Among professional gardeners, one of the most important vegetable crops is winter garlic. Antiseptic effects and stable yield of the variety are the main components of its popularity. The shooting variety is versatile, as it is suitable for use in different dishes and long-term storage.
Description of the variety
The variety is mid-season and is intended for cultivation in summer cottages and garden plots. The leaves are light green in color with a slight waxy coating on the surface, reaching a length of 53 cm and a width of 1.9 cm. The bulbs of the shooting variety are round-flat and weigh about 60 g.The number of cloves in each head is 5–6. The structure of the teeth is simple.
The external color of the bulb scales is dominated by lilac-violet shades and anthocyanin streaks. Leathery scales are brown. The pulp is white, spicy in taste. The average yield of garlic of the Lazurny variety is about 0.7 kg/sq. m.
Growing
To increase the fertility rate, it is necessary to properly prepare the soil before planting garlic. First you need to dig up the soil and treat it with copper sulfate to saturate it with nutritional components. A couple of weeks before sowing, you need to add compost and fertilizers (potassium sulfur, superphosphate) to the soil.
This variety should be grown in beds no more than 20 cm high and up to 1 m wide. Plants in such beds will not be oversaturated with moisture and will warm up better from the sun. The growing time is calculated in such a way that there are 1–1.5 months left before the onset of frost, and the soil has cooled to +10 degrees at the time of sowing.
Suitable dates for planting Azure garlic are mid-April - early May, or late September - early October.
Features of care
The first harvests of the Winter variety appear at an early stage, so after the snow melts, nitrogen fertilizers must be applied at a rate of 10–15 g/sq.m. m. During the entire ripening period, garlic is treated twice with complete mineral fertilizer. The first fertilizer is applied at the beginning of growth, the second - after a month. For additional feeding of seedlings, you can add ash at 0.5 l/sq.m. m.
If the garlic is planted in the spring, then distributing the care work will be much easier. You only need to remove coarse mulch from the beds if it was used for insulation, loosen the soil, remove weeds and apply fertilizer.Due to melt water, the soil will be saturated with moisture necessary for vegetation. Planted Azure variety garlic requires much less watering than other varieties.
At the initial stage of growth, the shoots actively increase and bypass weeds in all respects. This allows you to weed beds with seedlings less often. When 7–8 leaves are formed, the plant independently inhibits emerging weeds, which saves time on weeding the soil.
Advantages and disadvantages
Face the disadvantages growing garlic Only inexperienced summer residents who make mistakes when caring for plants can do this. If you follow the rules of care, the grown crop will have the following advantages:
- Large bulbs. Compared to other common varieties, Azure garlic has larger cloves.
- Variability of use. Due to its special taste and aromatic characteristics, the culture is suitable for fresh consumption, in pickles and various dishes.
- Duration of storage. The plant's bulbs can be stored without spoilage for 6 months, without requiring the creation of special conditions.
- Harvest stability. With constant planting of one variety, it is possible to harvest large volumes of crops.
- Low maintenance requirements. To maintain plant growth, it is enough to follow a list of standard rules (watering, loosening, weeding, fertilizing).
Pests and diseases
Garlic is susceptible to disease and damage from pests more often than other vegetable crops. The main pests of the plant are stem nematode and root mite. Each of these insects has its own methods to combat.
If a stem nematode is detected in a garden bed, you need to add a mixture of peat and coarse sand to the soil.Before each subsequent planting, the soil should be treated with a solution of table salt to prevent the appearance of new worms. If the garlic has been affected by a mite, this can only be detected after harvesting, so the rotten heads will have to be thrown out and the ground treated with a disinfectant to improve the next plantings.
Harvest and storage
The harvest period is determined by the arrows of the garlic and the yellowing of the lower leaves. The average duration of crop ripening is 100–120 days. To check the ripening of garlic, you can scrape away the soil from several plants and evaluate the condition of the shell. If the scales are strong, the crop is ready for harvesting.
To store garlic, it must first be dried. To preserve the head, it is necessary to treat it with vegetable oil and iodine, which acts as an antiseptic. After this, the heads should lie in the sun until the solution is completely absorbed. A semi-basement dark room with a cool temperature is ideal as a storage location. You can also leave the harvest in the refrigerator or in wooden boxes.
Reviews from gardeners
Constantly I grow winter garlic at my dacha. The harvest is always large, so I leave the bulk for storage. I encountered pests only once when I forgot to apply fertilizer.
One of my favorite varieties of garlic. I grow it in large quantities because it is eaten very quickly, especially in winter. Ideal for pickles and salads. It is easy to grow and no special conditions are required.
