How asparagus grows: cultivation and care in the open field in the garden with photos and videos

Vegetable culture today is considered exotic in Russia. Many housewives grow it in flower beds, not realizing the valuable and useful substances of the culture that is loved by supporters of a he althy diet. The question of how asparagus grows can be answered: the plant prefers sunny, calm areas. Feels good under fruit trees, as it reaches technical maturity before the foliage appears. Asparagus is grown by seeds and vegetatively. The collection of shoots begins from the third season.

When to plant asparagus

Experienced gardeners carry out winter planting of asparagus bushes in a pre-prepared place.The bed is dug up and fertilized with a mixture of superphosphate, potassium sulfate and ammonium sulfate. In the spring, they prefer to plant pre-soaked seeds with the use of growth stimulants. This process occurs in early April, and seedlings appear after two months. Seedlings are moved to a permanent place of growth in the second half of June.

Propagation by cuttings

For this type of propagation, cuttings are cut from last year's shoots and placed in wet sand. It is advisable to equip the landings with a cap constructed from a plastic bottle.

Before rooting, the cuttings should be aired and sprayed, and after one or two months, transplanted into separate containers.

Propagation of asparagus is possible by dividing the bush. In this case, all divisions must be with shoots.

How to plant asparagus

Asparagus is planted in open ground in early June under the protection of fences or building walls.The culture does not tolerate soils with high groundwater, but yields crops in one place without transplanting up to a quarter of a century. Therefore, a permanent place should be chosen. The ideal option is fertile sandy soil, which is prepared in advance. In autumn, weeds are removed from the ridges, compost, potassium sulfate and superphosphate are added and dug up. After the snow melts, the area should be harrowed and fertilized with wood ash and ammonium nitrate.

When planting asparagus seedlings in open ground, prepare holes 30 x 40 cm 30 cm deep, with an interval of one meter. The holes are covered with loose earth and the plant is planted, shortening the roots to 3 cm. Compact the soil, water and mulch.

Where to plant asparagus

Because the crop grows in one place up to 25 years, the highest yields are achieved in the first years, then stabilize and decline after 10 years. They pick up a well-lit corner in the garden where cereals and potatoes used to grow.

Medicinal herbs and spices can be grown nearby.

If the seedlings are placed near the fence, they are protected from the negative impact of weeds from the street by digging in sheets of tin or slate.

The soil in the garden should be loose to ensure free access of air to the roots. Heavy, clay soils are corrected by adding coarse sand. It is enough to plant five or six asparagus bushes in the country to provide a whole family with a product. In the case of a close occurrence of groundwater, a high ridge is equipped. Soil acidity is reduced with bone or dolomite flour, lime.

How to grow asparagus from seeds

Cultivation in the open field occurs in several ways. Sowing with seeds is a long process due to delayed germination, so planting seedlings on a bed is preferred.To do this, the seeds are soaked in warm water for 3-4 days, changing the water to fresh twice a day. The swollen seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth until the sprouts peck. Then they prepare containers with a soil mixture of two parts of sand and one part of peat, garden soil and rotted manure.

Sowing is carried out in grooves to a depth of 2 mm, the seeds are laid out at a distance of 5 cm from each other. The container is installed in a well-lit place with an ambient temperature of +25 degrees. With daily watering shoots appear after a week. Features of care for sprouts - peat powder. Two-week-old seedlings are fed with complex mineral fertilizer of moderate concentration.

Sprouting seeds in the sand

Seeds are planted in a plastic container with a lid in early spring. The container is filled with river sand by 5 mm and slightly moistened. The seeds are laid out on the surface with an interval of one millimeter and slightly deepened with a spoon.If the container is without a lid, it is placed in a polyethylene bag and left at a positive temperature.

The location of the crops does not matter, as they do not need lighting.

Dry sand needs to be moistened. After a week, sprouts sprout, then you should open the container and put it on the windowsill.

Picking

Asparagus sprouts dive when they get crowded. When transplanting, it is necessary to provide each plant with a growing area of 5 x 5 cm. You can purchase ready-made soil or mix peat and garden soil in equal proportions. Seedlings are planted together with a clod of soil and slightly deepened. Seedlings tend to stretch and bend down to the ground, this is a temporary phenomenon.

