How the Chinese plant. A Chinese vegetable grower explained how greenhouse vegetables are grown. How is garlic grown in China?
Personally, at our house, the seeds in boxes with soil - early tomatoes, peppers and eggplants - have already sprouted. Small sprouts began to reach towards the light. But we and our readers have not yet sowed everything. So it's time to talk about which seeds are best to buy. And why are the seeds from China so beloved by Amur residents dangerous?
Amur residents very often bring packets of seeds from China. They smuggle it through customs in their pockets, in their purses, and hide it as best they can, because they know that it is illegal. The law prohibits the import of seeds into Russia without certification of varietal and sowing qualities. And Chinese seeds There are no such certificates. But people are still lucky: they are cheaper, their yield, according to gardeners, is high, and the seeds themselves, unlike goods domestic producers“, the Chinese pour much more into bags,” says Senior Inspector of the Rosselkhoznadzor Department for the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Amur Region Pavel Zhirnov. “However, no one knows what is actually in these bags of illegal seeds.”
Mixed with weeds
The seeds themselves may be contaminated various kinds sores. Not only are such seeds incapable of producing a harvest, but they can also seriously spoil the entire garden.
Remember, the Chinese most often make bags of seeds using a handicraft method. That is, they are collected from their beds by hand and filled up. Such seeds carry all the diseases that infected the plants in the beds. Our seeds are produced under proper factory control and end up in bags after careful selection.
Gene modifications
Genetically modified products are officially permitted in China. There is a strict ban on them in Russia. A textbook example: in Europe they began to plant genetically modified corn. Scientists have made its pollen poisonous to pest butterflies. But no one took into account that all the butterflies in the area would die from the pollen. The environment suffered enormous damage, says Pavel Zhirnov.
But genetically modified foods are dangerous not only for butterflies. Geneticists got to plant seeds literally ten to fifteen years ago. Such a short period of time has passed since plants began to be forcibly modified. And no one knows how GMOs affect the human body. And we are already eating them. By the way, the Chinese themselves are increasingly buying Russian soybeans, refusing the same genetically modified Brazilian soybeans, and even their own. Although, it would seem, the people are so unpretentious in terms of food. Russian scientists believe that GMOs can cause dangerous allergic reactions and even lead to cancer.
So, Chinese seeds may well be genetically modified. After all, the Chinese themselves rarely write about this on their products.
What is better to buy
Sachets illegally smuggled from the Middle Kingdom can be found at private traders in markets. Chinese flower seeds - in flower shops. Sellers hide them from supervisory authorities, but if you ask, they will get them from under the counter. For the above reasons Rosselkhoznadzor I strongly advise against taking such seeds. Our domestic seeds are quite good. Suppliers bring here to Far East, mainly those varieties that take root well in our cold soil and produce a normal harvest before the onset of autumn cold. It is best, experts recommend, to purchase seeds in large specialized stores or from trusted, experienced private traders who value their reputation. This way, you are guaranteed to get a good harvest, and you will get rid of the danger of introducing infection into the soil.
Each seed seller must have an original or copy of the state quarantine phytosanitary control act. The presence of such a document means that the entire batch of seeds has been examined by Rosselkhoznadzor and is completely safe. Require such a certificate upon purchase. You, as a consumer, have the right to this. Complain about sellers without necessary documents possible in local government Rosselkhoznadzor by phone 8-914-396-44-60 .
But as for specific varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other cultivated plants, it is difficult to say anything specific. There are so many varieties of them. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, up to 90 percent of seed varieties sold in the Amur region are ideal, or almost ideal, for our soils and our climate.
NOTE TO THE READER
What is the fine for illegal seeds?
In 2012, 671 packets of seeds and 55 seedlings were seized on the border of the Amur region and China. Of course, not everyone who smuggles it is found to have illegal goods. If you are stopped at customs and the Chinese seeds hidden in your pants are confiscated, you will have to pay a fine. In accordance with the Code of Administrative Violations, it is:
From ordinary citizens - from 200 to 500 rubles,
WITH officials- from 500 to 1000 rubles,
WITH individual entrepreneurs- from 500 to 1000 rubles,
WITH legal entities- from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.
