Garlic, as one of the most ancient and unpretentious crops, is famous for its unpretentiousness and is ready to grow “wildly” in any garden. But if you want to harvest a truly rich harvest with high taste, you need to take care of garlic from early spring.
Features of feeding spring and winter garlic
Winter varieties of garlic planted before winter are fertilized three times:
- As soon as the snow melts and a stable above-zero air temperature is established during the day, nitrogen is added, which promotes the development of the crop as a whole and is necessary for garlic to grow greenery. Urea is often the chosen remedy;
- 2-3 weeks after the first feeding, garlic needs to strengthen the immune system and continue development, for which nitrogen is again added, as well as phosphorus, which accelerates photosynthesis. It is recommended to choose nitroammophoska;
- the third feeding is no longer spring, but early summer, that is, in mid-June, which occurs at the time of bulb formation. The plant needs phosphorus, for which it is best to take superphosphate.
Spring garlic, planted in early spring, is fertilized in the same order and with the same substances, but slightly shifting the timing of fertilizing:
- the first - when 2-3 leaves of each plant sprout appear above the ground;
- the second - about 3 weeks after the first;
- the third - towards the end of June.
Experienced gardeners advise that it is better to apply less fertilizer than to overfeed the garlic - the excess activates the development of the above-ground part to the detriment of the underground, the vegetable heads form small, do not store for a long time and do not have good taste and benefits due to the low content of essential oils.
The best folk remedies for feeding garlic
The advantages of organic fertilizers for garlic are that they are cheap and absolutely safe for humans and the environment.
Nettle
Garlic is one of the most fertilizer-sensitive crops, so there is no point in replacing the stinging herb with dandelions and plantain - it will not have the desired effect. The picked nettles are placed in a plastic container, filling it 2/3 full, filled to the top with water and left in a sunny place for 10 days. Then the liquid is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and used for irrigation, spending per 1 square meter. m 3 l. You can feed garlic with nettles every 3 weeks, regardless of the choice of other fertilizers.
Salt
This simple product speeds up the ripening of the garlic crop by 4–7 days, restores elasticity and color to dry, yellowed leaves, and also prevents the destruction of garlic by stem nematodes. The solution is prepared from 3 tbsp. l. salt and 1 bucket of water, spending per 1 sq. m landings 3 liters each. Salt watering should be carried out 1 week after the third mineral fertilizing.
Ash
It can be applied 1 week after the first and second feedings. But only on the condition that the pH of the area is less than 7, otherwise the garlic will be unable to absorb iron.It is also important to note that you need wood ash, and best of all, birch ash. To prepare the product, stir 200 g of ash in 1 bucket and infuse the liquid for 3 hours. For 1 sq. m of beds takes 1 liter.
Yeast
They contain essential amino acids that contribute to the appearance of the characteristic piquant and fiery taste of the vegetable. The product is prepared by adding 10 g of dry yeast and 50 g of sugar to 1 bucket of water. After 2 hours of fermentation, the infusion for treatment is diluted with water 1:10 and the beds are watered, spending 2 liters per 1 square meter. m.
Mullein
A solution of 1 liter of liquid mullein and 20 liters of water is sufficient to apply only 1 time per season instead of a mineral nitrogen-containing first fertilizing. For 1 sq. m of planting requires 2 liters of product. According to gardeners, thanks to mullein, garlic ripens large and juicy, and its greens taste not inferior to the forest delicacy - wild garlic.
To sum it up, growing excellent garlic is not difficult at all. One of the main rules for success is to apply spring fertilizing in a timely manner and in the right assortment.
Just great