Growing garlic from seeds (bulbs). Interesting facts about garlic Propagation of winter garlic seeds

Winter garlic, mainly used for this method, has one distinctive feature: when it grows, arrows appear on it, which, in the process of further growth, open up and become like a lush flower, consisting of many voluminous petals. These petals are bulbs - very small cloves of garlic. On one stem, their number can reach hundreds.

Air bulbs look like seeds and are used for planting garlic. So, in order to get 100 - 150 garlic heads, it is enough to leave about 3 sprouted arrows.

Features of planting with bulbs

The winter type of garlic attracts everyone involved in planting such crops., with its amazing yield and large sizes of heads and, accordingly, cloves as well.

But in the subsequent planting, their size is a huge minus, because in order to get a large amount of crop, you will need just as much planting material.

At the same time, it is important to note that in one head of winter varieties, on average, 12 cloves, in spring - up to 20.

It is very irrational to spend most of the grown garlic in order to plant again. Therefore, the way out of this situation was the cultivation of garlic from bulbs.

But the main advantage is not the saving of planting material, but the improvement of the entire crop (in the process of their growth, they do not touch the ground, and therefore are not carriers of any diseases) and increase its shelf life.

The difference from other methods of growing garlic is a significant simplification of the process.: when planting with cloves, you need to put one in each hole, and it is enough to place the bulbs like the seeds of any other vegetables.

How many seeds in 1 kg?

On average, the number of bulbs on one inflorescence varies from 20 to 130, after collection and drying, the mass of this amount is 12 - 20 grams, and this allows us to calculate that 1.5 - 2 tons can be collected on 1 hectare with a density of 150 - 200 seed plants per hectare.

1000 bulbs weigh approximately 120 - 400 gr., Therefore in 1 kg. can contain at least 830 pieces. Their number can be either more or less. It all depends on the variety of winter garlic, growing conditions, so this number should not be considered accurate.

When and how to collect seed?

Each region has a different time for the ripening of garlic, so you can determine when it is already necessary to harvest the bulbs by the appearance of the arrow: first it will twist into a spiral, and then straighten up, then you need to start.

It is best to choose bulbs on the largest arrows to get a good harvest. Leaving them, we get rid of all the rest and wait for the maturation of those that we have chosen.

In no case should you miss the moment of full ripening of the bulbs, because immediately after that they will begin to actively fall off.

Collected bulbs do not need to be separated from each other, because. they are stored whole, wrapped for some time in gauze(pre-impregnated with a solution of potassium permanganate and already dried) and hung to ripen.

At this time, there is an influx of all nutrients from the stem into them.

When the stem dries significantly, you can pull out the bulbs from the gauze and separate them. from each other, which will be much easier to do. Then they can be stored until the next planting or already start planting.

From the video you will learn when to collect garlic bulbs:

Step by step instructions on how to grow a crop

Sowing dates

Choosing the right time to plant garlic in this way is very important, because it can be done both in autumn and in spring. In autumn, it is best to plant bulbs in September or October. then they will have time to take root well before the arrival of cold weather.

And in the spring, as soon as you can start planting something (for example, you can focus on the beginning of work in the field), but even then the yield will be less compared to what will appear as a result of autumn sowing.

Inventory preparation

Due to the fact that planting garlic with bulbs is exactly the same as planting any vegetable with seeds, various mechanisms can be used during this process to further simplify it. As a manual technique, a conventional onion seeder (CPR - 2) is suitable. With it, you can change the distance between the holes. For a large sowing area, only Spanish machines are offered on the Russian market at affordable prices.

Material preparation

Recommended 2 - 3 months before planting, place the bulbs on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to harden them and prepare them for outdoor conditions, you can also soak them in a hall solution for 12 hours, and plant them immediately after. Full instructions are described below.

Site selection

To grow garlic from bulbs, you need clean and fertile soil, because. they don't have a good ability to resist. It is necessary to cultivate the land before planting in the same way as for any other method of growing this crop.

Important! Before planting, you need to level the area as much as possible.

The process of planting an air seeder

There are no fundamental differences in how to plant garlic using bulbs in small gardens and large areas, only in the technique that is used for this: either a manual seeder or large sowing machines. The methods also do not differ: in winter or spring - it does not matter.

Before the immediate start of planting, the bulbs are sorted by size into 3 - 4 groups, and on average 30 - 40 pieces are needed the size of a match head per 1 sq. m. Accordingly, the larger their size, the greater the number required. Sowing depth is 3-4 cm in spring and 10 cm in autumn, and the distance between the rows (they can be of any length, depending on the area) is 3 cm.

