Daily Celestial Challenge: Saturday - Agriculture
Garlic is a food with many benefits and properties. We can consider it essential in our kitchen. This bulbous cousin of onions already had many followers thousands of years ago thanks to its benefits as a condiment. Let's see what are its main properties and how we can add it to our dishes.
Nutritional properties of garlic
Garlic is a food that stands out for its caloric content, more than 100 kcal per 100 grams, but since its use is not massive in the kitchen, the caloric intake is almost negligible. The nutritional content of garlic is mostly based on carbohydrates, although it also has some protein (5 grams / 100 grams).
Garlic white: let's say it is garlic as such, the most traditional and common. The head of this garlic usually has more teeth than other types, they are more meaty and they are preserved for a longer time.
Purple garlic: as the name indicates are differentiated by the color of its cover. The purple garlic ripen before the whites and tend to be larger but have the disadvantage that they are preserved for less time and are somewhat more spicy.
Garlic needs a soil that has good drainage and full sun, it should be cultivated between the end of August and the end of September. The garlic seed is the same clove of garlic, we must select a garlic of good size, that does not exceed 10 teeth per head. If our seed or tooth has a large size, it will produce a good size garlic at harvest.
Before sowing we must prepare our soil so that it is loose and applying a layer of compost. The distance between sowing is 10-15 cm between each one and we can carry out the sowing in furrows or near sowing. If it is done in furrows, it is possible to associate our garlic with beet, lettuce and tomato. The close sowing is done using the 3-bolillo technique.
When sowing, we should observe our garlic clove very well so as not to do it the other way around. The tip or thin part is the upper part, while in the lower part we can see a small flat surface. The peel of the clove of garlic should not be removed. The depth of sowing of our garlic is twice the size of the tooth (approximately 5 cm), apply a little compost at the time of sowing and watering. You can place mulch to prevent moisture from leaving and weeds to grow.
The shoots of garlic will start to leave approximately 4-8 weeks, depending on the climate and the variety. The risks in the garlic should be sufficient but not in excess, the soil should maintain its humidity but if we exceed in water we can cause diseases . Keep your plants free of weeds. Fertilize with a little compost each month and break the top layer of the soil, avoiding touching the plants or going very deep.
Some garlics produce a floral stem that can be used for cooking. Garlic need cold winters to produce a better bulb.
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