By the way, dear reader (what if you are the owner of a flower salon or the owner of a gardening store), the same article of the law allows the supervisory authorities to close your establishment for 90 days for a shipment of illegal seeds.
BY THE WAY
What weeds can be in Chinese bags
Yes, any! But the most dangerous are dodder and ragweed.
Ambrosia no less harmful. Outwardly it looks like a panicle with small inflorescences, like mimosa. It survives under any conditions; the seeds overwinter well even in completely frozen ground. And ambrosia scatters heaps of seeds. This weed takes a lot of moisture from the ground. Cultivated plants doesn't leave anything to drink. In addition, ragweed is considered dangerous for allergy sufferers - it produces a lot of pollen and often causes sneezing, runny nose and even asthmatic attacks in gardeners digging in their garden beds.
Potato dishes have long gained worldwide popularity. The delicious tubers of this South American plant have gradually conquered all continents over three centuries. Asian farmers for a long time preferred traditional rice, but now potatoes are recognized as the number one product in China. The creators of gunpowder also approached the cultivation of root crops creatively. They not only introduce new high-yielding varieties, but also developed an original planting technology. What is special about the method and how to grow potatoes in Chinese?
Traditional or new?
Professional agronomists and ordinary summer residents note that potato yield depends not only on the quality seed material or care, but also on how it is planted. Therefore, the number of methods for planting everyone’s favorite root crop already numbers several dozen. Traditional methods: under a shovel, in holes and in ridges - require large area, the cost of seed, effort and time to care for the beds. But they are simple and, apart from sprouted tubers, soil and a shovel, nothing is needed.
Potatoes are a valuable food product. Its tubers contain over 10 amino acids and useful microelements. And the volume of protein is twice as high as in wheat and 30% more than in rice.
Therefore, gardeners are increasingly looking for new options for cultivating potatoes. Among them, the most popular, according to Mittlider, are in vertical containers: bags, baskets, barrels and boxes. These methods can significantly increase the yield from limited area and at lower costs. But the experimenter will need additional materials, and sometimes special equipment.
Potato yields decrease if they are planted in the same place. The best predecessors for it are legumes, garlic, onions, zucchini, and corn.
Appeared not long ago the newest way growing potatoes - in Chinese. It is designed for a small area, a modest number of tubers and simplified care. Planting potatoes using the Chinese method can really save land, seeds and energy. But he hasn’t become popular yet. The fact is that Russian gardeners are not yet getting the expected result - over 20 kg from one or two tubers.
What is the Chinese method of planting potatoes based on?
How to grow the maximum amount of potatoes per day minimum area, With small investments seeds? Chinese agronomists solved this problem by inventing their technology.
The Chinese planting method is based on the ability of potatoes to form underground shoots, they are called stolons. The thickenings at the end of the grown stolons are the tubers for which potatoes are grown. The logic is simple: the more underground stems, the higher the yield. When grown using traditional methods, hilling is required. The soil is raked up to potato tops to stimulate the growth of the underground part. Hilling is not done according to the Chinese method. The potato bush is completely covered with soil mixed with nutrients or mulching materials (materials that regulate water and air regimes). These layers are laid several times as they grow. To do this, the tubers are planted at a considerable depth (up to half a meter), in a hole or trench. Inventors Chinese way They assure that when burying, that is, hilling, on the contrary, the stolons will grow more actively. Due to this, productivity will increase.
Potato plantations in China should occupy almost 7 million hectares of land by 2020, which is 2 million more than in 2014. China plans to increase the potato share in the food basket to 30%. Growing the root crop is more profitable and easy, say Chinese agronomists; it requires three times less water compared to wheat and rice, and can withstand cold and drought.
Potatoes are becoming increasingly popular in China; they have already replaced traditional rice
Is it worth planting potatoes the Chinese way: the pros and cons of the method
The Chinese method of growing potatoes is interesting and unusual. It has undoubted advantages:
- enough small area land;
- A small number of tubers is enough for planting;
- no weeding or hilling required;
- less frequent watering;
- without effort it is possible to protect the bushes from Colorado potato beetle.
