'Precosem' Organic Garlic (Autumn Planting)

Organic Garlic 'Precosem'

'Precosem' garlic is a new hard-neck variety with white bulbs flamed with purple and cream cloves. It is grown as a very-early garlic and early harvest is April-June. This variety is grown with fast maturity and is ideal for growing as green garlic/spring garlic, similar to scallion, the whole plant can be eaten, and it has a spicier, more intense bite than scallions, but can be used in much the same way. 'Precosem' can also be grown as a garlic bulb and is a close variety to 'Primor' offering a good yeild.

• Very-Early- Autumn variety
• Hard-neck variety
• Good as a 'green garlic' or 'spring garlic' (similar to scallions)
• Planting from September/October to December
• Harvest from April-June
• Fast maturity
• Very low dormancy - does not store like generic garlic
• Regenerated variety, free from OYDV (Onion Yellow Dwarf Virus)
• Bulbs of white color flamed with purple
• Approximately 12 cream-colored cloves per bulb.

Average number of bulbs

• 250g = 3-5 bulbs
• 1kg = 15-20 bulbs
• 10kg = 150-200 bulbs

(You will separate each bulb into several cloves which you plant individually. Approx. 8-12 cloves per bulb)

Hardneck varieties are more suited to cold climates, whereas softneck varieties tend to thrive in warmer environments. Ireland has a mostly temperate climate year round and with a bit of care, both soft or hardneck can be grown successfully in most places.

Reducing Disease in Garlic

Rust:

• Infection is worse on nitrogen-rich soils with low potassium, so take care with fertiliser applications.
• Do not crowd plants, as this raises humidity and increases the likelihood of infection.
• Keep well weeded.
• Dispose of all plant debris at the end of cropping.
• See Herfomyc – this is effective against any fungus on herbaceous plants. It also acts as a foliar feed so will strengthen the plant as well.

Disease Prevention (General):

• Watering: Don’t water in the evening/night as this moisture will linger overnight and allow the perfect environment for fungus to creep in – water in the morning so the plants can dry out throughout the day
• Soil: If you have heavy clay soils, you can do things like add sand, compost, and plant your garlic in mounds.
• Tools: When dealing with any type of plant disease it’s important to sterilise your tools/materials that came into contact with it.
• Crop Rotation: To prevent lots of different soil diseases, rotate your vegetable families each season.