In nature, wild garlic in the Northern Hemisphere is found everywhere. You can grow it on personal plots. The plant is extremely unpretentious, caring for it is very simple. Greens can be cut much earlier than other herbs, it is a source of vitamins and minerals, which is especially valuable in mid-spring after winter vitamin deficiency. Culture is widely used in cooking and in traditional medicine. The leaves of wild garlic are wide and flat, very similar to the leaves of lily of the valley. And to taste, it resembles a cross between onion and garlic.
Wild leek propagation by seeds
Wild leeks are not particularly interesting to breeders, although several varieties can still be found in stores. Moreover, due to deforestation, the plant in many regions is listed in the Red Book, because its natural habitat is irreversibly affected. The names of the new varieties do not differ with the originality and creativity of the approach - Teddy Bear, Bear Ear, Bear Delicacy, Bear Paw. Wild wild garlic is often called "bear onions", and the glades on which it grows are called "bear meadows." This nickname is due to the fact that when the bears come out of hibernation, wild garlic is almost the only fresh greens in the forest. Therefore, animals with pleasure relish young shoots.
The choice of wild garlic seeds in specialized stores cannot be called very wide
Video: what wild garlic looks like
You can collect seeds yourself. Practice shows that every tenth plant in the garden blooms annually. An inflorescence in the shape of an almost regular ball consists of small white flowers. Round black seeds ripen in the second or third decade of June in triangular “box" fruits. They are cut off when they begin to turn yellow. Then the shell will harden and open it without damaging the planting material for the next season, it will be very difficult. The seeds are poured out of the “box”, dried and stored in a cool, dry, dark place with good ventilation in paper bags or linen bags until planting. "Harvest" is 100-120 seeds per plant.
By collecting wild garlic seeds on your own, you can be sure of their freshness
When buying, be sure to pay attention to the expiration date. They should be collected last summer, not earlier. Older germination is no different. They can also be distinguished in appearance - they are not black and rounded, but grayish and shriveled.
In spring, young wild garlic shoots appear almost from under the snow.
The site selected for planting seeds is pre-digged to a depth of 40-50 cm (the roots of the plants are quite powerful). At the same time weeds and other plant debris are removed. Slaked lime, dolomite flour or egg shells crushed to a powder state (200-300 g per linear meter) are added to acidic soil. You can also use wood ash - it is not only a good deoxidant, but also saturates the soil with potassium and phosphorus. About two weeks before planting, the bed is loosened, applying organic fertilizer to increase soil fertility. Suitable humus, rotted compost. But fresh manure and litter are undesirable. Such a powerful tool can "burn" the roots of emerging seedlings.
Humus - an effective tool to increase soil fertility
Most gardeners practice autumn planting of wild garlic seeds, doing this in the first decade of September. The latest possible date is mid-October. The specific time is chosen based on climatic conditions in the region. The optimum temperature for them is about 20 ° C. If, within a month after planting, it exceeds 25-26 ° С or lower than 10 ° С, the gardener at best will wait for single shoots.
Before planting, seeds necessarily need a stratification that simulates winter hibernation. They are mixed with sand or peat, moisten the substrate and send the tank for 80-100 days in a refrigerator or other place with a constant temperature of 0-3 ° C. Another option is to wrap the seeds in a wet cloth or paper towel, put it in a glass jar and roll it up with a lid. The substrate is moistened as necessary. Usually once a week is enough. Periodically, they need to be shaken, providing access to fresh air.
Stratification of seeds imitates their "wintering" in vivo
Video: seed stratification
To increase germination, the seeds are soaked for 12-14 hours in a solution of any biostimulant. The same effect is given by both purchased drugs (Epin, Zircon, Emistim-M, Kornevin) and folk remedies (aloe juice, succinic acid, honey diluted with water).
Epin, like other biostimulants, helps increase seed germination, and treatment also has a positive effect on plant immunity
Seeds are sown in grooves with a depth of 4-5 cm. The row spacing is about 20 cm. They are sown as evenly as possible, sprinkled with humus on top, mixed with fine sand. It is undesirable to use peat crumb, it strongly acidifies the soil. Then the bed is tightened with plastic wrap.
The first shoots will appear in the spring, somewhere in April, but not next year, but in another season. That is, the whole process takes about a year and a half. As practice shows, no more than a third of the seeds germinate. Immediately after this, the shelter will need to be removed. When one real leaf is formed, the plants are planted, leaving 15-20 cm between them. Do this very carefully, removing them from the soil together with a lump of earth. The root system of young seedlings is very fragile. They are buried in the soil by a maximum of 5 cm. During the first two seasons of being in the open ground, it is advisable not to disturb, cutting off the leaves. It is better to give them the opportunity to form a developed root system. Landings are looked after, regularly weeding the garden, very carefully loosening the soil and watering them.