However, the Chinese multi-layer bed also has disadvantages. Digging a fairly large and deep hole or trench is not so easy for a physically weak person. And the biggest disadvantage is that this method does not guarantee the huge harvest that is written about on the Internet. Russian gardeners most often collect from bushes planted using the Chinese method, only slightly more tubers than with other growing methods. One tuber produces a yield of approximately 1.5–2 kg. There are several reasons for the failure: potato varieties are not suitable, agricultural technology is not followed, or the Russian soil does not work according to Chinese rules. Why the theory is not supported by practice and whether it is worth planting potatoes this way can be found out by gardeners who are not afraid to experiment.
How to plant potatoes the Chinese way
Agronomists from China warn that this technology is only suitable for high-yielding varieties. Breeders from the Celestial Empire have been successfully breeding such potatoes for more than 50 years. In addition, for a Chinese garden bed you need special soil, very airy and loose, which they say is like fluff. Without a fair dose of fertilizer, nothing will work either. Therefore, before starting the experiment, evaluate your capabilities.
In China, potatoes are grown in Yunnan Province, in the southwest. Local farmers have developed up to 70 new varieties of tuber crops, about 20 of which have become widespread in other countries. Asian countries. And the Academy of Potato Sciences was opened at Yunnan University, its task is to study the promising plant. It must be said that the main efforts of scientists are not aimed at finding new methods of planting. The Chinese are trying to solve the problem of potato propagation not with tubers, but with seeds.
Preparation of planting material
The Chinese are attentive to preparing tubers for planting. Root vegetables the size of a hen's egg work best.
To stimulate eye growth, potatoes are subjected to heat shock in the spring. He is taken out of the cool and darkness. Then lay out in a light and dark room, but away from batteries. Greened tubers with sprouts are ready for planting.
If there is not enough space for sprouting potatoes, pour the tubers into ordinary glass jars. This way they will get enough light and you will free up space.
Before germination, you need to carve the tuber. It is cut approximately in the middle, selecting the pulp so that it looks like hourglass. Or make a simple cut around the circumference of the tuber, no more than a centimeter deep. To prevent rotting, the pulp must be treated with ash.
Video: processing tubers before planting
Potatoes in a hole
As experts in the Chinese method assure, in each potato hole, at least 20 kg of root crops are formed from one or two tubers. Therefore, calculate how many potatoes you want to collect, and based on this, determine the quantity seats and get started.
Planting potatoes the Chinese way
- Dig a hole to a depth of half a meter, with a diameter of approximately 70–90 cm.
- At the bottom, mix loose soil, rotted manure or compost (a third of a bucket), add a handful of ash, bone meal and superphosphate, mix again.
- Plant a sprouted tuber in the nutrient mixture, maybe two or three.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with 10 cm of soil and water.
- After the sprouts stretch up to 15 cm, carry out the first hilling in reverse, adding soil to the hole. Leave no more than 5 cm of greenery on the surface.
- When the tops grow to 20 cm again, cover them again with soil, leaving only the top leaves on the surface.
- Repeat the procedure until the planting hole is completely filled. Each time when hilling, feed the bush with compost and ash, reducing the dose compared to the first.
Caring for potatoes in a hole
Potatoes planted in this way do not require much trouble. In dry and hot summers, the bush is watered about once a week. If it rains and is cool, it is enough to moisten it once when flowering begins. You can add fertilizer to the irrigation water: potassium salt (700 g per 10 l), infusion bird droppings(1:20). This way you will increase the yield and the tubers will be larger.
A dense layer of soil prevents air from reaching the roots, so periodically loosen the soil on the surface of the hole.
To prevent the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle, plant garlic and calendula between the potato holes. These plants will repel the pest.
Some potato buds can be removed so that the bush retains more nutrients and forces for the formation of tubers.
Chinese potatoes in beds
Chinese potato beds, at first glance, are similar to traditional ones, but upon closer examination, they are very different from them. Inventive agronomists manage to combine different varieties and reap several harvests.
In the trench
If you have enough space in your garden, try planting Chinese potatoes in trenches.
- Dig a trench half a meter deep.
- At the bottom, maintaining a distance of 25–30 cm, make holes (30 cm deep, 50–60 cm in diameter).