You can get a full head of large garlic only for 2 years of sowing. In exceptional cases, this can happen even for 1 year.

It must be remembered that in no case should you grow garlic in the same area for more than 2 years in a row. Diseases can accumulate on this land, and it is also not worth placing a planting site where onions, cucumbers, and carrots were previously grown. It is best to do this after a tomato, any cabbage and peas.

See how to plant garlic bulbs using the technique:

Care

Caring for bulbs planted in spring consists of watering, fertilizing, loosening the beds and getting rid of emerging weeds. When the first sprouts just appear, you need to immediately loosen the soil in order to avoid the appearance of a soil crust that noticeably slows down growth, and cover it with a layer of humus or peat. And watering should be regular from the beginning of May to the beginning of July. And stop moistening the soil 3 weeks before harvest.

Bulbs require almost no care in the spring, so it is important to choose those that are large and healthy for planting at this time of the year.

After the snow melts, the first shoots appear, and they are fertilized, watered and weeded, but not dug up. And already for 2 years something grows that is suitable for obtaining a full-fledged harvest.

Harvest and storage

Winter garlic, planted in spring or autumn, is usually harvested in mid-July. But for the most part, you need to focus not on the timing, but on the yellowing of the leaves, the formation of the scales on the bulb dry.

Possible problems and difficulties

There is absolutely nothing complicated in growing garlic bulbs: they appear on their own as soon as the top layer of the arrow dries and cracks. They are also easy to dry: just wrap them in gauze and hang them up to fully ripen.

Conclusion

Many point out that when growing garlic in this way, its yield increases by 30 - 40% despite the fact that the amount of planting material is decreasing, and these are really significant advantages of growing this crop using bulbs.

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Few gardeners know how to grow winter onions from seeds, and even fewer know how to grow garlic from air bulbs in one season. This is not surprising, because most arrows on garlic are cut off and one or two are left as beacons - ripening indicators. This, by the way, is also wrong, because garlic with a cut arrow ends its vegetation faster than garlic with an uncut arrow.

I already wrote about the winter planting of onions with seeds in another article. So, the same garlic bulbs are seeds, and the difference from onions is that they need to be properly prepared, observing the morphological features of garlic.

For this technology, varieties with an average or early ripening period are perfect, i.e. we start harvesting from the second decade of July, and it is better to use varieties of the purple-striped subtype, since they usually form very large bulbs. Turbans or an Asian subtype may also be used. Porcelain and Rocamboli have smaller bulbs in the inflorescence, and Creoles ripen too late.

After harvesting the garlic, and preferably in a week, arrows with bulbs should be put on ripening. I already wrote about it. A sign of ripening will be that the bulbs will begin to dry out, and the inflorescences will fall apart. Bulbs need to be collected, sometimes you need to manually thresh the inflorescences. Sort the largest ones, and leave the smaller ones for winter planting. Large bulbs should be put in a paper envelope and put in the refrigerator for 10-14 days. There they should be at a temperature of 0 to +4 C.

The agrotechnics of planting bulbs is similar to the agrotechnics of planting winter garlic in everything, only bulbs are planted at the beginning of the second decade of August. By the end of September, large cloves will develop from these bulbs, and in this state the garlic will leave before winter. There is only one risk that during a long autumn (for example, like 2013), small multi-toothed bulbs can turn out from bulbs, but under standard weather conditions everything will work out in the best way.

Spring work with such garlic is similar to the usual winter planted with cloves. Additionally, phosphorus-potassium supplements may be required.

The harvest with this method of cultivation is not inferior to the harvest by standard technology, and sometimes even surpasses it, but the main advantage is that 1/5 of the cloves do not have to be used as planting material.

For those who are interested in this technology, I would first advise you to plant garlic using this and standard technology, and then compare the result.

Bulb planting is the use of air bulbs of garlic as seed material. It differs from planting with teeth and single-toothed bulbs in the level of penetration and the distance between the seeds. Since bulbils are much smaller than cloves and sevka, they are planted much closer to each other and not deepened.

To plant seeds from arrows, you need in the summer, when winter garlic blooms, choose the best arrows with the largest air bulbs and leave them, do not cut. Then wait until the boxes at the ends of the arrows open and the bulbs acquire the color that is inherent in the variety. Such arrows are cut, dried, the teeth are carefully peeled and the largest and most beautiful ones are selected to sow them in the fall.

