

Nematodes cause the plant to be stunted in growth and the root system won’t have fine roots. Apply insecticides once you identify the damage as that of a thrip. Overhead watering may help reduce the thrips. To prevent his, don’t plant garlic or onion-related plants near grain fields. Thrips will create discolored leaves and scarring, and affected garlic plants may look silver in color. Remove plant debris from the soil immediately after harvest to prevent this, and use insecticides once the damage is identified. If the leafminers infect the plant when it is young, it can reduce its yield. Leafminers can create white splotches on the leaves and the leaves will fall off the plant. Practice crop rotation, and treat garlic seed cloves with hot water before planting. If they damage the plant, it can allow another invasion from other pests. Some of the common pests affecting garlic include bulb mites, leafminers, thrips and nematodes.īulb mites will stunt the plant’s growth and bulbs can rot in the ground or even when they are in storage. Garlic can fall victim to several different pests and diseases. Different plants are susceptible to different types of pests and diseases, and it is important to make yourself aware so you can keep a watchful eye and also take any preventative methods to keep your plants safe throughout their lifespan. When growing vegetables, it is always exciting to care for the plant throughout its growing phase and then harvest it for delicious recipes later on, but one thing to watch out for is pests and diseases. Learning Download: common pests and diseases: garlic Common pests and diseases: Garlic You can find a large collection of different garlic varieties at Urban Farmer. Once you begin fertilization, fertilize the garlic every three weeks. Blood meal is a good source of high-nitrogen fertilizer. Garlic requires adequate nitrogen, so fertilize accordingly. To side dress the fertilizer, work the fertilizer into the soil about 3 inches from the plant. Fertilize with a side dressing or spread the fertilizer over the entire bed. Upon planting, fertilize with compost, then continue to fertilize the garlic plants in the spring if they were planted in the fall. Since garlic has such a long growing season, it is a heavy feeder. Snip with shears to harvest the scapes without harmer the bulb. As the scapes grow longer, they become tougher. Garlic scapes are ready to harvest as soon as the emerge from the soil, when they are tender enough to eat fresh. The bulbs are cured and ready for storage when the wrappers have a paper-like consistency.

You can hang them upside down with a string to cure. Brush off the soil and let the plants cure in an airy spot for two weeks. Make sure the bulb wrapper has not disintegrated, and carefully lift the bulbs with a spade or fork. In southern climates, it depends on the planting time. In northern climates, fall planting will lead to a harvest in July. Harvesting depends on the climate, and garlic is ready for harvest when its tops are yellowing and falling over, but before they completely dry out. Garlic can take up to 210 days to mature. Water every three days once bulbing begins, typically around mid-May. Remove the mulch in the spring after the last frost. If planted in the fall, mulch the garlic heavily with straw for overwintering. Garlic repels pests from the garden, so it doesn’t have much trouble with them. Plant the cloves 2 inches deep and 4 inches apart. If planting the cloves, never use cloves from the grocery store. However, garlic also can be planted from seed though it is much easier to grow from cloves and is rarely ever grown from seed. Garlic is suggested to be grown from the bulb, where the cloves are broken apart from the bulb and planted with the pointed end facing up. Though fall planting is recommended, garlic also can be planted int the spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Garlic can be planted in the fall up to six weeks before the first hard frost. Scapes can be eaten fresh or used in various dishes. Garlic naturally repels pests from the garden and can be used for its bulbs or the scapes, or green green fronds, the bulbs produce. Garlic cloves are used to add flavor to many dishes and carry plenty of health benefits.
