The first decade of October has ended. Someone has already planted winter garlic, and someone is waiting for the next weekend to go to the country. A few weeks remain in the middle lane before the onset of frost, so you need to prepare and plant the cloves as soon as possible. In this article I want to share my experience of quick seed preparation. The method not only saves time, but also allows you to do without the cost of drugs.
We select the cloves for planting
The selection process is standard. It is necessary to separate the head so that the shell remains intact. You can only remove a thin wrapper that looks like tracing paper. It does not perform protective functions and we will not need it when landing.
If, during the separation, a trace of the nail remains on the clove shell, then such garlic is no longer suitable for planting. It is better to eat it or use it for preparations.
Next, we select the largest and densest cloves for planting. They not only have a better chance of germinating, but they also give a better yield. If, when dividing on the teeth, a bottom with roots remains, then it should be removed. Otherwise, it will delay the germination of roots, which cannot be allowed.
Preparing a solution for soaking
After the cloves are prepared, they must be soaked in a protective solution. For its preparation, you can use copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, birch tar and Fitosporin-M. However, these drugs are not always on hand and cost some money. Therefore, for many years now I have been replacing them with edible salt. In terms of effectiveness, it is no different from the above substances.
For our purposes, coarse, fine and even iodized salt is suitable. This is very convenient, since you can take what is on the farm at the moment. The recipe is simple. In one liter of water, you need to dissolve a tablespoon of salt without a handful.
To soak, place the prepared cloves in the solution for five minutes, then remove and place them on a plate to dry. The seed is ready. Now you can start planting winter garlic in any way you know.
Having tried about a dozen solutions, I came to the conclusion that salt is the most optimal protective agent. There is no point in overpaying and looking for less affordable drugs. After such treatment, I am confident that the future harvest will be large and healthy.
Read also on my website -5 tricks of planting winter garlic: how to increase the yield
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