Photo of garlic seeds on the arrow:

If there is a rod from the arrow between the cloves in the head of garlic, this is a winter variety, if not, it is a spring variety.

Advantages and disadvantages of air landing

The benefits of planting bulbs are obvious:

garlic rejuvenation, variety preservation. After four or five years garlic degenerates if planted with tines year after year from the same plants;
since the bulbs do not come into contact with the ground, they are not infected with fungus and diseases, the pathogens of which are in the soil;
a lot of planting material, from 40 to 100 bulbs grow on one arrow.

Disadvantages of this method:

large heads of five to seven teeth will be only in two years;
some of the seed material will inevitably dry out in winter, so you need to leave more bulbs than you need to plant your beds;
sprouts of tiny cloves are very delicate and fragile, they are easily clogged with weeds, and you need to weed very carefully.

When to plant?

Before harvesting, watering should be practically stopped two weeks in advance. Carefully dig out the resulting single teeth, lay them out in rows to dry, in no case in the sun, but in a shaded, dry and well-ventilated place. The resulting seed should be sorted and stored at room temperature in anticipation of autumn.

If the sevka turned out to be too much, then the part that is not needed for planting can be eaten. It is in no way inferior in taste and useful qualities to multi-toothed heads.

Single tooth photo:

Growing mistakes

Some gardeners do this. They do not dig up the single-toothed garlic, but leave it until next year. With this approach, there is no way to control the quality of the set and it sprouts too thickly. We have to dig up extra plants and replant, which adversely affects the yield.

The fact is that the root system of garlic is fibrous, very tender, it is impossible not to damage it during transplantation.

Another mistake that novice gardeners make is an excess of nitrogen fertilizers. It leads to lush growth of leaves, and not the development of the underground part of plants.

It is very undesirable to grow garlic after potatoes and tomatoes - the soil is very depleted. And after onions, garlic and onions have similar pests and diseases.

Do not fertilize with fresh manure - this can cause plant diseases.

Attention!

When harvesting, you do not have to wait until all the leaves turn yellow and dry - it will be difficult to look for single-toothed teeth in the ground.

The highest quality of garlic can be obtained precisely when growing from bulbs, so when planning seed material, you need to adhere to the proportion: 2/3 - cloves and sets, 1/3 - air bulbs. So you can always count on the preservation of the variety and a healthy harvest. This method is more laborious and time consuming. But all efforts are successfully compensated by the magnificent size and good preservation of bulbous root crops.

Garlic can be found in almost any garden. It has an interesting specific taste and aroma. Most often, garlic is used to prepare various dishes. Garlic is also used in medicine, because this plant belongs to excellent antiseptics.

Garlic is very popular among gardeners, many grow it in their own plots. Planting garlic is possible with cloves and seeds.

Growing garlic with seeds

With the help of bulbs, it helps to significantly increase the amount of seed. Indeed, from one garlic head, on average, ten cloves are obtained per planting, and from one bulb about a hundred seeds that can be planted in open ground.

In addition, the seeds are always healthy, so they produce high-quality seed, while the heads can be affected by various fungal diseases. Bulbs grow at the very top of the arrow, they are protected by a shell, so the seeds in them are always healthy and they are not affected by diseases and harmful insects.

planting time for garlic

Garlic is spring and winter. The winter species can expel arrows, but the spring one does not. In spring garlic, reproduction will take place with teeth, but those varieties that have arrows are able to reproduce by seeds (bulbs).

You can plant not only in spring, but also in autumn.

Pros and cons of planting seeds

This method of landing has both its positive aspects and negative ones. The advantages of planting seeds include the following points:

bulbs will always be healthy planting material;
this method allows you to propagate the culture well and avoid its degeneration;
seeds have high germination;
seeds are easier to plant in the ground.

The convenience of planting lies in the fact that the seeds can be planted immediately in the prepared soil. With teeth, the planting process is difficult due to the sorting of sprouted lobules.

The disadvantages of this type of landing include two points:

you can get a full harvest in the second year;
Frost may kill the seeds.

In the first year of planting, only one bulb grows from seeds, but in the second year there will already be a real head of garlic from it.

Growing and harvesting garlic seeds

There are no difficulties in growing, because the bulbs are independently formed on the garlic arrows. So it remains only to collect the seeds correctly. In this case, the most important thing will be to choose the right time to collect the seeds, namely the moment when the protective shell bursts and all the seeds are visible. This usually happens in mid or late July. Seeds must be cut and placed in storage until future planting.

