How to germinate and propagate garlic at home?
Garlic is a biennial lily, but it behaves like a perennial, because the cloves grow only the following year. It is divided into soft-stemmed and hard-stemmed varieties. Soft-stemmed garlic produces many small pods growing around the central stem. The hard-stemmed variety produces larger cloves, but in smaller quantities.
Garlic is sold as a head and the one sold in the supermarket can be planted. However, it can be treated with antigerminants and pesticides. It is therefore preferable to turn to the garlic offered in garden centers to avoid bad surprises. The garlic fragments or cloves should only be separated at the time of planting. This easy to grow lily is frost resistant. It is also not very sensitive to diseases and insects and can be harvested in early summer (late June, early July). It can be stored for 6 to 12 months when well dried.
Contents
To germinate garlic at home, you need :
a head of garlic ;
a pot ;
potting soil.
Instructions to follow:
Choose a good head of garlic;
Take the pot and fill it with potting soil;
Separate the garlic cloves, taking care not to damage the base of the cloves;
Place the cloves, tip up, 2.5 cm deep each before covering with 2.5 cm of potting soil;
Place the pot in the sun and water once the soil starts to dry;
Cut the stems when they are 10 cm high so that the taste is concentrated in the bulbs of all the garlics and leave 3 cm so that they grow;
When the stems do not grow anymore, when 5 or 6 leaves become dry and brown, dig up the pods and repeat the process.
Once the bulb of it separated, it is better to plant the biggest pods with a distance of 15 cm between them. After a week to 10 days, the first stems and leaves will appear. Note that 5 to 9 months after being planted, the leaves of this lily will start to yellow and it will be ready to be harvested. The center cloves are kept for cooking or for harvesting green garlic.
Planting garlic
This vegetable needs an aerated, non-sandy soil. The soil must be compact, but also allow water to circulate. To do this, simply put dry topsoil, compost and clay balls in a pot. Place the garlics in a warm, sunny spot, as the bulbs can rot from the humidity. The soil should be well drained and should not hold water. In case of clay soil, it is better to plant the garlic later and to grow it on mounds, because the soil will dry out faster. Soil nourished by a previous crop is sufficient, as garlics do not appreciate too fresh manure that destroys the roots. Moreover, garlics particularly appreciate clayey-limestone and sandy-clay soils.
When to plant garlic: which month to choose?
Planting garlic on the balcony is an economical idea. In autumn, purple and white garlic are best, as they thrive in the soil during this time of year. Red and pink garlic grow best in the spring. Depending on the region, this root vegetable is planted in November, a month before the first frost. This way, it can get a head start and have beautiful green stems. The cloves will resume their growth in the spring and will be more developed than those planted at that time.
White garlic is planted in the fall from October to December. It can be planted as long as it does not freeze and as soon as possible, because it takes a long time to grow. It reaches maturity after 6 to 8 months. White garlic appreciates the cold. If it is planted in hot weather, it will have trouble producing good heads.
Purple and red garlic are planted in autumn. They are cold and need a mild climate.
Pink garlic is grown in the spring, in January, February and March.
Care of pot garlic
Garlic grown in a pot or on a plot requires little maintenance.
Garlic does not need much water. It should be well watered when planted. Except in case of severe drought, it does not need to be watered.
Garlic likes sunny exposures.
When to harvest garlic?
For a summer harvest, plant garlic in autumn
For a fall harvest, plant garlic in the spring
A few weeks before harvesting, it will be necessary to remove the soil around the bulbs to allow them to dry properly.
Making coarse knots with the leaves that are beginning to yellow helps the garlic bulb to develop.
Growing green garlic in pots
It is quite possible to plant garlic in pots to harvest green garlic. Simply plant them in groups of 5 or 6 in a container filled with potting soil, place in the sun and water only when the soil is completely dry.
Garlic does not need much water. It should be well watered when planted. Except in case of severe drought, it does not need to be watered.
Garlic likes sunny exposures.
When to harvest garlic?
For a summer harvest, plant garlic in autumn
For a fall harvest, plant garlic in the spring
A few weeks before harvesting, it will be necessary to remove the soil around the bulbs to allow them to dry properly.
Making coarse knots with the leaves that are beginning to yellow helps the garlic bulb to develop.
Growing green garlic in pots
It is quite possible to plant garlic in pots to harvest green garlic. Simply plant them in groups of 5 or 6 in a container filled with potting soil, place in the sun and water only when the soil is completely dry. The stems can be cut when they reach 20 cm.
Harvesting garlic: when to harvest?
Garlic is harvested in dry weather with a spade fork.
Simply lift the heads, then pull them off.
Clean the heads well by removing the soil and do not rinse them with water as this could cause them to rot.
Dry the heads and leaves of the garlic flat on a piece of wood, table, floor or other dry surface.
The garlic will be dry enough to be tied in bundles or braided after 3 to 4 weeks.
For storage, cut off the dried leaves or wrap the dried garlic in a cloth or paper bag. Rubbing with your fingers will remove the skin and root remnants from the garlic.
Diseases and pests of garlic
Garlic is prone to certain insect pests and diseases.
Garlic rust occurs during wet springs. Leaves develop red spots that spread to the point of inhibiting plant growth. The affected leaves should be cut off as soon as the first signs appear. Rust is the only disease to which garlic is susceptible because of its strong odor that repels insect pests and animals. This cryptogamic disease is brought by the wind carrying the spores.
Leek moths and onion flies occasionally attack garlic.
Bulbs can rot due to excess water.