The duration and quality of storage depends on the correct harvesting of garlic. These factors play an important role, especially if the vegetable is grown in the north-west of the country. Harvest time and storage depend not only on the region in which it grows, but also on the variety and weather conditions. If garlic bulbs are removed after the specified time, they will quickly deteriorate and will not be suitable for long-term storage.
Harvesting culture
When digging up garlic, people are guided by the following parameters:
- weather;
- external signs of culture;
- growing season for a specific variety in certain climatic conditions.
Garlic is dug up based on its external parameters. This is the first and main rule. Using all known and available methods, people have learned to accurately determine the timing of collection. Such tactics are achieved through comprehensive care.
Harvesting winter garlic in central Russia
When is winter garlic dug in the central regions of Russia? The timing is influenced by the climatic features of the region in which cultivation is carried out. In June, winter forms release arrows. As soon as the arrows have sprouted, they are broken out. This technique allows you to form large cloves.
Nutrients are redirected from the arrow to the bulb and contribute to its rapid ripening. Using this method, you need to leave a few plants with arrows. This is a kind of guideline by which the degree of maturation and ripeness is determined. Arrows play an important role in determining maturity based on visual parameters.
Planning harvesting winter garlic, it is difficult to judge maturity by the state of the green mass, which is the above-ground part of the plant. A person may make an erroneous decision if he orients himself according to this criterion. The leaves of the plant turn yellow over time. But this does not always indicate the degree of readiness for cleaning.
Yellow leaves
Often yellowing indicates the presence of a disease or parasite damage to the plant. It is also a clear sign of adverse weather conditions. The drying of the green part of the crop indicates that photosynthesis processes have stopped. The plant stopped developing and growing.
The option with yellowed leaves can be considered as a harvest guide. But, it is better to determine the readiness of garlic for digging using arrows.Mature heads are removed after the arrows straighten. At the same time, cracks appear on the seed pod, which expand over time and expose the inflorescences.
Spring varieties
After the winter garlic has been dug up, they begin harvesting other varieties. Spring garlic It is customary to remove it from the soil 2–3 weeks after wintering. The same yellow leaves serve as a guide. But, under no circumstances should the entire green part turn yellow. The central feathers remain green, but the lower leaves turn yellow and dry out.
Garlic is harvested using this principle in 2018. For central regions, the optimal time is late August-early September. The maturity of a vegetable can be determined by its inflorescences. But this option is not suitable for spring garlic, since they do not form.
Large garlic
In western Russia, not everyone would dare to grow a crop like garlic. Especially when it comes to regions that border the north. Before the onset of the planting season, people manage to calculate the risks and get a harvest of winter varieties of garlic. When to dig up garlic in such regions?
Harvesting begins after the inflorescence wrapper, the film that covers the unformed aerial bulbs, has cracked. In the northwest, vegetables begin to be harvested from August 23 to September 5. Residents of the Arkhangelsk region, with their own climate, also fall under the specified collection dates.
Folk signs
In ancient times, our ancestors did not have the same knowledge as people in the modern world. But this did not stop them from growing garlic and other crops. According to popular belief, July 12 is the maximum date for harvesting garlic. If you dig it up later, it won't last long and will spoil quickly.Such terms are more suitable for the central regions of the country.
In the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, garlic harvesting occurs later. In this case, the cultivation of the crop plays an important role - planting time, care and the selected variety. In the Krasnodar region, late harvest dates are directly related to ripening. Chesnochins are also dug later in the Omsk, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions.
Recommendations for collecting crops
Is it important to adhere to bulb harvesting deadlines? What difference does it make when to harvest the bulbs? A week earlier or a week later. The main thing is that the weather is sunny and not rainy. Most gardeners think this way, and it is wrong.
The time to harvest garlic is of utmost importance. An extra 3-4 days for the bulbs to remain in the soil worsens their condition and quality. At the same time, it is not so important where garlic grows: in Rostov, Vologda or any other region. The main thing is to be able to determine the level of ripeness of vegetables.
Not every person knows a little trick that will allow you to grow large garlic heads. We are talking about the same collection time. If you do not dig up the vegetable in a timely manner and leave it in the soil, it will lose its taste and presentation. The scales will peel off easily, and the teeth will fall apart.
In this form, the vegetable loses its ability to be stored for long periods of time. It is not recommended to dig up winter garlic ahead of time. Unripe cloves quickly dry out during storage and lose useful substances and, accordingly, properties.
The importance of garlic scapes
Often, in order to speed up the ripening process of the vegetable, the garlic arrow is removed. This procedure is not always useful or necessary.When deciding whether to cut off the arrows, it is important to take into account that winter varieties of vegetables react differently to removal. For some species this procedure is contraindicated.
Removing the frog affects the growing season:
- maturation accelerates;
- the formation of the air bulb stops;
- causes yellowing of leaves.
As a result, cleaning deadlines arrive ahead of time. At the same time, the weight of the underground bulb increases. The teeth become larger. Certain garlic varieties react this way.
Wild species have a high arrow with a small bulb. If you do not remove the arrow, all the leaves die and the plant gradually dries out. The arrow itself remains green, which indicates that photosynthesis processes continue inside it, and nutrients continue to accumulate. The bulb itself also grows by increasing its mass by 15%.
Types of garlic, which went on sale from Central Asia, do not require removal of the arrow. Varieties that are intended for cultivation in Siberia, the Altai Territory and the Urals need to be torn off the aerial bulb. This method increases the yield of the vegetable. When starting to plant garlic, you need to know its origin so as not to violate the rules of cultivation and collection.
Rules for harvesting crops
Regardless of what region a person lives in, in the East or North, preparation for cleaning always begins in advance. The digging procedure is as follows:
- A month before harvesting, stop watering winter and spring garlic.
- To speed up the ripening process, 2 weeks before digging, the soil is raked from the bulbs.
- Regardless of what city or town the harvest takes place in, the main thing is that the day is sunny.
- If garlic is removed from the garden, it should not be exposed to open sunlight for a long time. It is better to use a canopy for drying.
No more than 2 weeks are allowed for drying. After the specified period, the bulbs are sorted and prepared for winter storage. If the head rots or is damaged, it is set aside so as not to spoil the whole bulbs; germinating bulbs are also set aside.
Storage
In the Khabarovsk Territory, people first tie several garlic cloves together to form a bunch. Vegetables are hung for ventilation. This is how they act in the Primorye region.
The timing of vegetable harvesting affects the quality of the ripe vegetable and the duration of storage. People who know when to harvest winter garlicalways get a good harvest. Kaliningrad, the Urals, Siberia and other regions of Russia are famous for growing garlic. The right approach to the matter allows you to get a harvest and enjoy it throughout the winter period before planting a new batch of bulbs.
