2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Sorrel is one of the earliest vegetable plants that give its vitamin greens in the spring. It is also valued for its high content of useful acids, proteins and trace elements - iron and potassium. But you can surprise your family and pamper them with fragrant green borscht with fresh sorrel, even in the middle of a cold winter. This close relative of rhubarb does not skimp on the harvest of greens when planting for distillation in the cold season and will thank the caring hands of the gardener with a generous harvest
Features of varieties of sorrel for forcing
Rhizomes for distilling sorrel leaves are dug from the garden in the fall and added to the cellar until planting. You can immediately send planting material to boxes and pots, but until the day the forcing process begins, they are left outside in the open air, insulating the container only on the sides - with straw, leaves.
If you got the planting material from friends, you should clarify what kind of sorrel you got into your hands - spinach or sour. Spinach produces greens faster, and its leaves are several times more powerful than their sour counterpart. The peculiarity of the second is that it is rich not only in malic and citric acid, but as it ages, it accumulates oxalic acid, which is unhealthy to abuse. Based on this, it should always be remembered that it is better to refrain from using such sorrel for those who suffer from kidney diseases, intestinal inflammation, and salt metabolism disorders in the body.
Sorrel planting technology for forcing
The rhizome for distillation is recommended to be taken from two-year-old plants, and three-year-olds are also used. For forcing sorrel, it is better to use bridge planting technology. This means that planting material in your improvised bed in a box should be placed very tightly, side by side to each other, so that there is practically no free space between the rhizomes. This method is used not only to save space - with its help the leaves grow thicker and become softer in taste. Its delicate sourness will not spoil the flavor of the salad; such products can be used as a filling for brass pies.
It is necessary to ensure that there is a sufficient thickness of the soil layer in the boxes for distilling greenery. For sorrel, this figure is approximately 10-12 cm.
The advantage of sorrel is its undemandingness to sunlight. It will grow well in a dimly lit area of the house. Therefore, it is not scary to leave it for forcing greenery on window sills and balconies that face the north side of your house or are shaded in the daytime by tall trees on the street. But after planting rhizomes and watering the beds, the box does need to be sent to a dark place for a while.
Caring for planting sorrel at home
For good growth of greenery, plantings must provide certain conditions:
• first of all, it is important to monitor the condition of the soil - the earth should not dry out;
• humidity and air temperature matter - it should not be dry, and the thermometer should not be allowed to fall below + 18 ° С or rise above 20 ° С;
• pay attention to the growth rate of leaves: when it is unreasonably low, it can be increased by applying fertilizers, for example, with a weak urea solution.
How do you know that a plant is developing normally? Under favorable conditions, the first harvest can be obtained two and a half to three weeks after planting sorrel rhizomes. The stock of nutrients in the planting material is sufficient for the growing season for about 2 months. With proper feeding from one planting, the harvest of greens can be harvested at least 3 times. But after such productive work, the rhizome is depleted and loses strength, so it cannot be reused for forcing leaves.
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