Wild bulb seedlings have to wait long enough
With a shortage of planting material, the seeds are planted in small peat pots filled with universal soil for seedlings or a mixture of humus with fertile turf. These containers are buried in the ground.
Another way of planting wild garlic seeds is using the so-called nursery. A shallow box is dug into the ground in a greenhouse or outdoors. Seeds are sown according to the pattern of 0.5 * 0.5 cm. Two years later, when the seedlings grow and get stronger, they are planted, transferring to a permanent place. This avoids crowding in the garden.
Spring landing is also possible. The procedure is best planned for April. In this case, the garden bed is pulled by any white covering material that passes air (agril, lutrasil, spanbond). Shoots appear in May-June of next year.
Wild garlic is quite successfully propagated by self-sowing, therefore, after some time, planting on the garden bed is very dense, the plants no longer have enough area for food. To avoid this, once every five years large groups of onions are divided and planted, transferring to new places. In the same way, the plant can "creep" over the site, turning into an ordinary weed. Therefore, it is recommended that the bed is surrounded by slate sheets dug around the perimeter.
Video: growing wild garlic from seeds
Bulb planting
Wild garlic is not picky, but in order for the plant to feel better and bring a good harvest, it is advisable to recreate the natural conditions of its habitat, if possible. In nature, wild garlic grows in forests, along the banks of marshes, streams, springs. The plant is low (20-50 cm), so it is obscured by trees and shrubs. Accordingly, it is best to plant it in the garden area in the shade of a building, structure, fence, under a fruit tree, and so on. Culture does not like the bright sun - the leaves become smaller, lose their juiciness, dry out, the taste becomes less pronounced. For a gardener, this feature of the plant is an advantage - you can save space on the garden plot. In addition, the garden bed, located in an open area, will have to weed and water much more often.
For wild garlic in the garden, you can allocate a place that, due to the shading, is not suitable for most other crops
The quality of the wild garlic soil does not impose special requirements. It successfully survives in both “light” sandy and “heavy” clay soil. The only thing the plant does not tolerate categorically is an acidic substrate. The best option for him is loose soil, which allows air and water to pass through well. In nature, wild garlic grows almost in a swamp, but in captivity it does not like waterlogging. It is especially dangerous in early spring - the bulbs almost inevitably decay. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant wild leek in the lowlands. The meltwater is the longest standing there. If there is no alternative, you must take care of drainage by adding crushed stone, expanded clay, and pebbles to the soil. Or you have to fill the crests with a height of about half a meter.
Gardeners resort quite often to the propagation of wild garlic by bulbs. This method allows you to quickly get a crop from a new plant. But he is not without certain drawbacks - only one new ovary is formed from each shoot. The optimal time for the procedure is August-September, when the vegetative period is already over and the plant "hibernated." The aboveground part by this moment dries up and dies, therefore, specimens intended for division must be marked in advance, otherwise you simply will not find them in the garden. The gardener will receive the first crop using this method of propagation in the third year of life of a new plant.
New wild leek bulbs are formed annually
With a shortage of planting material, several bulbs can be planted in an open sunny place, and not in the shade, as usual. Such plants develop faster and "divide" much more actively, but they need more careful care, especially with regard to watering and weeding.
Bulbs are planted according to the same pattern as seedlings, leaving 15-20 cm between plants. They are buried in the soil by a maximum of 5 cm, the smallest by 2-3 cm. Dry "feathers" should be visible on the surface. Plantings are moderately watered, the soil is mulched with freshly cut grass, leaves, foliage, wood shavings, creating a layer 5-7 cm thick. It is undesirable to use fresh sawdust for this, especially coniferous. The substrate quickly acidifies. Whether the procedure was successful can only be judged next fall after the transplant. If everything went well, a new replacement bulb should form. The aerial part of the plant practically does not develop during the summer; it focuses on the roots.
Bulbs of wild garlic are transplanted very carefully so as not to damage the roots of plants
Practice shows that ramson bulbs gradually go underground. The largest and oldest are at a depth of 20-25 cm. Dig them out very carefully so as not to damage the roots of neighboring plants. When extracted from the ground, the "children" are possibly untwisted manually, cutting only where it does not work out at all. Bulbs with no roots or with dry roots do not make sense to plant. They will not take root.
