Why should we cover garlic with straw? Should we cover garlic with straw or use mulch?

Covering with straw after sowing garlic can keep warm, retain moisture, suppress weeds, and speed up the growth of garlic and the time it takes to get to market. This is very important for autumn-planted garlic. Once the autumnal equinox is over, the weather becomes very cool. However, with the development of planting technology, it seems that fewer and fewer people are laying straw and stalks, and more and more people are laying black mulch.

Why do we need to cover garlic with straw?

1. Covering with straw is a way to keep warm and moisturize the garlic, so that it can germinate and grow well after sowing. First of all, in terms of temperature, the temperature in the south is directly below 22 degrees Celsius after the autumnal equinox, while in the north it is even lower, generally around 18 degrees Celsius. Therefore, in terms of temperature conditions, it is necessary to cover with straw or other things.

2. For garlic sown at this time, rain is still relatively frequent in the southern region, so covering with straw can play a moisturizing role. Although it has entered the autumnal equinox or even the frost, the temperature in the southern region is still good, so those who grow garlic have to put the garlic on the market around the Spring Festival, so the moisture retention is very important. Covering with straw is to prevent excessive evaporation of water in clear weather, which is not good for the growth of garlic.

3. The growth period of garlic planted in the north is slightly longer than that in the south due to the influence of temperature, but it will also be covered. The most used is wheat straw, which has the same function as rice straw. It is also for heat preservation and moisture retention, which helps growth, and finally achieves the purpose of listing as soon as possible to increase economic benefits.

4. Covering with straw can effectively prevent the growth of weeds. This is a kind of weed suppression, which has the same effect as the raw materials of laying ground film, except that the medium is different.

When growing garlic, should I cover it with straw or use mulch?

Southern Straw

Garlic needs to absorb a lot of water when it is taking root and sprouting, so after watering the garlic, you should choose to cover the garlic with some plastic film. Since the temperature in the south is relatively high, covering the plastic film may cause the surface temperature to be higher, which is not conducive to the germination of garlic. (The temperature for garlic to take root and sprout is between 15--20°) We ordinary people can only choose the rice straw we grow to cover the garlic to prevent water evaporation.

Northern mulch

Garlic is planted here from the Autumnal Equinox to the Cold Dew. As time goes by, the temperature here drops significantly. Covering the ground with film can keep warm and moisturize. It can also make the garlic sprouts and garlic heads go on the market earlier, which can also increase the yield. Therefore, people in our northern region generally choose to cover the ground with film.

Can I save my own garlic seeds?

You can save the garlic for next year's garlic seeds.

But there are a few points to note:

First, choose garlic cloves of moderate size for garlic seed. If too large garlic cloves are used as garlic seed, the cost will be very high, so it is not recommended. Another thing is that you cannot use too small garlic cloves as garlic seed. The garlic grown from too small garlic cloves will not be too big.

Second, try not to use the garlic core as garlic seed, and try to use the outer garlic cloves as garlic seed. After testing, there is still a difference in the garlic grown from the same size of garlic core and the outer garlic cloves.