- Pour the mixture into the holes: a tablespoon of ash and superphosphate, a glass of fertile soil.
- In loose and wet soil mixture Place 2-3 prepared tubers, cover them with soil, and water.
- Cover the earthen mounds at the bottom of the trench with straw. This mulch helps retain moisture and prevents the soil from cracking. A root system under a straw blanket it receives a lot of air and develops well.
- Wait until the sprouts rise 15 cm, sprinkle them with soil with nutritional supplements, and again with straw on top.
- Apply the powder, reducing the amount of fertilizer, each time the bush reaches 15–20 cm in height, until the mounds appear on the surface of the trench.
Two harvests
In northern China, farmers use a method of planting potatoes that produces two crops from one bed. The first collection is carried out in June, and the second at the end of July. By the way, the experience of their neighbors has already been adopted and actively used by Russians who live in Siberia and the Far East.
- Prepare a trench about one and a half meters wide, 35–40 cm deep, the length depends on the amount of planting material.
- Place a layer (15 cm) of rotted manure at the bottom, and the same amount of earth on top.
- Make two parallel furrows along the trench at a distance of 60–65 cm, without touching the manure layer.
- Place humus mixed with wood ash (2:1) in the furrows.
- Place the prepared tubers of early potato varieties on top, cover them with soil, sprinkle no more than 5 cm. This way you will quickly get shoots. If the soil layer is larger, sprouts will appear later.
- Wait until the bushes grow to 15–20 cm and carry out the first hilling.
- A day or two after hilling, make 3 more furrows, along the edges and between the previous beds.
- Fill them with a nutrient mixture (humus + ash) and plant medium-late varieties of potatoes.
- When the crop in the first beds ripens, when digging up potatoes, use the soil to hill up the mid-late varieties. Thus, in a small area it will be possible to grow two crops.
Video: almost Chinese - growing potatoes in a hole under straw
Potatoes under film and in a greenhouse
In the northern regions of China, soil in greenhouses for planting potatoes begins to be prepared in winter. Burning coals are placed in dug trenches to warm the soil for growing early varieties. The temperature is constantly monitored.
The optimal soil temperature for the growth and development of new tubers is +18–23 degrees. With an increase to 25 °C, the development of root crops slows down, and when it reaches 30 °C or more, it stops. Tubers will not form when the temperature drops to +12 °C.
When the ground warms up to 18–19 degrees, tubers are planted. Typically, Chinese greenhouses have two protective layers. On top there is a film stretched over arcs, which protects the plants from the cold and scorching sun; it is removed from time to time as the weather warms up. And on the soil they stretch a layer of some kind nonwoven fabric(for example, agrospan, agrotex, lutrasil). It protects the roots of potato bushes, retains moisture, heat and prevents the growth of weeds.
How to care for potatoes planted in Chinese style
Caring for planted potatoes traditional way, is a rather labor-intensive process. It includes hilling, watering, loosening the soil, fertilizing plantings, weed control and protection from diseases and pests. Moreover, this work has to be completed more than once during the season.
Potatoes planted using the Chinese method require almost the same care. However, it will take much less time and effort. Planting technology assumes that there will be fewer bushes. This means it’s easier to care for the beds. In addition, Chinese potatoes will hardly need to be weeded.
Chinese beds need to be watered less often. The multilayer structure retains moisture better. Plants will need the most water during tuber formation, which is signaled by the appearance of buds and flowering. If the weather is dry and hot at this moment, water the potato bushes more abundantly and more often. But do not over-moisten the soil. Check its condition first. If the soil is dry to the depth of a finger (7–10 cm), it’s time to water. On average, a potato bush planted in the traditional way consumes 6 liters of water per day, early varieties a little less. Chinese multi-layer beds are more moisture-intensive, so pour up to 10-12 liters under each plant. But the frequency of watering can be reduced. During the active growth of tubers, after fruit set, apply another feed; in hot weather, increase the volume of water to 15–20 liters.
It is imperative to monitor the looseness of the soil; only in fluffy soil can you grow good harvest potatoes. After rain or watering, “fluff” the crust that has formed in top layer beds.
It is better to feed potato bushes with natural fertilizers: rotted manure, humus, a solution of bird droppings.