Bulbs of wild garlic extracted from the ground must necessarily have roots, otherwise it makes no sense to transplant them
The bed is prepared in advance, digging the soil deep. In addition to humus (3-5 l / m²), nitrogen (15-20 g / m²), potash (10-15 g / m²) and phosphorus (25-30 g / m²) fertilizers are also added. Suitable, for example, urea, simple superphosphate and potassium nitrate. There are complex feeding with the content of these macro elements - Azofoska, Nitrofoska, Diammofoska.
Azofoska - a complex fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
It is not worth it to constantly grow wild leek in the same place. Plants begin to hurt and wilt. It is recommended to transfer the culture to a new garden every 7-8 years. A clear signal that it’s time already is the thinned stems, fading leaves and bulbs.
Crop care
The plant is extremely unpretentious, needs only minimal care. Particular attention should be paid to watering wild garlic. The soil on the bed should be constantly moderately moist, especially in the first month after transplanting to a permanent place. But you can not fill the plant - the bulbs will rot and it will die.
The best option for wild garlic is frequent, but moderate watering. The soil between them should dry 4-5 cm deep. This is easy to determine by digging a small hole in the bed and trying to squeeze the earth into a lump. If it crumbles in your fingers, it's time to water. When the weather is cool overcast, it is enough every 4-6 days, in the heat and during prolonged drought, the intervals between watering are halved.
Proper watering is the main component of competent care for wild garlic
Loosening the soil ideally is necessary after each watering. If it doesn’t work, then at least 2-3 times a month. This improves the aeration of the soil, the roots are provided with access to oxygen and nutrients. In such a soil, water does not stagnate.
After the aboveground part dies, you can forget about watering. Until next spring, the plant will have enough natural rainfall.
Mulching the wild garlic bed helps the gardener save time on weeding and reduce the number of irrigations
Another important point is weeding. Mulching will help to significantly save time on it (as well as retain moisture in the soil by increasing the intervals between watering). The optimum layer thickness is 3-4 cm. As necessary, it will have to be renewed. Most severely harm plantings wild garlic wheatgrass and sow thistle. These weeds have powerful roots that can well pierce the bulbs through, destroying the plant.
Wheatgrass rhizomes can seriously damage wild bulbs, so weeding the beds is a must
The vegetative period in wild garlic is quite short, so from fertilizers it is better to give preference to natural organics or purchased means based on vermicompost. They are fed with infusions and plant solutions every 3-4 weeks. The frequency of applying fertilizer store and the concentration of the solution is determined by the instructions given in the manufacturer's instructions.
Every two years, in the spring, in order to increase soil fertility during the first loosening, humus or rotted compost (2-3 l / m²) is closed into the soil. You can also make nitrogen-containing fertilizers (urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate) in dry form or in the form of a solution (8-10 g per 1 m² or 10 l of water). Overdoing with such dressings is not worth it. Excess nitrogen in the soil has a bad effect on plant immunity, leaves darken, become coarser, and nitrates that are harmful to health accumulate in them. And at the end of the vegetative period, sifted wood ash (glass per 1 m²) is scattered annually in the garden. It is a natural source of potassium and phosphorus. Every 3-4 years, dolomite flour or another substance with similar properties is added to acidic soil.
Dolomite flour - a deoxidizer of the soil that does not have side effects while observing the recommended dosage
To feed wild garlic, infusions of fresh cow manure, bird droppings, nettle greens, and dandelion leaves are prepared. In principle, you can use any other weeds growing on the site. A deep container is filled with raw materials by about a third, added with water, tightly closed. Then it is left in the sun for 3-4 days until a characteristic smell appears. Before use, the finished fertilizer is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 or 1:15 if litter was used as raw material.
Nettle infusion - a completely natural and completely free fertilizer
Wild garlic overwinter, as a rule, without additional shelter, even in regions with a temperate climate. But if the winter is expected to be very harsh and at the same time with little snow, it is advisable to play it safe by filling the bed with a layer of mulch (burning leaves, needles, straw) 8-10 cm thick and tightening several layers of burlap or other covering material that allows air to pass through. As soon as enough snow falls, they throw it on top, building a snowdrift. It gradually settles, so during the winter it will be necessary to renew the structure several times.
Video: wild garlic growing tips
Wild garlic at home
The size of wild garlic is not different, so it can be grown at home, providing itself with fresh healthy herbs all year round. The height of the plant is only 20-50 cm, the leaves are narrow, 3-5 cm wide, there are not many of them in the outlet. The best time to land is early spring. Many believe that greens in captivity are more tender and juicier than in the garden.
With a not too high plant height, the root system in wild garlic is quite powerful, the bulbs are in the soil at a depth of about 20 cm. Therefore, the pot for her is chosen not too wide, but deep, in shape resembling a bucket. Ceramic containers without glaze are preferred. Such material allows air to pass through better, preventing moisture from stagnating at the roots.
