Interesting facts about the history and cultivation of garlic

Central Asia is considered the birthplace of garlic. In ancient India, it was grown as a medicinal plant, but was added to food because of its pungent smell. The ancient Romans had no doubt that garlic was able to raise morale, so gladiators consumed it whole heads before fighting. In America, with the help of garlic, they treated skin diseases. In China, the benefits of garlic have been proven by many specialists: they treated rheumatism, insect bites and vitamin deficiency.
If we talk about the history of garlic in Russia, then the first mention of it is found in the ancient Russian chronicles of the 13th century, in the manuscripts of the 17-18th century it is mentioned very often, it was considered a valuable product and appreciated for its medicinal properties.

Agrotechnics

Choosing a place for garlic in the garden, you can allocate it a separate bed or plant it as a companion to any other crops (except for legumes: beans, peas and beans do not tolerate the neighborhood of garlic). So you will save space in the garden and protect the rest of the plantings from pests. Due to the high content of phytoncides, garlic repels pests and disinfects the soil. There are two planting methods - winter and spring. Planting time for winter garlic is September-October, spring garlic is planted in April-May, as soon as the kidney warms up. Do not be too lazy to select good, large and healthy cloves for planting, then the harvest will be a feast for the eyes. They are planted to a depth of about 5 cm, making the distance between rows 20 cm and in a row about 8-10 cm. And then just water, periodically loosen and weed, and about 3 weeks before the intended harvest, watering should be stopped.

To harvest on time, carefully observe the garlic. As soon as the lower leaves turn yellow and the tops fall on the ground, you can remove it. If the weather is sunny, leave the garlic to dry right on the garden bed, if not, arrange it under a canopy for a few days. Then you need to cut off the stems (leave about 7 cm) and continue drying in a well-ventilated area. As you can see, winter and spring garlic differ only in planting time, it is equally easy to care for them.

Despite the fact that garlic protects other plants from diseases and pests, it can also get sick itself (fusarium, black mold, bacterial rot - sounds creepy, although it is not common). This usually happens due to poor quality planting material. To prevent disease, plant a few calendula or marigold bushes in a garden bed with garlic.

The benefits of garlic

Everyone knows about the beneficial properties of garlic. In cooking, fresh and dried, it is added to food, marinated as an independent product and added to pickles. By the way, when preserved, garlic not only adds taste, but also allows pickles and marinades to be stored longer, being a disinfectant.In folk medicine, it is used to prevent and treat colds, garlic improves digestion and removes heavy metals and toxins from the body, lowers cholesterol levels.

Interesting Facts

Do you know that
- stalks of garlic can grow up to one and a half meters
- the record holders for the consumption of garlic are China, Korea and Italy
- in a head of garlic there can be from 2 to 50 cloves (depending on the variety)
- garlic is a natural antibiotic, it was discovered back in the 19th century
- the name of the city of Chicago in the language of one of the Indian tribes means "wild garlic"
- garlic contains more than a hundred chemically active elements