The addition of ash during planting fertilizes the soil and perfectly protects potatoes from rotting in wet weather. It is also useful for her to powder the tops - this is a disease prevention and a remedy for the Colorado potato beetle. Onion peels, poured into the soil or in the form of mulch, help protect tubers from wireworm attack.
Video: planting potatoes using the Chinese method
It was on this day that a revered man in China, Sun Yat-sen, who set a personal example of tree planting, died, and it is in his honor that young trees are now planted annually in the Celestial Empire. Today Arbor Day has the status of a national holiday (it acquired it 61 years after the death of the Chinese politician Yat-sen)…
It was at Yatsen’s initiative that the “Resolution on Conducting a National Voluntary Tree Planting Campaign” appeared in China, according to which every person who signed the document, aged 11 to 60 years, must plant 1-3 trees annually. You will be surprised - but there are a lot of subscribers in China! Signatures here are placed voluntarily and most The country's population supports and has always supported the resolution.
Tree planting is very important for China great value- with their help the country is fighting one of the main enemies surrounding major cities countries - with sand. Blown from northern deserts and degraded arid lands, it covers roads, clogs railway tracks and dries up pastures. According to Greenpeace, today in China almost 98% of all forests in China suffer from sand! This was also facilitated by long-term deforestation, which accelerated soil degradation. And here is the result: today more than a quarter of the country’s territory is covered with sand. Raises another one against a new enemy Great Wall, this time green. The Celestial Empire is implementing the "Three Northern Shelters", which is the world's largest tree planting project. The "Resolution to Conduct a National Voluntary Tree Planting Campaign" became part of it - since 1978, more than 66 billion trees have been planted by Chinese citizens. By the end of the project, which is planned for 2050, green wall should stretch 4,500 km (2,800 miles) along the edges of China's northern deserts, and the planting area would cover 405 million hectares and increase the world's forest cover by more than a tenth.
In the process of implementing the project, the Chinese have already encountered a number of problems: firstly, only 15% of the trees planted in the arid lands of China since 1949 have taken root. These are the data voiced by Cao Shixiong from Beijing Forestry University. Many trees today have already died “of old age” - not everyone knows that those trees that have grown artificially, have a lifespan of about four decades. In addition, planted trees suffer from weakened immunity - they are susceptible to diseases and suffer from insects: for example, in Ningxia province in northwestern China, pests destroyed 1 billion poplars in 2000 - that is, as many trees as were planted here over two decades of work . In dry areas, trees can even worsen desertification by depleting groundwater and the destruction of grasses that bind the soil.
Most critics of the Three Northern Shelters project are confident that it can only be successful if the government “works” with the right types trees. In some areas today the government began to restore local species: for example, we are talking about sea buckthorn - in 1980 it was considered a shrub and destroyed like the plague, but today it is planted in dry areas. Many innovative and investment projects in China are associated with botany - for example, in 2012, the World Bank provided China with $80 million to grow a mixture of native shrubs to stabilize the sand dunes in Ningxia over five years.
But the country's successes on the global sand control front are hardly universal today: in Minkin in the northwest, where two huge deserts are slowly growing, the cost of planting trees has risen more than tenfold since the 1980s, and trees here are dying at a very high rate. fast! Since 2003, more than 450,000 people have been relocated by Chinese authorities specifically from an area called Inner Mongolia to prevent further use of the land... Only common sense and a deliberate approach to tree planting can help the Chinese keep out such an enemy as sand.
The site provides background information for informational purposes only. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases must be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. All drugs have contraindications. Consultation with a specialist is required!
Garlic grown in Asian countries more than three thousand years ago. Therefore, we can assume that over so many years in the homeland of garlic they have learned to cultivate this plant as efficiently as possible..site) will tell you about this.
First, let's figure out what's so healthy about garlic?
It turns out that garlic is rich in protein. For a plant, a protein content of six to eight percent is not bad at all. There's also quite a lot of garlic in it gland. To obtain more “ferruginous” garlic, plant it in winter. There's also quite a lot of garlic in it ascorbic acid, vitamins B and PP. Another very valuable element is iodine is also present in garlic in fairly serious quantities. Green garlic also contains vitamin A.Garlic gives food a very alluring and piquant aroma and taste. In China, garlic is very popular and people prefer green garlic. The Chinese love to chew young garlic so much that they even do it on the go, right in the middle of the street.
