When and how to harvest garlic?

Garlic is one of the most popular crops that many people grow in their summer cottages. Ripe plantings must be harvested in accordance with certain rules. In today's article, we will find out when and how exactly you need to harvest garlic.

Before proceeding to the direct assembly of the culture, it is very important to recognize in it all the necessary signs of ripening. Usually, garlic is removed from the last days of July to the first days of August, when it comes to winter plant varieties. Before the immediate harvesting of the crop, the gardener must make sure that the culture is 100% ready for digging and further storage.

It is especially important not to overlook the stage of crop maturation if its cultivation is realized in large volumes for subsequent sale. To accurately understand that a culture is fully matured and can be harvested, one must look at its visual characteristics.

• It is necessary to pay attention to the existing air-type bags, as well as garlic inflorescences. On the arrows extending upward, the characteristic outer shells of the inflorescences begin to burst. Seeds also become noticeable (their other name is bulbs).
• It is also important to monitor the condition of the leaves of plants. The lower shoots of the planting usually appear drier and yellower. The upper shoots also turn noticeably yellow. If the lion's share of the foliage has just such an appearance, then this means that the plant has stopped the process of photosynthesis, and with it growth. This means that you can harvest a healthy crop. The moment when the leaf blades wilted and lay on the ground will signal that the summer resident is already late with the cleaning.
• The condition of the bulbs must be kept under control. It is worth pulling out literally a couple of garlic heads for testing. Also, sometimes the plants are dug by about half (it is advisable to do this on different sides of the garden). Normal matured positions should be characterized by a sufficient level of density, easily detach from each other, be covered with special layers of a scaly type (these layers should be assembled without problems). The scales are usually shown with a characteristic purple hue. The teeth of a variety that has not yet fully matured will be soft, and in the case of an overripe condition, cracked.

Very often there are situations in which summer residents begin to cut off the shooters during their growth. Because of this, the ability to track the ripening of the culture by the state of its rods is lost. More experienced gardeners advise not to engage in cutting at least a small number of rods, so that in the future, they can reveal the level of ripening of the entire crop as a whole.

The timing of when you can harvest spring garlic directly depends on the region in which it is grown. Often the beginning of this procedure falls on the first days of August, and can end with the arrival of the autumn season.

• On the territory of the Moscow region harvesting dates for early garlic falls on the second half of August. Late varieties can be harvested in the fall, namely: from the 20th of September.
• In the Volga and Chernozem regions the culture in question can be harvested from August 20 to September 15.
• In the Caucasian regions harvesting of early varieties can fall on the first 10 days of August, and late ones - from August 15 to the last September days.
• In Siberia and the Far East you can harvest garlic starting from August 15 and flesh until September 20.

There are many popular winter garlic varieties. Most of them mature at different times. So, early varieties are ready for harvest already 3 months after the first shoots, but there are also late species that are ready in a little less than 4 months. In addition, the stages when it is possible to engage in harvesting largely depend on the region.

Find out when to harvest the garlic based on the region in which it is planted.

• In the Crimea and the Caucasus region, the collection can be carried out from the 5th to the 10th.
• In the central part (Volga region, Chernozem region), the period from the 10th is permissible.
• In the suburbs - from the 12th and the flesh until the first days of August.
• In Siberia and the Far East, the most optimal time for harvesting is the first days of August.
• In the conditions of the northern regions, it is recommended to remove the vegetable in early August.

Often, gardeners are engaged in harvesting garlic, starting from the lunar calendar. It is generally accepted that the procedure for digging out garlic heads on certain days can extend the period of their further preservation. Relying on the movements of the moon, you can implement all the necessary operations: hilling, and cutting the arrows, and loosening, and so on.

If you start from the lunar calendar, then you will have to start harvesting against the background of the waning moon. As soon as the culture is technically fully matured, you can proceed to digging it out at almost any convenient time. The only exceptions are the periods with which the new moon or full moon coincide.

Ripe garlic must be dug from the site according to all the rules. Errors in such procedures should not be made so as not to cause serious damage to the crop. The scheme of competent harvesting of both winter and summer varieties of vegetables is the same. Harvesting should be done exclusively against the backdrop of clear and dry weather. It is advisable to choose the optimal time, namely: early morning or late afternoon, when the sweltering summer heat is no longer present.

The procedure for digging up a healthy garlic crop on the site consists of the following important steps, which should not be neglected in any case.

• Garlic heads must be dug out using a shovel. You can also use a pitchfork or special gardening devices - garden forks. The heads must be removed as carefully and accurately as possible from the soil layer. You need to act gradually, without unnecessary haste. Otherwise, there is a great risk of root damage. The latter are usually distinguished by increased fragility, so they must be treated in a special way.
• From vulnerable garlic roots, it is necessary to very carefully clean off adhering soil residues. It is impossible to beat off or abruptly brush off the ground from these parts, because this can damage the teeth. Damaged prongs can quickly rot.
• If, in the course of digging up the garlic, any heads are nevertheless damaged, it is recommended to immediately use them for food. For long-term storage, such vegetables are completely unsuitable. Any rotten or moldy specimens should be discarded immediately.

