Planting and Fertilizing garlic

Garlic (Allium sativum) consumed by people as a seasoning, is also consumed as a drug because it contains several active ingredients, among others: dialit sulfide or alsilin compounds that act as antioxidants, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Additionally, garlic also for toothache medicine and bitten by a snake. Garlic can be consumed in the fresh form, for example, is used for pickles, preserves, or eaten immediately. Therefore, garlic is one that needs to be cultivated vegetable crops by applying Raising the Good and True (Good Agricultural Practices / GAP).

Preparation and planting garlic is good and right includes the following activities: choice of location, land clearing, seed preparation, planting and fertilizing.

Choose location.
The location of land selected in accordance with the requirements of growing garlic, among others:

1. Thick fertile soil, sandy, crumbly, soil pH from 6.9 to 7.2 and a disease-free or not former similar plants, up to three planting seasons;
2. Land open, no shade so direct sunlight shining on the plants;
3. Land that is located on a plateau at an altitude of less than 1,500 m above sea level;
4. The slope of the land is less than 30%;
5. The temperature of between 15-20 degrees Celsius, rather cooler night temperatures required for the formation of garlic bulbs, while the temperature is too high and the soil is too wet will complicate the formation of the tubers;
6. Rainfall of less than 1,500 mm per year; and
7. Sufficient water source, with good drainage.

Preparing land
Land to be planted garlic should be cleaned of everything that can interfere with plant growth, among other things: rocks, trash, weeds, plant debris, and others. Rock and inorganic waste (plastic, etc.) are collected and then disposed of outside the planting area. While the remains of plants, bushes, shrubs, and organic waste is collected and buried in a place that is still in the area of planting garlic).

Land processed until crumbly, trim, trenches and beds made with East direction of the sun. Processing is done until crumbly soil by way of digging or plowing the soil as deep as 20-30 cm and repeated 2 to 3 times the distance of about one week. A distance of approximately one week, that allow the soil to improve soil aeration and eliminate toxic gases and heat decomposition / decomposition of plant debris. Once completely loose soil leveled, then made beds with distance between beds of 40 cm, height of beds 15-30 cm, and width of 100-120 cm. Then made a trench to keep drainage (drainage) remains good, with widths from 30-40 and a depth of 30 cm. On sloping land, made terraces and planted crops reinforcing dikes, and beds made or cut direction transverse slope.

Seed Preparation
Preparation of seeds to ensure seed quality, uniform, high yielding, and healthy. Garlic seed to be planted chosen that has the following criteria: Tubers that have completed a period of dormancy (already recorded 6-7 months). Seed superior, quality, certified, and labeled. Free of pests and diseases. Large size (weight 1.5 to 2 grams), medium size (weight of 1 - 1.5 grams), and small (less than 1 gram weight or an average of 0.77 grams). Not broken and uniform bulb shape. Stem contains a full and loud. Tubers ready for planting that marked the center of the cloves was green.

Then the seeds that meet these criteria are separated into cloves, and cloves deepest, will be planted in its place for the production of single garlic (male). It takes around 9 quintals per hectare. Garlic seed is very expensive, therefore it can be used bulbs are a medium-size cloves

Plant and cultivate garlic

When planting garlic is good at the end of the rainy season, between the months of May-June or early summer with the terms available adequate water resources. Planting and fertilizing the following basic: Before the garlic seeds are planted, spread manure as much as 10-15 tonnes per hectare on land that has been processed and is ready for planting garlic, then covered with soil fertilizer 5 cm and left for 10 days.Towards the seeds are planted, spread organic fertilizer to the type and dose per hectare as follows: 250 kg SP-36, 300 kg of KCl, 100 kg urea and 100 kg ZA.Then plant each clove seeds of garlic in the planting hole with the ideal distance, size 15 x 15 cm, by immersing the base of the cloves into the soil surface is perpendicular to the ¾ length cloves into the soil and sought the seed is not in contact with the fertilizer, because it can result in spoilage. Once the seeds are planted, cover the beds with thick straw 3-5 cm. After the 15-day-old plants, fertilizer of urea as much as 100 kg per hectare, by way of fertilizer are planted in the soil by using a drill at 5-10 cm in the left / right of the row of plants. After the 30-day-old garlic, ZA fertilizer as much as 100 kg per hectare.