How is garlic grown in China?
Although there is a perception that growing garlic is easy, it is not. To get a good harvest, you should know many garlic secrets. One of them, for example, is that garlic really doesn’t like to grow in those beds where tomatoes, potatoes, onions or garlic itself were planted before. The land needs to rest for three whole years after garlic plantations under other crops, so that garlic can be planted in this place again. But after lettuce, parsley, dill, peas, beans, cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers or pumpkin, garlic grows well. Garlic can suffer from a variety of diseases that affect the heads and make them unfit to eat.The Chinese allocate huge areas for garlic. According to their beliefs, it is best to sow garlic in the last ten days of September or the first ten days of October. In this case, the day should be chosen taking into account the phases of the moon. Work on preparing the land begins six weeks before planting, that is, at the end of summer. Garlic in China is grown in dry and well-lit areas. The grooves are made in twos with an interval of eighty centimeters - this is the bed. The depth of the groove is up to twenty centimeters, and its width is twenty-five centimeters. You can make not two grooves in the garden bed, but three, but this will greatly complicate your care of the plants. A layer of humus or manure is laid at the bottom of the grooves, lightly dug up with soil and treated with an aqueous solution. copper sulfate. Now each bed needs to be covered with polyethylene and left until planting.
Plant garlic along the edges of the groove. This results in two rows. It is very important to plant garlic on time. If you do this early, it will produce shoots that will freeze, and if it is late, it will not have time to take root and will rot. Before planting, be sure to sort all the garlic cloves into four piles by size. In order to protect garlic from pests, planting material should be dipped in a salt solution for a couple of minutes, take three tablespoons of salt per four liters of water, and then another in a solution of copper sulfate (half a teaspoon of sulfate per four liters of water). Now you can plant the teeth. Plant large cloves at intervals of fifteen centimeters, smaller ones at intervals of eleven centimeters. Plant even smaller cloves at a distance of nine centimeters and the tiniest ones seven centimeters from each other. Plant the cloves to a depth of five centimeters.
If you suspect a frosty winter, you can cover the rows with dry leaves, straw or peat. When warm days arrive, the insulation is removed and the ground is loosened a little. When the garlic has three leaves, it’s time to fertilize. After another two weeks you need to fertilize again and in mid-June for the third time. The arrows should be cut off when their length is fifteen centimeters. In China they are eaten, stewed, and used for preservation. If you do not remove the arrows or do it late, the garlic yield will decrease by thirty to forty percent.
It is better to hill up the garlic so that the heads do not stick out above the soil surface. This must be done twice per cultivation. Garlic is ready for harvesting when the leaves closest to the ground become dry and the next ones are half dry.
After harvesting, the garlic is dried directly in the field. Two days on one side and two days on the other. In this case, the heads of garlic are covered with tops from garlic from another row.
Garlic is an excellent seasoning for the table, a component for dietary supplements (dietary supplements) and medicines.
Today, no one will be surprised by the Chinese speech in villages with rich lands. Hardworking Chinese grow thousands of tons of vegetables, which then go to stores and markets in our country. Outwardly they are attractive, but the amount of mineral fertilizers and pesticides used by the Chinese, sometimes unknown in our country, leads to the darkest thoughts.
When an experienced agronomist told me in all the details how the Chinese achieve large garlic yields, I decided to try the Chinese method, but with Russian precautions and focusing on my own experience.
Important in the Chinese method- landing diagram. To plant winter garlic, take dry, well-lit areas where legumes or green crops, zucchini, cabbage, pumpkin or cucumbers grew in summer. It is not possible after other crops, since there is a threat of garlic being damaged by nematodes and fusarium, and the soil under the garlic and onions is tired.
Soil preparation begins in August. The bed is cut from north to south. Two grooves are made along the entire length, 25 cm wide and 18-20 cm deep. The distance between the grooves is 70-80 cm. The grooves are filled with mixture garden soil with compost or semi-decomposed manure, lightly compacted and watered with a warm solution of copper sulfate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). The boundaries of the grooves must be clearly visible. The finished bed is covered with film.
