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As the 2018-2019 garlic season has come to an end, and as at Dispaman we are finishing harvesting the new crop, we wanted to take this opportunity to explain how to plant garlic. This way everyone who enjoys and consumes this delicious vegetable will know how we plant it and grow it to obtain the highest possible quality.
The steps to follow to plant garlic are the following:
Choosing the place where to plant the garlic
Although garlic is a very resistant vegetable and does not require too much care, it is important to follow a few basic guidelines, starting with the qualities the soil must have. The soil should not be too humid but should have good drainage while also being fresh, although in general garlic adapts well to each field’s characteristics. Its consistency should be clay-like. As far as properties are concerned, garlic is best cultivated in soils with a moderate lime content and somewhat higher potash (potassium carbonate).
The seed is key
When we think about how to plant garlic, the origin of the product will be the seed. Garlic is native to China and Dispaman imports Chinese garlic seeds and plants them in La Mancha, specifically in Balazote, where we have our facilities and our land. One of the reasons why the Chinese garlic seed has become so popular in our country is because of its greater productivity, as growers obtain more garlic in the same number of hectares. However, although the seed comes from China, the final product is considered Spanish as it is grown here, with our equipment, our weather conditions and human, technical and natural resources. The nutrients the seed receives from our soil are also key in guaranteeing the quality and exquisite flavour for which Spanish garlic in known worldwide.
When to plant and when to harvest garlic
When it comes to how to plant garlic, the details will depend on the variety itself. The spring white and spring violet varieties are usually planted during the fall, between October and November. Purple garlic is planted in March. Knowing when and how garlic should be harvested is just as important as knowing how and when garlic is planted. Normally, the white spring and violet spring varieties are harvested between late spring and early summer, while purple garlic is harvested in July. It is very easy to know when the garlic is ready to be picked: the leaves turn yellowish or whitish and the gaps between the garlic’s cloves will be clearly visible.
