Review of the high-yielding variety of garlic Komsomolets

Description of the variety

Komsomolets is considered one of the best and proven varieties of winter garlic. Its history goes back several decades, when, in 1969, Voronezh breeders at the seed station of the Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Farming began work on developing a garlic variety, zoned specifically for the farms of the Central Black Earth Region. As a result of this selection work, a winter-hardy, unpretentious variety, which received such a loud name for that time, was bred from local crops and almost 10 years later.

For many years, Komsomolets migrated from his homeland, and now it is grown everywhere. The variety has high frost resistance, unpretentious, relatively resistant to many diseases, including bacterial rot. In terms of ripening time, it belongs to mid-season varieties - the period of its full vegetation from germination to lodging of leaves is 110–120 days, but in the southern regions it can be reduced to 100 days. The yield of garlic is high: 1.2-1.4 kg / 1 sq. m.

The biological description of the variety is as follows: stems are dense, consisting of 7-9 dark green, long (up to 40 cm) leaves, covered with a light waxy bloom. Prone to the formation of arrows. On each arrow 0.8–1.2 m long, several hundred small aerial bulbs ripen. Feathers are juicy, have a mild taste, so they are often eaten fresh.

The bulbs are characterized by the following description: dense heads, consisting of 7-11 simple, equal-sized cloves. The bulbs are medium-sized, weighing 30–40 g, but in good soil they can grow up to 100–110 g. The pulp of the teeth is firm, juicy, with a spicy taste. The heads are covered with dense, gray-white scales with a brown or purple tint. The variety is well adapted to any climate, but it is most successfully cultivated in the regions of the Central Black Earth Region.

Landing subtleties

In order for this variety of garlic to please with a high yield, it is necessary to take into account some of the features of its planting.

Despite the fact that Komsomolets belongs to cold-resistant crops, it should be planted in a brightly lit garden bed, since even in partial shade, the bulbs will grow small, with a low content of ethers.

Garlic of this variety does not tolerate excessive soil moisture. This point should be taken into account when watering, as well as when locating and preparing the beds.

This winter garlic prefers loose loamy or sandy loam soil. If the soil in your area is heavy, you can improve its drainage properties by adding peat or river sand. The soil for growing this variety of garlic needs fertile, well-fertilized - during digging, it is necessary to simultaneously add humus (compost) and mineral mixtures.

Komsomolets grows better after legumes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage. This winter variety should not be planted after potatoes, onions, tomatoes. It is important to follow the principle of crop rotation and not plant garlic in one place for two years in a row.

For planting, only high-quality material should be selected: the largest and healthiest teeth or seed bulbs. Before planting, they must be disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, salt or copper sulfate.

This winter variety is planted in the ground in the middle of autumn - in the first half of October, however, in the northern regions, the planting time may be earlier.

The teeth are planted at a distance of 10 cm from each other, the bulbs - 6-8 cm, depending on the size. The distance between the rows should be 25–35 cm.

As for the planting depth, the teeth are buried into the ground by 5–6 cm, and the bulbs by 2–3 cm.

Reproduction

Since Komsomolets belongs to the shooting varieties of garlic, its reproduction is possible in two ways:

• parts of the bulb (prongs);

• airy seed bulbs.

The first method is the simplest, since it allows you to get the harvest the next year. Bulb propagation is a more complex and time-consuming process, extended over time for 2 years.

If you plant small bulbs in the soil in the fall, then in the summer of next year you will receive large one-toothed bulbs, which you need to plant again for the winter. And only in the summer of the third year, a large and high-quality head of garlic grows from a single-toothed bulb. However, this method also has unconditional advantages - it is the renewal of seed material and cost efficiency.

It is known that winter garlic tends to degenerate. Over time, its heads become smaller, lose their characteristic taste, and only new material (bulbs) is able to renew the variety.

The cost-effectiveness of the method lies in the fact that it is very profitable to grow the seed with your own hands. Judge for yourself: in each inflorescence on the arrow, from 50 to 200 seed bulbs ripen, but this number depends on the variety. For example, Komsomolets is particularly fertile - several hundred seeds can ripen on its arrows at once. It turns out that just five arrows left on the garden bed allow you to get about a thousand high-quality fresh specimens for sowing.

Whichever method of reproduction of garlic you choose, the main condition for high yield is high-quality seed. Both the prongs and the bulbs for planting should be selected the largest.

As a rule, when sowing, they are guided by the weight of the cloves - by 1 sq. M. about 100 g of bulbs are sown.

Despite the fact that Komsomolets is a winter variety, its seeds (bulbs) in the first year can be sown into the soil not only in autumn, but also in early spring.

Care

In many regions, garlic is mulched immediately after planting. The Komsomolets easily endure frosts, but if the winter is expected to be harsh and with little snow, the garden bed needs a reliable shelter. Any organic matter can be used as a mulching material: sawdust, rotted manure, peat.

All other care activities begin in spring. As soon as the snow melts, the mulch must be removed and the soil slightly loosened - this procedure will provide oxygen access to the roots.

During an active growing season, the Komsomolets variety needs moderate, but frequent watering - excessive moisture harms the plants, so watering is necessary as the soil dries up. A month before the planned harvest, watering is stopped so that the garlic ripens and acquires a characteristic bitter taste.

Top dressing during the entire spring-summer period is carried out 2-3 times. Fertilizers are applied simultaneously with watering. From mineral mixtures, ammophoska (15 g / 1 sq. M) is used for feeding garlic, liquid mullein can be added from organic matter.

If the bed is not mulched, it is necessary to periodically loosen the aisles and remove weeds. If getting seeds is not the goal of growing Komsomolets garlic, then from time to time you also need to remove the arrows. Break off the arrow very carefully at the base of the top sheet. It is most reliable to remove the arrow when it reaches a height of 10-15 cm.

Cleaning

Komsomolets fully ripens within 105–110 days from the appearance of the first shoots. On average, after three months, the garlic can already be dug up, but first you need to make sure that it is ready for harvesting based on external signs. So you can dig up the bulbs if:

• feathers turned yellow by 2/3;

• the lowest leaves are withered;

• the stem at the warp is thinned or lodged;

• the seed pods on the arrows are cracked;

• the covering scales have become dense, slightly transparent.

It is recommended to dig out the garlic on a sunny morning, and then lay out the harvest right on the garden bed so that the bulbs dry out until the evening. After that, the heads are transferred to a room or under a cover and dried there for 2-3 weeks. The stems are cut only after complete drying.

It is very important to correctly calculate the harvesting time of the crop, since overripe garlic, like unripe, is poorly stored and does not have such a pronounced taste and aroma.

Video "Planting garlic for the winter"

This video explains the secrets of planting and growing winter garlic.