winter

Despite constant improvements in garlic cultivation methods, there are still a few that are used more frequently. Here are just three.

Method 1. SowingSeeds or garlic cloves are sown in pre-prepared furrows. The bed is watered beforehand. The harvest is plentiful, but the stems aren't always straight because the cloves tend to grow sideways.

Method 2. Two tiersThis is ideal for small plots of land or when a large harvest is needed. This is achieved through two planting tiers, hence the name. The seedlings in the lower tier are planted 10-12 cm deep, while the upper tier is 5-6 cm below the soil surface. The lower tier with the planted seeds is covered with soil, then the upper tier is placed.

Method 3. Classic. Space rows 20 cm apart. Plant the seeds in dry soil covered with fallen leaves. It's best if melons were sown in the area before planting the garlic. The chosen location should be free of spring meltwater. After planting, mulch the soil with dry leaves.