There are several signs when to harvest winter garlic. The timing largely depends on weather conditions and the characteristics of caring for vegetables. Most often, harvesting begins in mid-July, but not later than the first days of August. You should not keep a ripe vegetable in the beds for a long time, as all the beneficial properties and taste are lost.
When to remove a spicy vegetable
There is no specific time or date for harvesting winter garlic. Winter garlic should be planted in the fall, most often at the end of September, beginning of October. Their teeth are much larger than those of spring garlic.
The best days for harvesting winter garlic also depend on the variety chosen. It will be possible to dig up early ripening garlic within 85 days from the moment of germination. Late-ripening varieties are dug up a little later, after 100 days. Even if the variety is unknown, you can determine by appearance that the vegetable is ripening.
Tip: Before harvesting, find out how ripe it is. How do you know when you can start cleaning? There are signs of winter garlic ripening. It is at this time that harvesting winter garlic is considered the most favorable and successful.
- The main sign of maturity is yellowing of the upper leaves of the tops and drying of the lower leaves. The leaves fall down.
- Gardeners advise removing not all arrows from each bush. It is by the remaining arrows that you can determine the maturity of the vegetable. They dig out when the remaining arrows become elastic and the inflorescences begin to crack.
- You can tell when it’s time to start harvesting by looking at the head of garlic. It becomes dense, the cloves easily separate from each other.
- When the vegetable is finally ripe, the husk is easily separated from the slices.
- You can determine ripeness by the cracking of the soil in the beds where the vegetable grows.
Some gardeners who have planted winter garlic prefer to remove the shoots from each root. It has been noticed that this technique speeds up the ripening process and increases yield. But not all varieties of winter garlic feel good after removing the shoots.
The quality of the crop and the duration of storage will depend on the degree of maturity. Before harvesting, you need to try 2-3 heads by touch, examine the condition of the husk and study the taste.Garlic is well stored, the cloves of which are covered with three layers of husk.
If you keep a ripe crop in the ground, the heads will take root and become denser. Anyone who harvests ahead of schedule will notice that the slices are loose, soft, without aroma and juicy taste. The harvested vegetable will not be stored for long.
When to dig winter garlic, timing and tips
If the care was correct, the weather was pleasant with warm days and moderate rains, then the harvesting time would be in the second half of summer (July 20th). If the weather was hot and without rain, then the cleaning time will shift slightly. It is recommended to collect garlic planted in the fall before August 2.
So, if three layers of dense scales have formed on the cloves, the leaves have turned yellow and dried out, you can start digging. There are recommendations on how to properly dig up vegetables.
- Before removing garlic from the garden, the shoots are removed a few days before the procedure.
- Then each bulb is dug up a little and pulled out by hand. Do not pull out vegetables without the help of a shovel or pitchfork. The rhizomes are very powerful and you can simply pick off the tops. You need to dig carefully, deepening the shovel to avoid damaging the head, otherwise it will not be suitable for storage.
- You need to shake off excess soil from each head and distribute the entire crop on a flat surface to dry. You can dry it in a shelter, but for the first days it is better to leave it to dry in the wind and sun. It will take about two weeks for the vegetables to dry completely.
- Then the leaves and tops are cut off from each head, leaving a stump of about 10 mm. The roots are trimmed, leaving about 4 mm. You can weave braids from the tops and tie them in a barn for further storage.
- When harvesting, it is recommended to sort the heads.For storage you need to choose large, healthy bulbs. Small garlic stores less well, so it should be chosen first for cooking. Damaged and diseased heads are also selected. At the same stage, seed material is separated for the next year.
- The harvest of winter garlic is placed in containers with holes so that air can freely pass inside from all sides. The harvested crop is stored well in wicker baskets.
There are no difficulties in harvesting a ripe crop. The procedure must be carried out in dry, warm weather. If the bulbs are wet, the drying time of the vegetables will increase and the storage time may decrease.
There are rules regarding harvest storage. You can store the harvested crop at room temperature, but it is better in a basement or cellar with good ventilation. The air humidity should not be higher than 80%, otherwise the vegetables will rot and sprout. The crop does not tolerate high temperatures well; it is better if it is cool (air temperature 3-4 degrees). Should be stored in a dark place.
It is better to dig up garlic a few days earlier than to be late. Ripening is possible even if you leave the dug up bulbs in the garden under the sun. All the nutrients that are stored in the tops will enter the garlic head over the course of several more days. “Due to heavy rains, we harvested the crop earlier and left it to ripen in the barn, hanging it by the tops. The heads ended up being dense and stored for a long time.”
When to Harvest Based on Moon Phases
Timely planting of garlic affects its quality, and the correct harvest date affects the storage of the harvested crop.Some vegetable growers prefer to focus not only on external signs, but also on certain lunar phases. From the reviews: “In recent years, we have been planting garlic only according to the phases of the moon. The harvest is good, we also dig it according to the lucky days in the calendar. The vegetable is stored for a long time.”
According to the lunar calendar in 2018, it is recommended to collect garlic in the following periods.
- In July, you should clean on the following lucky days: from 5 to 7, from 18 to 21, 23-24.
- It is better to harvest garlic in August at the following favorable times: from the 1st to the 4th, from the 11th to the 13th, from the 15th to 17th, from the 29th to the 30th of the month.
Before you dig up a spicy vegetable, you need to perform a number of actions.
- 25 days before harvesting, the soil around each bulb must be loosened. The best days for this work according to the lunar calendar in July will be the 3rd, 4th, 8th, 30th and 31st.
- Tying the arrows is considered a useful procedure. Good days in July will be the 19th and 20th. After this, all the forces and nutrients from the soil will be directed to the development of the bulb. The growth of the tops stops and it stops growing.
- A month before the expected harvest, the arrows are broken off, leaving a couple of pieces. The following actions include reducing watering to prevent rotting of the heads. In July 2018, the best days for the procedure are the 1st, 2nd, and 10th.
After harvesting the garlic, they begin preparing the beds for new planting. All necessary fertilizers are added to the soil and dug up. Tomatoes and root vegetables are considered good predecessors.
