Garlic likes cold climate and is suitable for cultivation in winter. Garlic usually has two categories: meat garlic and bone garlic. Meat and garlic can bolt and ripen late, while bone and garlic are precocious and not easy to bolt. Garlic cultivated in the south is mainly aimed at harvesting garlic seedlings (green garlic) and bulbs, while meat and garlic are also eaten in garlic graves. The main cultivated varieties are Yulin garlic and Quanzhou meat garlic.
① Yulin Garlic: The leaves are dark gray-green, thick and soft, and the pseudostems are soft. The bulb is slightly oblate and consists of 2~3 layers of garlic cloves. Garlic cloves are reddish at the base, generally with 12~20 cloves, which are not arranged neatly. The plant has strong growth potential, disease resistance, high yield, early maturity, fertilizer tolerance, cold tolerance and strong spicy taste. The edible quality of garlic seedlings or bulbs is very good. The yield of garlic seedlings per mu 1500~2000 kg or garlic head 500~600 kg.
② Quanzhou meat garlic: the leaves are semi-drooping, thick yellow-green, and the false stems are white. Bulb buds are white, garlic cloves are big, and each bulb has 6~ 10 garlic cloves. Two months after planting, garlic seedlings can be harvested and eaten one after another. Those who collect garlic graves will harvest in about 150 days. Bulbs are harvested in 270~280 days. Quanzhou's fleshy garlic stems and leaves are tender, rich in flavor, cold-resistant and moisture-resistant, with vigorous growth and high yield.
In addition, there are varieties of garlic, such as Bud Gold, Jiading Garlic, Graveless Garlic and Jiangxi Dried Garlic.
2. Environmental requirements of garlic
Soil: The root system of garlic is generally shallow, and its ability of absorbing fertilizer and water is weak. Sandy loam with rich organic matter and strong water and fertility retention is more suitable. Sandy garlic has a strong spicy taste; The sticky soil is light in spicy taste. Should be properly ploughed to avoid continuous cropping.
Temperature: Garlic has strong cold tolerance, garlic cloves can germinate at 3~5℃, the optimum temperature is 20℃, the optimum temperature for plant growth is 12~ 16℃, and the bulb formation requirement is16 ~ 20℃. The seedling stage and the growth stage of garlic are wet and not heat-resistant. With the increase of temperature in summer, the leaves wither and the bulbs go into dormancy.
Moisture: Garlic root system has shallow distribution, small distribution range, almost no root hairs, weak ability to absorb water, and requires high soil moisture, especially during the growth period of garlic seedlings, so it should be irrigated frequently to keep the soil moist.
3. Garlic cultivation
Choose fertile, well-drained sandy loam, turn it over and dry it, rake it up and level it, and apply 2,500-3,000 kilograms of base fertilizer per mu, with existing fertilizer as the main component and garbage, plant ash, etc. It is better to apply poultry manure such as chicken and duck. Mix the base fertilizer with the soil fully, and the furrow can be furrowed with the width of 1.3~ 1.7 m. Ditching and planting can be carried out after ridging. Those who harvest green garlic have a short growth period and should be planted closely; Those who collect garlic have a long growth period and should be sparsely planted. Cultivated for the purpose of harvesting green garlic, the plant spacing is about 5 cm, the row spacing is about 14 cm, the sowing per mu is about100000 seedlings, and the seed consumption is 250~350 kg; For garlic harvesting cultivation, planting ditches should be opened according to the row spacing of 20 cm, the plant spacing should be 14 cm, about 32,000 seedlings should be planted per mu, and the seed consumption should be about 120 kg. The planting depth should be controlled when garlic cloves are inserted into the soil and the tips are slightly exposed, and then covered with fine soil with a thickness of 2 cm, and then covered with straw, and diluted human excrement water 1000~ 1500 kg is applied per mu.
4. Top dressing and irrigation for planting garlic
After the emergence of garlic, with the growth of leaves, the amount of fertilizer absorbed increased. Those who harvest green garlic will start harvesting this year, and the demand for nitrogen is large. When the seedlings are 3~5 cm, they should start topdressing, mainly nitrogen fertilizer, and manure can be applied. During the growth of green garlic, topdressing should be done 2~3 times to promote the growth of aboveground parts. Generally, human manure 1500 kg should be applied each time. Those who pick garlic, keep the soil moist after sowing, and apply 1 time human excrement and urine when the seedling height is 3~5 cm. Topdressing 1 time before overwintering can make the seedlings grow strong and improve their resistance. After the spring, it is the vigorous growth period of garlic plants, and the fertilizer demand increases, so it is necessary to apply 1 time heavy fertilizer, combined with certain phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. After the garlic is swollen, it is not advisable to apply too thick manure to avoid rot. In short, there are two main fertilization periods in the growth of garlic, one is to promote seedling fertilizer to promote the growth of garlic leaves; The other is to promote head fat and promote the expansion of bulbs.
The water needed for garlic growth is generally supplied by watering or irrigation when topdressing. Apply manure before overwintering and combine with irrigation to keep the soil moist; After spring, bulbs begin to swell, water demand increases, and water should be watered in case of drought; In case of rainy days, pay attention to drainage to avoid loose garlic cloves due to excessive soil moisture, which is not resistant to storage.