»How to plant and grow garlic«
Garlic is one of the commonly used spices in the country but it is rarely grown in Uganda.
The trick to growing garlic is to ensure that you pick the correct variety for your location. Garlic is of two types ie the hard neck and soft neck garlic. The hard neck variety grows best in cold climates, has shorter shelf life and has a stronger flavour while the soft neck type grow best in warmer climates and the flavour is less tense than the hard neck varieties.
Garlic agronomy
After identifying the type of garlic that you want to grow, order for your garlic early. It is not advisable to grow grocery store garlic because it may be treated with a growth inhibitor and could introduce virus or bacteria to your soil. Getting the planting seed from a grower is better.
Prepare your garlic before planting ie if you are to grow the hard neck garlic in warm climates, you need to do vernalization which is the exposure of the garlic to low temperatures to trigger flowering and bulb formation.
Vernalization is done by wrapping the the garlic in a paper bag and putting it in a refrigerator for at least 6 weeks.
Plant the garlic at the right time, and choose a good location for growing your garlic which is exposed to the sun.
Management practices
Before planting garlic, break the cloves and sock them for at least 8 hours and plant them with the roots facing down at a spacing of 4 to 6 inches between.
Mulch the planting area well, water the garlic and feed the garlic regularly through application of fertilizer.
Garlic is ready to harvest when most of the lower leaves have dried out. After harvesting the garlic, cure it under the sun and trim the leaves and roots after.