The ramson pot must be deep enough
For the plant, universal soil for indoor flowers is suitable, but it is better to mix the soil yourself. Humus, leafy sod land and coarse river sand should be taken in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. You can not take turf from under coniferous trees. In nature, wild garlic under them never grows. To prevent the development of rot, for every 3 L of the finished substrate, put a tablespoon of chalk or activated carbon crushed into powder.
The quality of wild garlic soil is undemanding, this applies to those specimens that are grown at home
Both the pot and the soil must be sterilized before planting. Wash the container thoroughly and rinse with boiling water, freeze the soil, steam it, fry it in the oven or spill it with a dark purple potassium permanganate solution.
You can plant at home and seeds, and bulbs of wild leek. For the first pre-landing preparation is required. The procedure is no different from that described above for open ground. But at home, seedlings appear much faster, after about a month.
After planting, seeds and bulbs are sprinkled with a layer of fine sand mixed with peat chips (layer thickness - 5-7 cm). The soil in the pot is moderately moistened by spraying from a spray bottle. The container is tightened with plastic wrap or covered with glass. "Greenhouse" daily open for ventilation for 8-10 minutes, preventing condensation from accumulating. The substrate is gently loosened, moisturized as it dries. As soon as the shoots appear, the pot is transferred to a place where it will be provided with light partial shade and protection from direct sunlight.
There is nothing complicated in growing wild garlic at home
In the summer, it is useful to make wild garlic on the balcony, open veranda, terrace. The plant reacts very positively to fresh air. Her care consists in regular watering and top dressing. Any complex means for decorative foliage will do. You can alternate them with natural organics and top dressings based on vermicompost.
The first crop at home is obtained after two years if the seeds of wild garlic are planted. Of the bulbs - for the next season. Too much zeal is not worth cutting, the plant may not recover from the sharp loss of most of the green mass. It is recommended to start several copies at once and "cut" them one by one.
Plant diseases and pests
The specific smell of wild garlic and the high concentration of essential oils in the leaves scare away the vast majority of pests that feed on plant juices. Perhaps the only exception is the mining fly. The immunity of the culture is also pretty good. Most often, various types of rot are manifested, in the development of which the gardener himself is often to blame, too often and / or abundantly watering the plant. Another likely fungal disease is leaf rust. It is most often transmitted from nearby crops.
The main danger for wild garlic is not adult mines, but its larvae. They penetrate into the tissues of the leaves and eat out the “tunnels” in them, practically without going to the surface. Outside, it looks like a semicircular bulge with a diameter of about 1 mm and a length of 1.5-2 cm. Concomitant symptoms are discolored patches of tissue that gradually thin and die, deformed, fading leaves. This process is going on, as a rule, rather quickly.
For some reason, a mining fly is very partial to yellow; this feature is used in the manufacture of homemade traps.
You can fight adults by hanging sticky tape for catching flies or homemade traps next to the bed — cut plastic bottles filled with sugar syrup, water diluted with honey or jam, or pieces of cardboard, plywood, linoleum, smeared with the same honey, petroleum jelly, and long-drying glue. . The larvae are scared away, sprinkling the soil on the bed with a mixture of wood ash, tobacco chips and ground red pepper.
Larvae of a mining fly eat up leaf tissue from the inside
If characteristic damage is found, insecticides are used - Aktaru, Confidor-Maxi, Mospilan, Apache. The frequency of treatment and the concentration of the solution are determined by the instructions. It is necessary to spray both the plants themselves and the substrate.
Rust is caused by a fungus whose pathogen is carried by the wind or transmitted with drops of water. In the affected plant, the normal course of the process of photosynthesis and metabolism is disrupted, it suffers from a moisture deficit, the leaves gradually fall off. In this case, depressed red spots of a rounded shape appear on the front side, the wrong side is tightened by a continuous layer of a "shaggy" plaque of saffron hue. Gradually it changes color to rusty brown and thickens.
Leaf rust is a dangerous disease that disrupts the processes of photosynthesis and metabolism, which are vital for the plant.
For prevention in early spring, the soil on the bed is sprayed with a 5% urea solution, and at the end of the growing season, it is treated with 2% copper sulfate. During the period of active growth, every 2–3 weeks, the wild leek is sprayed with foam of green potash or laundry soap, a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate, diluted in water with soda ash or colloidal sulfur (15-20 g per 10 l). Effective folk remedies - diluted 1:10 kefir or whey with the addition of iodine (drop per liter). You can dilute with water in the same proportion of ammonia or vinegar essence.