Growing seedlings of asparagus

At the end of May, seedlings begin to harden, exposing them to the open air for one hour at first, gradually increasing to 12 hours.In early June, the asparagus will be ready for planting in beds 30-40 cm high and one meter wide. A distance of 60 cm is left between the rows, separating the seedlings from each other by 40 cm.

When growing asparagus, you need to take into account the ability of some varieties to withstand short-lived severe frosts in adulthood, over four years. Young plants are harmed by a temperature of -25 degrees.

How does asparagus grow from rhizomes

Root propagation method is the fastest, most efficient and popular. Landing takes place before winter or spring. Rhizomes are bought or used growing on the site. After digging out of the ground, divide them into parts and soak for half an hour in warm water.

A half-meter distance is maintained between rows. A nutrient substrate is poured in the center of the hole, in which the roots are placed at intervals of 30 cm. Plantings are covered with earth, watered and mulched with sawdust, tree bark or dry foliage.

Preparing the soil for transplanting seedlings

In the case of the seedling method of cultivation, autumn preparation of the site is necessary. The need for soil fertilization is the introduction of manure and fertilizing containing potassium and phosphorus. Acidic soils are deoxidized with chalk or liming, after which the ridges are dug up.

Seedling care

Asparagus needs abundant moisture immediately after disembarkation. Then the plants need to be watered from time to time, weeds need to be removed.

To stimulate growth, shoots should be fed with a solution of slurry prepared from one part manure and six parts water.

Three weeks later, bird droppings are brought in, diluted tenfold with water. Top dressing with complex mineral fertilizer is carried out in the fall. For the winter, asparagus is cut to a height of 2.5 cm, spud and covered with dry leaves and humus.

The soil around the plants needs regular loosening in order to provide the root system with oxygen. The procedure is carried out monthly, with caution, due to the superficial location of the roots.

The neighborhood with parsley, green onions, dill has a beneficial effect on the growth and development of asparagus.

Diseases and pests of asparagus

Garden plants susceptible:

• Fusariose, which is a type of root rot. Appears from waterlogging of the soil.
• Vegetable rust. A disease caused by fungi inhibits development and kills plants left untreated.
• Rhizoctonia. A rare disease transmitted from carrots requires preventive treatment due to the proximity of this crop.
• Asparagus leaf-eating beetle.
• Asparagus fly that burrows through young plants. Insect pest lays larvae that destroy crops.
• Garden slugs that eat all parts of asparagus, not disdaining old and calloused shoots.

To avoid such phenomena, timely treatment with appropriate drugs is necessary. Pests are helped by preventive measures in the form of spraying with Karbofos, which has little toxicity and is suitable for protecting various horticultural crops.

Asparagus harvesting

Asparagus is suitable for consumption in the 3rd-4th year. It is necessary to cut the asparagus after the rhizomes rise above the soil surface. If the winter was not too frosty, and spring came early, harvesting begins in April. Twenty-centimeter shoots are cut. No more than three stems are harvested from the plant. Cleaning lasts 14 days. In subsequent seasons, it is permissible to cut up to 10 shoots from each plant in a month and a half.

Stems are supposed to spud, remove weeds from the site and apply mineral dressing. Rhizomes give out new shoots that develop and form buds before the onset of cold weather.

Cut asparagus is moved to get rid of unusable stems and placed in heat. Leaves smooth, creaky stems with a noticeable sheen. Then wrapped in a damp cloth and stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in another dark cool place for up to 3-4 months. Strong-smelling products give off their odors to shoots, so their neighborhood should be excluded. Vertical placement is recommended to avoid deformation.

Many gardeners store their crops in the cellar, spreading them out in wooden boxes, pouring layers of sand.

The ends of asparagus intended for long-term storage are cut off. Products are placed in a hermetically sealed container and placed in a refrigerator with a temperature regime of 0 … -20 degrees.Such conditions help preserve color and nutrients. Freezing of pre-boiled asparagus is allowed.

Asparagus is popular not only as a food product, but also as a garden decoration. Ornamental plant harmoniously complements flower arrangements.

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