Methods and periods for storing garlic seeds

Small cloves (bulbs) filling the bulb located at the end of the garlic bulb are excellent seed material that allows you to grow a rich harvest of a healthy, healthy product.

The cloves ripen in the bulb without coming into contact with soil filled with microbes and bacteria, therefore it is very important to adhere to certain rules for storing already collected seeds in order to protect them from infection by pathogenic microflora.

We will tell you in the article how to store garlic seeds and what their shelf life is.

Preparation

Late July to mid-August is the most favorable harvest period and preparation for long-term storage of garlic bulbs. The ripe heads are cut off at the base with a sharp knife. Under no circumstances should you pull out or break off the stems, as this can harm the plant.

The bulbs are carefully sorted, separating large cloves from small ones. The collected seed material is carefully placed in a clean cardboard box, and then sent to a dark, dry place for drying.

It is easy to understand that the bulbs are ready for further long-term storage: the seed heads will begin to crack and crumble. How long do garlic seeds last? Bulbs can be stored for six to seven months.

How to save?

Sorted, dried bulbs are stored in a clean (no mold on the walls), dry room, with good ventilation, at an air temperature not lower than +17°C.

It is important to check that there are no mice or other rodents in the room, which can very quickly destroy the entire stock of seed.

The seeds are packaged in paper bags and placed in a dark corner, away from direct sunlight (this method is good for large bulbs).

For small seeds use the ash storage method. To do this, pour a layer (2-3 cm) of ash into a cardboard box on which garlic cloves are tightly placed. As soon as the box is full, the bulbs are covered with another layer of ash and sent to a dry place for storage.

Alternatively, the smallest seeds can be stored in glass jars. A clean, dry container is filled with seeds, sprinkling each layer with flour during the filling process (the natural absorbent will absorb excess moisture, helping to preserve the bulbs from rotting).

Garlic seeds can be dried in gauze bags. To do this, the bags are pre-soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, dried, and ironed. Prepared gauze bags filled with bulbs are hung from the ceiling.

How to prepare for planting?

To get a rich harvest of large garlic, the bulbs must be properly prepared before planting.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Forty days before the expected planting date, the seed material is moved to a room with an air temperature of +6-7 ° C. For small volumes, the bulbs can be moved to the lower compartment of the refrigerator. Cooling the seeds (stratification process) helps strengthen the seed material and speed up the process of germination of bulblets in open ground.
2. Twenty-four hours before sowing, the seeds are soaked in a saline solution (1 teaspoon of salt per 250 ml of cold water). The soaking process will help to reject unsuitable seeds (empty bulbs float).Additionally, you can add a few one or two crystals of potassium permanganate to the water. This solution will disinfect seed well before sowing.

How to plant?

There are three main ways to plant garlic seeds in open ground.

In winter

Sowing begins in November, before the first frost (it is important that the soil temperature does not fall below +5°C).

Algorithm of actions:

• the prepared seeds are lowered into a groove (depth up to 5 cm);
• The sown bed is covered with soil and mulched with sawdust.

The distance between the beds should not be less than 40 cm, as narrow passages make the weeding process difficult.

in spring

Planting of spring garlic begins in the first week of March.

Algorithm of actions:

• the beds are dug up and leveled with a rake;
• Garlic bulbs are evenly distributed along the grooves, deepened by 2-3 cm, and covered with soil.

The first shoots will appear very soon. Therefore, it is very important to water the beds on time and remove weeds.

In summer

The advantage of this method of planting seeds is the possibility of obtaining a rich harvest of garlic in a year without transplanting the grown cloves in the fall.

Algorithm of actions:

1. The formed boxes with bulbs (without waiting for them to open) are cut off with a sharp knife. A clear sign that the right moment has come is that the first yellow areas appear on the leaves of the garlic.
2. The bulbs are dried in the sun for two days.
3. The prepared seed is scattered along the furrows of the loosened beds, sprinkled with soil and mulch.

Already in the fall, that first clove will ripen (no need to dig it up) from which a large head of garlic will grow next year.

Adviсe

It is very easy to understand that the seeds are ready for collection. Spiral garlic arrow straightens, pours turn yellow, and the outer white shell of the seed sac (bulb) cracks.

Before cutting a ripe seed pod from a garlic shoot, it would be a good idea to wrap it in gauze or put on a nylon sock. This will help maintain the integrity of the seed head, which can crumble due to sudden movement.

Video on the topic of the article

The video will tell you when to collect and how to store garlic seeds:

Conclusion

Strict adherence to all recommendations for collecting, preparing and storing bulbs will help you get a rich harvest of large garlic in the future.