Fighting the disease with fungicides. It is advisable to choose drugs of biological origin (Ridomil-Gold, Alirin-B, Tiovit-Jet, Bayleton). More powerful are Abiga Peak, Topaz, KhOM, Kuprozan. There are also funds whose effectiveness has been tested by more than one generation of gardeners - Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate.
Bordeaux liquid is a common fungicide, the effectiveness of which has been tested by more than one generation of gardeners, it can be done independently
Gray rot in the vast majority of cases is caused by waterlogging of the soil. A grayish “dust” appears on the leaves, then brownish or beige “translucent” spots, as if watery. Gradually, they turn gray and tighten with a continuous layer of “fluffy” ash-colored coating with small black patches. Affected tissue softens and dies.
Most often, the gardener himself, too zealous for watering, is to blame for the development of gray rot of wild garlic
For prophylaxis, plants are dusted with crushed chalk or sifted wood ash, the soil on the bed is sprinkled with colloidal sulfur. Irrigation water is periodically replaced with a pale pink potassium permanganate solution.
If the disease is not noticed on time, the plant can only dig up and burn to eliminate the source of infection. At an early stage, all areas of affected tissue are excised with a disinfected razor blade or scalpel. It is necessary to capture 2-3 mm of healthy looking. Most likely, spores of the fungus have already spread there, just external symptoms have not yet manifested. Wounds are washed with 2% vitriol and sprinkled with activated carbon powder or cinnamon. At the next loosening, the granules of Trichodermin, Gliocladin are introduced into the soil. Instead of water, for a month the wild garlic is watered with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin-M.
Potassium permanganate solution - an effective tool for soil disinfection
Root rot is even more dangerous for culture. It develops for a long time, without manifesting itself in the aerial part of the plant. Then the base of the stems soften, change color to black-brown, become slimy to the touch. The soil is drawn in by a layer of mold, an unpleasant putrefactive odor spreads. The fight against the disease at this stage is no longer possible. The plant is torn out and burned, the soil in this place is disinfected, spilling with a 5% solution of copper sulfate. Preventive measures are similar to those used to protect against gray rot.
It is almost impossible to notice the development of root rot at an early stage.
Harvesting and storage
Harvest is ready to harvest almost immediately after the snow melts. The highest concentration of vitamins, minerals, essential oils, phytoncides and other healthy substances in wild garlic leaves is observed in April. But it must be borne in mind that the earlier the greens are cut, the more time the plant needs to recover. Bulbs, on the contrary, are dug up at the end of summer, when they reach their maximum size. Eatable and arrows. They are even more tender and juicier than leaves. After flowering, which occurs in May, the harvest is stopped - the greens noticeably coarser.
The yield of wild garlic is very good, but you need to collect leaves so that it is not at the expense of plants
A wild garlic rosette, as a rule, consists of three to five leaves. You can cut (just cut, not tear and twist) the top two or three. The lowest leaf necessarily remains on the plant so that it is restored faster the next year. This season there will be no new greens. Adult specimens over the age of five can be trimmed completely. The yield of wild garlic is not bad - from 1 m² they get about 1.5 kg of green mass. In adult plants, this figure reaches 3 kg.
When pickling, the benefits of wild garlic practically do not suffer
To always be with the crop, it is advisable to plant wild garlic in at least three different places with an interval of one to two years. Each season, the leaves will be cut from only one bed, the remaining two will be able to recover.
After flowering, the leaves of wild garlic no longer cut - at this time they are not so tender and useful
Fresh garlic is most useful. Leaves and bulbs are added to salads. You can also prepare a delicious seasoning for meat and fish dishes from them, mixed with sour cream and chili pepper. In the Caucasian countries, bulbs are simply eaten with bacon and sprinkled with salt. At room temperature, the leaves lie, without losing freshness, 4-5 days, in the refrigerator - a week or a half.
Salad with wild garlic - just a storehouse of vitamins and minerals
The plant is very useful for humans, but wild garlic is not recommended for fattening livestock. Milk changes color to reddish-yellow, meat acquires an unpleasant aftertaste.
To keep wild garlic for a long time, leaves and bulbs are fermented, salted, pickled. Least of all useful substances is lost during pickling. You can freeze them. But for drying wild garlic is unsuitable. After this procedure, it almost completely loses its characteristic taste, aroma, and benefits.
They eat not only leaves and bulbs, but also wild arrows of wild garlic
Video: ramson's health benefits
Wild garlic is not very popular among Russian gardeners. But this is completely undeserved. In spring, it is almost the only fresh herbs, an indispensable source of vitamins and minerals. The plant is very unpretentious, even the gardener can cultivate wild leek on his plot even without any experience.
