The classic ripening period for winter types of garlic is 100 days, and it is important not to miss the moment of collection. But depending on the regions and other factors, the harvesting time is different. The detailed timelines and popular methods for harvesting winter garlic are described below.
Determination of the full ripening of garlic
Garlic is harvested from the end of July, approximately until the beginning of August. (we are talking about winter species). Before harvesting, the gardener must make sure that the garlic is ripe and ready for digging and storage. This guarantees not only the good taste of future dishes, but also the product's shelf life (i.e., the duration of its storage in the best possible form while maintaining all the useful properties and appearance). It is especially important not to miss the ripening if the crop is grown on a large scale for further implementation.
How to understand that the culture has ripened and it's time to dig up garlic from the garden? It is necessary to carefully monitor the change in the appearance of the plant, both its terrestrial part and the bulbs. Maturation is signaled by:
- Air sacs or inflorescences. On the arrows stretched upward, the outer shells of inflorescences burst, seeds begin to glimpse, or, as they are called, bulbs.
- Leaves. The lower shoots of the plant look drier, turn yellow, the upper ones also acquire a yellow tint. If most of the leaves look that way, that means the plant has stopped photosynthesizing and growing. It's time to harvest. When the leaves faded and lay on the ground, it means that they were late for harvesting.
- Bulbs. A pair of heads is pulled out for a sample or half-dug, preferably on different sides of the bed. Mature specimens should be dense, well separated from each other and be covered with two or more scaly layers that are easily removable. Scales have a purple hue. The teeth of an unripe winter variety are soft, and the overripe ones are chapped.
Often, gardeners cut off the arrow species during the growth period, depriving themselves of the opportunity to determine maturation by the rods. But experienced gardeners recommend not cutting at least a few rods in order to later determine the degree of maturity of the entire crop. In addition, the bulbs will then go to the landing, and each of them will sprout.
Duration of collection depending on the region
As a rule, in Russia, gardeners remove garlic in the middle of summer. Early ripening varieties are ready 10-14 days earlier than late ripening. But the features of the climate, depending on the regions of crop landing, are making their own adjustments. Ripening is influenced by the early or late onset of spring, the summer months were hot or wet. The usual build time can move a week or longer in one direction or another due to the weather.
The growing season is shortened if the summer is rainy. Heat and dryness inhibit ripening.
The approximate cleaning times for each region are as follows:
- In the Crimea, the Caucasus region and other southern regions, the summer season begins early. All varieties of winter garlic ripen by July 5-10.
- In Central Russia - Chernozemye, Volga region - the first crop is dug up from July 10 and later. In the Moscow Region, a little later: from July 12 to the end of the month.
- In Siberia and the Far East, winter varieties ripen in the last decade of July, and if the summer was cool, the crop is harvested in early August.
- Toward the beginning of August, garlic is harvested in the northern regions.
Features of the lunar calendar
Some gardeners remove garlic by checking the lunar calendar, since it is believed that digging heads on certain days prolong their shelf life. Focusing on the movement of the moon, they carry out all the necessary manipulations: hilling, pruning of arrows, loosening, etc.
Harvest with a waning moon. When the garlic is technically ripe, they start digging it out at any convenient time, excluding the days of the full moon and new moon.
According to the lunar calendar 2019, favorable periods for the collection of winter varieties:
- from July 18 to July 31;
- from August 16 to 29.
Once there are clear signs of maturity, the crop must be harvested within one week. If you do this earlier, the garlic will be loose, and overripe heads can again grow and worse stored. Due to inexperience, summer residents will receive a low-quality product.
How to collect winter garlic?
Proper harvesting of garlic ensures long-term storage. Preparation begins 2-3 weeks before the expected date, which means:
- reduce the number of waterings, preventing rotting of roots;
- 7-10 days before digging, watering is completely stopped;
- 2-3 days before harvesting, loosen and weed beds;
- if necessary, yellowing leaves are cut.
When and how to harvest winter garlic?
The harvesting pattern for winter and summer varieties of garlic (i.e. winter and spring varieties) is the same. Harvest in clear and dry weather, early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the summer heat subsided. The collection procedure is as follows:
- The heads are dug up with a shovel, pitchfork or a special device - a garden fork. Carefully remove them from the ground without jerking, so as not to damage the fragile roots.
- The adhering soil is cleaned from the roots. Do not beat off and shake off, otherwise the teeth will be damaged and will rot.
- Dug garlic is placed in rows along the beds to dry.
- Damaged heads should be eaten immediately and not left for long-term storage. Rotten or moldy - discard.
Preparation and storage
After winter garlic is dug from the garden without removing roots and leaves, the teeth are dried for a week or a little longer (from 7 to 10 days). Some leave the crop directly in the garden, but this can only be done in dry weather. It is important to consider that dew falls at night, soaking the collected bundles. While the garlic is dried, all the nutrients from the tops are transferred to the bulbs.
Usually, garlic is dried in a room closed from rain: on a summer terrace, under a canopy, in a barn or in the attic. There should be good ventilation in the chosen place. Bulbs are laid out on a wooden table or on the floor - on a newspaper. Pre-washing them is not necessary, although some do.
After 1-2 weeks, the cloves that have reclaimed are subjected to such manipulations as cutting roots, tops and leaves. This is done with a special secateurs, so as not to damage the mature bulbs. When stored in a warm room, especially in a city apartment, improperly cut teeth can sprout. The roots are cut as follows:
- If the garlic is for sale, a minimum beard of 1-3 mm is left on its bottom or the roots are cut completely, leaving a depression.
- Otherwise, it is allowed to cut the roots, leaving about 3-5 mm of length. Such garlic is well stored.
- When it is planned to start part of the crop for further planting, the size of the roots is acceptable - 5-10 mm.
An effective, albeit time-consuming, way to protect the teeth from germination: seal the roots and the bottom with hot wax. Such garlics will not be suitable for further planting, but they are distinguished by good keeping quality and will winter well not even in ideal conditions.
Do I need to remove the arrows?
Before long-term storage, the dried shoots of garlic - overgrown shoots are removed. The optimal neck cut length: 6-10 cm, it depends on what form of storage is selected:
- If you plan to store the crop in bunches, the stalk is left with a length of 10 to 15 cm. So several heads are easier to tie together.
- A short stem of no more than 3 cm is convenient when the crop is placed in a hanging net, box or box. But the cover flake should be below the cutting line, which will help to avoid rot.
- The old way of storing garlic in braided braids implies the presence of almost the entire stem - and arrows and leaves.
After processing each head, all harvested garlic is ready for long-term storage. Before laying, it is recommended to sort the heads by size and take care of the cleanliness of the selected containers: sterilize the glass containers, sprinkle bags with table salt (if you plan to keep the crop in a damp room - a cellar or basement), etc.
Small garlics are often poured with oil and left in the refrigerator for storage. Such garlic is convenient to use for dressing salads.
Having taken care of the proper collection and storage of garlic, the entire crop will be put into business without a trace - sent for sale, used to prepare fresh dishes or preservation. Cope with the harvest of garlic is not difficult, even novice gardeners who do this for the first time will not suffer losses.
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