How to feed garlic planted before winter in spring

Garlic is one of the most useful vegetables, and therefore gardeners love to grow it in their summer cottages and backyards. Usually this culture is planted with the onset of autumn, so many people have questions: what is the best way to feed garlic planted before winter in spring, and how to get large and high-quality vegetables? Spring dressing of garlic plays an important role in the cultivation of this unpretentious crop, because the future harvest depends not only on proper planting care, but also on the timely introduction of organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil.

When winter garlic is fed

Experienced gardeners know that garlic can be planted twice a year - in the fall before winter (winter) and in early spring (spring), as soon as the soil is free of snow. Both the one and the other species need additional feeding.

Fertilization for winter garlic begins in the fall when preparing the beds. Two weeks before planting the culture, organic and mineral substances are introduced into the soil. However, the main feeding is done in early spring, a few days after the snow melts. Whether or not to water the plantings together with top dressing - each gardener decides independently based on weather conditions and soil conditions. In too moist soil, garlic planted before winter can rot, but even with a lack of moisture, the vegetable grows poorly. The plants are fed the second time after two weeks. The next feeding is carried out in the second half of June, when the formation of the bulb begins and the plant especially needs additional nutrients.

The timing of the first and second feeding can be slightly shifted, but the third time the plantings should be fertilized just in time. If fertilizers are applied earlier, they will not help the formation of the bulb, but will only accelerate the growth of green mass and arrows. Late feeding in spring will also be useless and will not bring the desired result.

Organic fertilizers

Any summer resident who grows vegetables in a small area prefers to feed his plants with organic matter. Unlike chemical additives, they are safer because they do not accumulate in the soil and plants. For garlic, cow dung, urea, wood ash, and salt are used.

• Mullein (cow dung)

You can apply cow dung to the garlic ridge throughout the entire period of plant development. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and other nutrients that are essential for the growth and ripening of vegetable crops.

Important!

Fresh manure can be embedded in the soil only if planting in this place will be carried out in the spring. To feed the garlic planted before winter, use a specially prepared liquid mullein.

To prepare fertilizer, you need to pour 1 bucket of dry manure into the barrel and pour 5 buckets of water. The mixture should be infused for 2-3 weeks, stirring occasionally. The resulting infusion is mixed with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the garlic beds are watered.

• Wood ash

Another natural fertilizer - wood ash - not only saturates the soil with nutrients, but also disinfects and repels pests. Ash is used for the second feeding in spring, scattering between rows or pouring in a liquid solution (200 ml per 10 liters of water) under the plants.

• Salt

To accelerate the growth of the vegetable and against yellowing of the leaves, use ordinary table salt. It is very simple to prepare the solution. For this you need 3 tbsp. l. Stir salt in 1 bucket of water. Water the planting at the rate of 3 liters of the mixture per 1 sq. m.

• Ammonia

Ammonia, used as a spring feed, has two benefits.Vapors have a detrimental effect on harmful insects, and the released nitrogen is very beneficial for plant development. To prepare the fertilizer, you need to mix 25 ml of alcohol with 10 liters of water. The mixture is poured over the garlic beds, after which the soil is loosened.

Many gardeners like to fertilize their plantings with chicken droppings. Experts advise against using this remedy for garlic, especially fresh.

Important!

When using chicken manure as a top dressing, garlic loses its taste and is stored worse.

In addition to the usual method of fertilizing (under the root of the plant), there is foliar dressing, when the nutrient composition is sprayed onto the stems and leaves. With this method of delivery of fertilizer, the vegetable receives the necessary trace elements much faster. However, it is impossible to replace one top dressing with another, they only complement each other. Foliar dressing is carried out twice during the period of the most active crop growth.

Mineral fertilizers

In addition to organic fertilizers, simple and complex mineral fertilizers are used to grow large and high-quality winter garlic. Usually, this type of feeding is used by farmers who cultivate this crop in large areas, or summer residents who do not have the opportunity to use organic matter.

At the first application of fertilizers to the ridges with garlic planted before winter, the following composition is used: 2 tsp. urea is mixed with 2 tsp. potassium chloride and diluted in 10 liters of water. It is better to feed the soil with such a solution before evening watering. In addition, for the first feeding, you can use urea, diluted at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water.

At the second application of fertilizer under the garlic planted in the fall, apply nitroammofoska, dissolving 60 g of powder in 10 liters of water. In the next steps, you can use a superphosphate extract by stirring 60 g of the substance in a bucket of water.

Each gardener must independently calculate the dosage of fertilizer, depending on the appearance and condition of the plants, taking into account the quality of the soil. The use of unreasonably high doses of fertilizers does not always have a positive effect on the size and growth of garlic. Only poor depleted soils should be supplemented with minerals. In other cases, it is advisable to feed vegetables during the growing season.

Thus, winter garlic in spring primarily needs nitrogen, as this element contributes to the growth of green mass. Then, in order for the head of the vegetable to form correctly, the plantings should be fed with potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. Throughout the growing season, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the stem and leaves of the vegetable, since the cause of insufficient development can be not only a lack of nutrients, but also pest damage or putrefactive diseases. Timely maintenance of the ridges and feeding of garlic is the key to getting a rich harvest.