In the first ten days of October, planting garlic is sorted, dividing the cloves and single cloves into fractions: the largest, largest, medium and small. Place them in gauze bags. Lower the bags with planting material V saline solution(3 tablespoons table salt per 5 liters of water) for 2 minutes, then for 1 minute in a solution of copper sulfate (0.5 teaspoon per 5 liters of water). Without rinsing in clean water the cloves are planted on the ridges.
Plant garlic on both sides of the grooves, creating two-row beds. First, the largest ones are planted at a distance of 15 cm from each other, then the large ones at a distance of 11 cm, the medium ones at 9 cm, and the small ones at 7 cm. The planting depth is 4-5 cm. This method makes it easier to care for the plantings and obtain even seedlings. If frosts occur without snow cover at the end of October, the beds are mulched with peat, humus or dry leaves. However, such mulching will not hurt in a snowy winter if severe frosts are expected in winter.
In early spring, the mulch is removed and the soil is loosened shallowly, trying not to damage the seedlings. If there is no rain in May, garlic is watered once every 10 days, and more often in hot weather. The first feeding is done when 3-4 leaves form, the second after 15-20 days, the third - the last - on June 10-20. When the arrows grow approximately 14-15 cm, and overall height garlic will reach an average of 30 cm, they should be broken off or cut with an oblique cut, leaving a stump of 1.5-2 cm. To obtain bulbs for sowing, leave a few flower arrows. To ensure that the bulbs are large, the smallest ones are removed with tweezers as soon as the case opens. To prevent the bulblets from spilling out, put gauze bags on the covers.
And one more important point. To prevent the garlic from overheating in the sun and turning green, it is hilled twice over the summer, raking 3-5 cm each time. As a result, grooves are formed between the rows, into which water for irrigation and fertilizing is poured.
Garlic is harvested when the lowermost leaves turn completely yellow, and the middle leaves turn yellow by one quarter or a third. Dug in good weather the garlic is laid out in rows on the bed so that the feather of the second row covers the heads of the first row, etc. Dry for 2-3 days, then turn over to the second side and dry for the same amount of time. During this time, the garlic dries well, the sun does not bake the bulbs, they do not turn green and the cloves inside do not soften. If the weather is unstable, it is better to spread the garlic under a canopy.
The Chinese fertilize when growing garlic. mineral fertilizers, in fairly large volumes. I only used organic matter and wood ash, and in the fall I added dolomite flour.
And now more about how I grew winter garlic in the first season using Chinese technology. I planted garlic in two beds. The first - exactly in Chinese style, the second as usual - at a distance of 15 cm from each other and between rows 20 cm from each other. For the old method, I did not sort the teeth by size; I etched them only in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
In the spring I fed all the garlic with mullein infusion. It was hot in May, so I watered it. To be honest, it seemed that Chinese garlic took up too much space, so I planted a row of spinach along the edge of this bed on 2 meters. He definitely gets along with garlic. When the spinach was eaten, I planted seedlings on the other side lettuce. I didn’t see any difference between garlic without additives and compacted.
From the end of May to mid-June, I watered all the garlic with fermented green fertilizer 2 times. At the end of June, before hilling, I sprinkled the plantings with wood ash, and a week later I watered them with comfrey infusion.
The garlic harvest according to the old and Chinese methods ripened at the same time. It was easier to care for garlic plantings the Chinese way. And the yield was higher. And not only in the garden bed, but also in terms of 1 sq.m. Garlic grown using Chinese technology was larger. Even small cloves grew into full-fledged heads. I grew 100 heads each in the old bed and in the Chinese one, but in the first case the weight was 2.3 kg more. And this garlic was stored perfectly. Of the ones used for the blanks, the Chinese one did not show any stains or damage; the one grown according to the old method had 2 cloves in one head with dark watery spots. Let me add that we grew varietal garlic - Lekar and Gribovsky Jubilee.
This season I grew all the garlic according to Chinese method with a Russian accent. These were the Lekar and Alcor varieties. The harvest is excellent. And from the bulbs of the Gribovsky Yubileiny variety, large ones with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 cm grew.