Sometimes it happens that time passes, but the bulb does not burst. Growers keep waiting, assuming the seeds are not yet ripe, but this is not always the case. In this situation, you need to pay attention to the leaves of the plant. If the foliage begins to turn yellow, then the seeds can be collected, but if the color has not changed, then it is possible to wait.

Planting garlic seeds

In the first year, a single-tooth (bulb) grows out of the bulbs, but in the second year a normal garlic head appears. Single teeth can also be eaten, but it is better to leave them, nevertheless, for further reproduction.

Seeds can be planted in winter or spring.

Sowing seeds for the winter

First, you should cultivate a piece of land, fertilizing it with phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. After that, make grooves five to six centimeters deep. Pour river sand at their bottom, place garlic seeds in it at a depth of three centimeters.

The distance between the seeds should not be more than 6 cm. Between the rows, 10 cm must be maintained. After planting, the earth must be watered and the grooves covered with earth, mulched with peat or wood slips from above to make a pillow a couple of centimeters high.

Planting garlic seeds in spring

A safer way for garlic would be planting in the spring. Bulbs should spend the winter in a dry and dark place where the temperature will not exceed 20 ° C. In February, the seeds will need to be moved to a cooler place, where the temperature will not exceed 4 ° C, so that vegetative processes are activated in them.

Garlic is grown in every garden. Preference is given to winter varieties. They have a sharp taste. Used fresh, and also added to the marinade during canning. Grows quite well, the harvest is stable.

Over time, mold fungi begin to develop on the teeth and heads. The infection affects almost every turnip. Attempts to treat with insecticides do not give the desired result. Even a transplant doesn't help. A variety without renewal begins to degenerate. What to do?

The way out is simple, you need to update the planting material. To do this, you need to collect garlic arrows, seeds ripen in them. They will give you a complete replacement.

Attention! When seeds are planted, single-toothed arrowheads are formed, they are planted next year and get the usual multi-toothed heads.

Many bulbs ripen in one arrow, they will serve as the basis for growing new garlic. They just need to be properly grown and prepared for planting.

The video tells the reasons why bulbs are sown.

Winter garlic planted in autumn in spring is taken in unison to grow. The upper green part grows quite rapidly. The turnip gives growth in the spring, but only in the summer will it begin to gain mass and form future heads.

Benefits of growing garlic from arrowheads:

planting material is not susceptible to diseases;
from one arrow, up to 150 ... 200 new plants are obtained;
the variety is reborn anew, the quality of inherited properties is high;
easy to plant garlic seeds in the ground;
germination is almost 100%.

However, there are certain disadvantages to this method of propagation of garlic:

it will take at least two years to grow a normal crop;
seeds can freeze when planted before winter, if there are severe frosts without snow cover.

Preparing seeds for propagation

In mid-June (Middle Russia), arrows form. For their formation, the plant spends a solid amount of nutrition. Like any mother plant, garlic tries to pass on to the offspring the necessary supply of substances for future growth. Experienced gardeners do not allow the arrows to grow, they are cut off. Only a few of the largest ones are left, where the formation of large heads is noticed. Count on the transmission of good heredity.

Information for thought. Cut arrows can be used throughout the year. After breaking off, they are washed, and then crushed in a blender or cut with a knife. The resulting mass is frozen and stored in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

If you need to add garlic flavor to the prepared dishes, take a small amount (a teaspoon or a tablespoon) and use it during the cooking process. The aroma and sharpness are preserved.

The remaining arrows are not cut until the garlic is harvested.

Attention! The arrows first twist around the stem, and then straighten out. When they are fully straightened, you can harvest. It makes no sense to keep garlic on the beds.

In order for the bulbs to finally ripen, you need to perform a number of actions.

The stem with an arrow is cut off at least 20 ... 22 cm long.
It is placed in the shade, nutrients continue to flow to the seeds.
When the stem dries (about 10-12 days), you can separate the bulbs.
Sorted by size. When planted, everything will sprout, but large ones have more prospects to give high-quality offspring.
Dry in the shade. Planting material finally matures within 20-30 days.

How to save garlic seeds

The resulting bulbs can be planted:

in the autumn of the current year, then in the summer we can expect the first harvest of single-toothed;
next spring. It is not forbidden to sow seeds of winter garlic in the spring;
autumn next year, the loss of quality is negligible. Only weak seeds will lose their germination after a year. Natural selection is useful in this case too.

Autumn planting bulbs

In autumn, sowing of seed material is carried out at the same time as planting winter garlic. For Central Russia, it is recommended to carry out such work from late September to mid-October.

