Asparagus

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Asparagus (lat. Asparagus) - a genus of herbaceous plants or semi-shrubs of the Asparagus family. Russia and Western Europe are considered to be the homeland of asparagus. The genus has about 200 species. Under natural conditions, asparagus grows everywhere. Typical places are the banks of rivers, reservoirs and lakes. In Russia, cultivated species of asparagus began to be cultivated at the beginning of the 18th century. Currently, the species is widely cultivated - medicinal asparagus (lat. Asparagus officinalis).

Characteristics of culture

Asparagus is a herb or shrub with highly branched stems and a well-developed rhizome. Shoots form numerous needle-shaped branches (otherwise cladodia), collected in bunches, sitting in the leaf axils. The leaves are small, underdeveloped, prickly or scaly, forming hard spurs at the base.

Flowers are small, regular, solitary or collected in racemose or thyroid inflorescences. The perianth is simple, divided-petal or slightly welded at the base. The fruit is a berry, contains several seeds. Seeds are black, thickened.

Growing conditions

Asparagus is placed outside the crop rotation, since the plants are cultivated in the same place for up to 15 years. High areas protected from cold winds and southern slopes are optimal for asparagus. Soils are preferable non-acidic, sandy loam, rich in peat or humus. Suitable for growing asparagus in areas where greenhouses or nurseries were previously located, or cleaned up landfills with an accumulation of a thick layer of humus or compost.

Site preparation

A plot for asparagus is prepared in the fall, but if such an opportunity is not provided, the soil is cultivated at least 2-3 weeks in advance. The soil is carefully dug up, rhizome weeds are removed, non-acidic peat compost or rotted manure and superphosphate (no more than 50-60 g per 1 square meter) are introduced. In the spring, the soil is loosened and fed with potassium chloride (20-30 g), ammonium nitrate (20-25 g) and wood ash (60 g).

Sowing

Seeds are sown for seedlings in mid-May. Before sowing, the seeds are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then kept in warm water for two days. After swelling, the seeds are wrapped in damp gauze or burlap for 5-6 days, avoiding drying out. The prepared seeds are sown in nurseries in a row method. The seeding depth is 2 cm. With the appearance of 1-2 true leaves on the seedlings, the crops are thinned out, leaving an interval of 10-12 cm. For the winter, young plants are covered with peat or humus, and the next spring they are planted in a permanent place.

On the ridges, grooves are formed with a depth of about 25 cm, on the bottom of which humus mixed with wood ash is poured. Plants are planted at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other, in shrub forms the distance is increased to 100 cm. Important: the apical buds of the seedlings should be located 15-17 cm below the soil surface. Immediately after planting, abundant watering is carried out (by rain). It is not forbidden to sow celery or vegetable beans between the grooves of the asparagus. In addition, beans enrich the area with nitragin (nodule bacteria), which are formed on the roots of plants.

Care

During the season, the soil in the aisles is loosened, weeded and watered as needed. After the first weeding, the asparagus is fed with slurry diluted with water 6-7 times and mixed with ammonium nitrate.

The culture needs regular preventive treatments against pests and diseases. For example, in spring, plants are very often attacked by the asparagus fly, which lays eggs in the scales of the shoots. Subsequently, larvae form from the eggs, which partially or completely gnaw out the shoots.

Damaged specimens are pulled out and burned, and the rest of the plants are treated with sevin or chlorophos. In autumn, the asparagus stalks are cut and mulched with humus (10 cm layer). Starting from the third year of life, asparagus is spud, forming thirty-centimeter ridges. It is on these ridges that juicy and tasty shoots are formed in the future.

Harvesting

Once the asparagus heads reach the top of the earthen ridge, harvesting begins. Shoots are carefully dug up and pruned at the base. The formed hole is covered with soil. From the third year, no more than five shoots are collected from one plant every two days, then up to 15 shoots are cut off within 35-40 days. Harvesting ends at 20 June.