As soon as the vegetables in question are dug from the beds in which they grew, their cloves will need to be dried. In this case, you do not need to deal with the removal of plant roots.Leaf blades are also left in place. It is necessary to dry the garlic teeth for a week or a little longer (8-10 days).

Some gardeners leave the harvested crop directly on the beds, however, such methods can be used only in case of dry weather conditions. It is very important to take into account that dew usually occurs at night. She can wet collected materials.

Basically, the removed garlic is dried in a room that is reliably protected from rain. A summer veranda, shed, shed or even an attic is suitable for this. In a suitable selected area, it is imperative to organize good and high-quality ventilation. At the same time, the bulbs themselves must be laid out on a pre-prepared wooden table, or on a newspaper laid on the floor. After 1-2 weeks, the garlic cloves, which had time to rest a little, must undergo a procedure for trimming the roots, tops and foliage. All the necessary actions should be carried out using a special pruner. Thanks to the use of such a tool, the risk of damage to the bulbs will be avoided.

If the storage of garlic was realized in a warm room, for example, in an apartment, then incorrectly cut teeth may well demonstrate further germination. The cutting of rhizomes, which is mandatory for the preparation of vegetables in bed, should be carried out according to the correct scheme.

• If the garlic is planned to be sent for sale, then at the bottom of the vegetables you will need to leave the smallest beard from 1 to 3 mm. You can also cut off the roots entirely, leaving a small indentation afterwards.
• In all other cases, it is allowed to cut the roots, leaving after that from 3 to 5 mm in length. In this form, the vegetable is stored especially well.
• If it was originally planned to start up some part of the crop for the subsequent planting, then the size of the roots from 5 to 10 mm is permissible.

Another costly method can be used to keep the garlic cloves from sprouting. In accordance with it, the roots are sealed together with the bottom by means of hot wax. For the subsequent landing, such specimens, of course, will no longer be suitable, however, they are distinguished by high rigidity, so they can easily overwinter even in not the best conditions.

Before sending vegetables for long-term storage, they must be freed from dried out arrows. We are talking about shoots that grow from above. The best neck length is 6 to 10 cm. This parameter directly depends on what specific form of storage will be chosen by the gardener.

• If the resulting crop is planned to be stored in the form of bunches, then it makes sense to leave the cuttings with a length parameter ranging from 10 to 15 cm. Due to this, it will be much easier and more convenient to tie together several heads.
• If you plan to put a garlic crop in a hanging net, then you should leave a short stalk no more than 3 cm. Vegetables with this parameter can be no less conveniently placed in boxes or boxes. However, the cover scales of the crop should be located at a point below the cutting line. Due to this, it will be possible to avoid serious problems associated with garlic decay.
• There is also an old version of the preservation of garlic heads, which involves the use of braided braids. In this case, the presence of the entire stem is implied. Both arrows and foliage should remain in place.

Before placing the garlic, it is advisable to sort it according to its size. In addition, the containers that have been chosen for the placement of vegetables must be well cleaned in advance.

Often, summer residents, collecting a garlic crop for its further storage, make many mistakes. They can be minor or very serious. Let's take a look at the most common possible errors.

• Garlic planted for the winter season is often harvested at the wrong time. Because of this, the heads of vegetables may not form normally until the end, or early begin to disintegrate into separate teeth. In addition, scales often crack for this reason. As a result of these processes, the keeping quality of vegetables can be very low. They can be susceptible to infectious diseases.
• It so happens that inexperienced gardeners are engaged in harvesting in too wet or rainy weather. It is recommended to ensure that excess moisture does not get on the crop, otherwise the heads of garlic will inevitably begin to rot.
• During storage of the garlic crop, polyethylene bags should also not be used. An excess of moisture will certainly provoke the active development of rot on vegetables. The best option is to use nylon stockings or canvas or linen bags.
• Cutting the tops to the very root before sending vegetables for further drying turns out to be a serious mistake. In general, it is strongly discouraged to rush to prune the crop, because even after removing the garlic from the soil, the tops are able to continue to transfer all the necessary substances to the head.
• Do not try to get the garlic heads out of the ground with your hands, while pulling the tops. Most likely, because of this, the tops will simply be torn off, and the onion will remain in the ground. Another nuisance may occur: during twitching, the head will be severely damaged, which will make it completely unsuitable for long-term storage. That is why it is possible to get garlic from the ground only with the condition of using special equipment.
• Another common mistake that many summer residents make is watering the plants before harvesting them. It is recommended to stop applying liquid and fertilizers about a couple of weeks before the planned harvest. Due to this, the plants can completely create the necessary protective layer. In this case, the digging process will be easier and faster.