Description of the Polessky Souvenir garlic variety, cultivation features and care

Polesie Souvenir garlic is a real gift for both a novice gardener and an experienced farmer.

Growing this spicy root vegetable is an old but still growing industry. Garlic prices are quite high and stable, regardless of the season. The ease of cultivation makes it a profitable business, even for a beginner. However, farmers' feedback indicates that choosing the right garlic variety is just as important as properly growing and marketing the crop.

Description of the variety

Polesskiy Souvenir garlic has excellent characteristics. It is a winter variety developed by Belarusian breeders. Its growing season, from spring germination to full ripening, lasts approximately 95-120 days. Therefore, this variety is considered mid-season.

As it grows, the Polesie Souvenir produces a stalk, the large aerial head of which contains light purple seeds. The plant also bears up to 8-10 dark green leaves on the stem, covered with a medium-thick waxy coating and distinguished by parallel veins. The leaves range from 58 to 62 cm in length and 3-3.5 cm in width.

The bulbs of the Polesskiy Souvenir variety are round and large, consisting of 6-7 large, wide, blunt-tipped cloves. The bulbs are covered with 3-4 layers of light, cream-colored, dry scales with a pinkish tint. The cloves are protected by off-white scales, sometimes with purple spots.

A large root of the Polesskiy Souvenir variety can weigh up to 120-150 g, but the average bulb weight typically ranges from 80-100 g. Like most other winter garlic varieties, the dense flesh of Polesskiy Souvenir has a strong, persistent aroma and a pungent or semi-spicy flavor. This makes the vegetable indispensable in the diet and versatile for both fresh and canned use.

Productivity

When grown properly, the germination rate of the Polesskiy Souvenir garlic variety reaches up to 97%. The average yield is 1-2 kg per square meter.

This indicator directly depends on the crop's growing conditions—the soil, the preceding crops in the garden, the availability of adequate watering and fertilization. Despite the high performance of Polesie Souvenir, it is important to adhere to agricultural techniques for growing winter garlic.

Hardiness and disease resistance

This garlic variety can confidently be called highly productive. It is resistant to severe frosts and prolonged drought, tolerates winter well, adapts easily and quickly to various conditions, and requires little maintenance.

By following simple storage guidelines, Polesskiy Souvenir winter garlic can retain its flavor and appearance for 6-8 months. To do this, remove any unsuitable, rotten, or diseased bulbs and store the garlic unpeeled in a cool, dry, and dark place.

The Polesskiy Souvenir garlic variety has high immunity to most infections and pests.

Growing and care rules

Planting of winter garlic seedlings in open ground or greenhouses begins even in mid-August and early September.

It's not recommended to grow garlic in the same plot of land more than once every four years. It's also important to consider the previous crops grown in the same soil. It's preferable to plant garlic after cucumbers, early potatoes, early cauliflower, or legumes. It's also not recommended to grow garlic after carrots, beets, radishes, and eggplants. It's strongly recommended not to plant garlic in the same area where onions were grown, as the onions can contaminate the soil and the entire future crop with hereditary diseases.

Garlic grows well and gains mass in loamy and sandy soils. Before planting, it's advisable to fertilize the soil with wood ash. This will prevent soil oxidation during watering.

Prepare the seed 10 days before planting by soaking the selected cloves for several hours in a solution of 100-120 g of salt and 5 liters of water. This treatment will help boost the garlic's immunity to the most common disease—rot.

After the procedure, the cloves are stored for the next 9 days at a temperature of +7 to +15°C to acclimate to the cold. They are then planted in a dug and prepared area of ​​soil, spaced 20 cm apart and 25 cm apart.

During the growing season, garlic requires at least 3 heavy drip irrigations during periods of intensive growth, from late April to early June. Like other winter varieties, Poleskiy Souvenir requires frequent weeding to aerate the soil and fertilizing with a superphosphate solution and potassium fertilizer. During the period of mass flower stalk formation, the stalks should be pruned. This procedure will positively influence the size of the future harvest.