Soil preparation

Before planting, you need to prepare the beds, where the seed will germinate in the future. Primary requirements:

desirable precursors: legumes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, carrots;
unwanted precursors: onions, garlic, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, potatoes;
loose soil with a neutral reaction, pH = 5.0…6.0;
the depth of the fertile layer is at least 18 cm, the average size of soil particles is 10 ... 20 mm;
the presence of humus, the presence of high-moor peat is allowed.

The sequence of preparing the beds.

Deep loosening with soil cutters or a Mole ripper.
The introduction of gypsum (at pH = 6.0 ... 7.0) or slaked lime (at pH = 4.0 ... 4.5), for each square meter at least 30 g.
The introduction of boric acid, 10 ... 12 g / m 2;
Urea additive, 25…35 g/m 2 ;
The introduction of superphosphate, 20 ... 25 g / m 2;
Potassium nitrate additive, 8…12 g/m 2 ;
Mix all mineral additives with a rake.

Seeds can be planted in a strawberry garden. There is also training.

In the middle of the ridge, as well as along the edges, deep loosening is carried out, garden pitchforks are used.
Add the mineral additives shown above.
Stir, after a week you can land.

Planting bulbs

Before planting, the seed material is prepared. It is soaked for 10 ... 15 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate (light pink solution).

It is useful to process in a solution of heteroauxin: roots are better formed. The tablet is diluted in 1 liter of water. Then the bulbs are immersed for 15 ... 20 minutes.

For landing at a distance of 12 ... 15 cm, small grooves are created with a depth of 4.0 ... 4.5 cm.
Spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate. Some vegetable growers recommend pouring boiling water from the kettle to completely get rid of the infection.
Spread the seeds at a distance of 8 cm.
Then sprinkle with peat, humus or loose soil on top.

Planting in holes is also possible. To do this, use markers with pegs 4 cm long and 2 ... 3 cm in diameter. Holes are made with a marker, and then the bulbs are laid out in the holes. Then they sprinkle or level the soil layer with a rake.

Cover the bed for the winter. A good shelter is straw (4 ... 8 cm) or hay (up to 15 cm). Some gardeners use covering material (agrospam). Fixed with staples made of steel wire.

Spring cares for a bed with sown garlic seeds

Shelter is removed after the daytime temperature reaches more than +5 °C. During the day, the soil will warm up, which will stimulate the growth of planted bulbs. Usually, sprouts appear by spring, they have formed roots.

Feeding is needed at the end of April. You can water the bed with a solution in which 10 liters of water are added:

15 ... 20 g of urea;
20 ... 25 g of superphosphate;
7 ... 10 g of potassium nitrate.

It is desirable to evenly water the soil with this solution over an area of 1 sq.m. For watering on a watering can, the sprayer is turned over. Then the water erodes the soil layer less.

Many vegetable growers foliar, fill garden sprayers with nutrient solution and spray green shoots with them. Their results are quite interesting.

Spring planting bulbs

The preparatory work for preparing the beds for planting in the spring is similar to autumn work. Landing is carried out from mid-April to the first decade of May. Seedlings appear within a week.

Top dressing is carried out a week after the emergence of shoots. Along the way, weeding and loosening the soil. Water as needed, preventing the soil from drying out.

top dressing

The desired frequency of top dressing is 18 ... 25 days. It is necessary to water an area of 1 square meter with a nutrient solution in which there is not 10 liters of water:

20 ... 25 g of urea;
25 ... 30 g of superphosphate;
12 ... 15 g of potassium nitrate.

Single tooth cleaning

Garlic harvest (one-toothed) is harvested in late July or early August. The resulting crop can be used like regular garlic. Harvested at the same time as for regular garlic.

Single teeth are mainly used as planting material. Of these, normal garlic heads grow next year, in which at least four cloves will be formed.

Based on long-term observations, it has been established that it is desirable to annually renew at least a third of the planting material of winter garlic. To do this, when planting, a thorough sorting and rejection of teeth is carried out. It is corrected at planting by adding one-toothed teeth to the sowing.

conclusions

Renewal of winter garlic planting material is carried out by planting seeds from arrows. They ensure the renewal of the quality indicators of the variety.
When preparing the garden bed, the entire set of mineral fertilizers is introduced into it, which contribute to the formation of the root system, as well as the vigorous growth of future plants.
In the first year after planting the bulbs, single teeth grow. They are suitable for food use.
When used as a seed, single-tooth heads grow into ordinary multi-tooth heads the next year.
It is recommended to update at least one third of the plantings of garlic.