How to plant and grow the queen of garden beds, asparagus, in open ground? How to grow asparagus in the countryside Asparagus from seeds to seedlings.

02.01.2024

Asparagus is widespread: in Europe, Asia, and Africa, this plant is actively grown in order to obtain juicy young shoots. Despite the fact that not everyone likes the characteristic taste of the vegetable, asparagus is constantly used in cooking as an irreplaceable source of many vitamins. Manganese, potassium, copper, vitamins B, K, A, E - all this is contained in shoots that you can grow in your own beds. Growing asparagus from seeds involves choosing the most fertile place on your site, since asparagus is demanding on the soil. You should also decide in advance whether you want to immediately immerse the seeds in open ground or first germinate them in a container and place the already strong seedlings in the garden. We'll talk about the intricacies of planting and caring for asparagus bushes below.

Planting asparagus seeds is carried out using two methods:

immersing seeds in open ground;
preliminary planting of seeds in a container, suggesting a seedling method of growing a plant.

Since seeds take quite a long time to germinate, the seedling method is considered safer and more effective, because it allows the plant to form before winter and cope with frost. Both methods of preparing seeds for planting involve their preliminary germination, which speeds up the further development of the plant.

When should you plant asparagus?

You can plant asparagus seeds in both the spring and autumn seasons. As a rule, spring planting is more common and occurs in late March - early April. Before planting, the soil is fertilized with humus so that the seeds take root better in the ground.

Autumn planting takes place at the end of September and involves digging up the garden in advance, as well as enriching it with superphosphate, potassium sulfate and ammonium sulfate.

Germinating seeds for planting in open ground

To germinate, asparagus seeds, like all other seeds, require plenty of moisture and high air temperature. Germination takes place in early April and involves a few simple steps:

If all the above steps are followed correctly, the first signs of germination will appear within a week.

If you intend to place planting material immediately in open ground, then the awakened seeds are immersed in holes or rows specially dug for them at the end of spring. The depth of immersion of planting material is about two centimeters. A distance of ten centimeters should be maintained between adjacent seeds so that the plants do not interfere with each other’s growth in the future. Under favorable conditions, the seeds will begin to germinate in ten days, and after two months they will stretch ten centimeters in height.

Important! If your area experiences sudden drops in nighttime temperatures in May, cover the nursery in the late afternoon to prevent it from freezing. Agrospan is a good material for covering.

Growing seeds using seedlings

The seedling method allows seedlings to grow stronger in gentle conditions so that by the time they are planted in open ground they will acquire a certain immunity. Before immersing the hatched seeds in containers, you should select the appropriate soil soil. The following ingredients are suitable for asparagus:

Soil from the garden;
Rotted manure;
Peat;
Sand.

If you don’t want to prepare the soil mixture yourself, you can always purchase the finished product at a specialized store. There are both universal and crop-specific soil mixtures that already include a number of fertilizers.

The main disadvantage of such mixtures is that, while in them, the seedling does not get used to the garden soil and first encounters it only when planted in the ground, which provokes stress in the asparagus. If the plant gets to know the soil from your site in advance, its subsequent adaptation will be easier and faster.

Otherwise, caring for seeds in containers consists of steps that are familiar to any gardener who has dealt with seedlings at least once. Seeds immersed in separate pots are covered with a centimeter layer of soil. This layer is periodically sprayed. To create greenhouse conditions, the containers are closed with a transparent lid until the first shoots. A few days before planting in open ground, attention should be paid to fertilizing enriched with potassium.

By the way! Pots with a volume of 100-150 milliliters or plastic cassettes are well suited for asparagus.

Planting in open ground

When the plant gets stronger, it should be planted in the garden. We will tell you how to prepare the soil for planting asparagus in the following chapters. Now let us note that the most fertile areas should be selected for growing asparagus, since the plant is very sensitive to soil.

While the plant has not had time to grow, it can be placed in holes located fifteen centimeters from each other. As asparagus develops, the distance both between rows and between holes should be increased by replanting young plants. When the seedlings are placed in a permanent place, the distance between them should be at least forty centimeters.

Preparing for winter

Since the first winter is the most difficult for asparagus, you should prepare well for it:

Important! Despite the fact that asparagus copes well with frost, during the first wintering it is advisable to cover it with a layer of peat to avoid the risk of asparagus overcooling.

Soil for asparagus

Every gardener knows how important soil quality is to subsequent harvests. In addition to quality, you should also take into account the compatibility of the crop being grown with a specific type of soil. While asparagus grown to produce beautiful bouquets will bloom on almost any soil, asparagus grown for culinary purposes requires special attention to the planting site.

The land in which asparagus seeds are planted must meet the following criteria:

Looseness and nutrition. Sandy loam soil combines these qualities best. With a lack of nutrition, the shoots become thinner and lose their juiciness;
Neutral acidity indicator. It is advisable to lime even slightly acidic soils before sowing asparagus seeds to ensure better yields;
Sunny side location. Asparagus is a light-loving plant and the amount of lighting directly affects the quality of the shoots.

Preparing the soil for planting asparagus

Despite the fact that asparagus is considered a rather exotic plant, preparation for planting it is no different from any other preparation and includes standard procedures.

Step 1. Clearing the planting site of all rhizomes of old weeds.

Step 2. Loosening the soil to a depth of forty centimeters.

Step 3. Deoxidation of the soil using fluff lime or any other suitable materials (chalk, dolomite flour, wood ash).

Step 4. Processing the seat. The soil is fertilized by adding rotted manure or compost. A bucket of product is enough for a square meter of garden. After applying organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers should be applied.

Step 5. Organization of space. Organization involves choosing a method of planting seeds, which is carried out based on the number of plants planted. If you have big plans for your asparagus, plant the seeds in specially dug ditches to end up with structured rows of plants. With a limited number of seeds, it would be more advisable to dig a hole measuring 30 by 30 centimeters under each specimen and fill it with rotted manure, compost and soil that have already been used.

Asparagus care

Plant care directly depends on the time of year. For example, the summer season involves:

Watering plants: asparagus does not tolerate either a lack or an excess of moisture, so it should be moistened as needed;
Feeding - in the summer months, asparagus especially needs mineral and organic fertilizers. Bird droppings diluted with water can be used as fertilizing;
Loosening the soil between rows: loosening is carried out after each moistening of the soil.

With the onset of autumn comes time for other actions:

Cutting stems: Before wintering, all asparagus stems are cut off, regardless of whether they come from an old or new bush;
Wrapping bushes: to cover a plant, it is enough to use dry foliage;
Soil cultivation: autumn involves fertilizing the bed with a large amount of organic fertilizers (humus, peat, compost).

Top dressing

Asparagus needs constant feeding, regardless of the season. The list of necessary fertilizers includes the following:

Video - Features of caring for asparagus

Asparagus propagation

Asparagus is propagated in two ways: cuttings and dividing the bush. Each of these methods is briefly described in the table below.

Table 1. Methods of propagation of asparagus

Reproduction method	Details
	Cuttings used for propagation are cut from last year's shoots of a mature bush. This procedure is carried out from early March to June. To help the cuttings take root better, they are placed in damp sand, covered with a plastic bottle to create a greenhouse effect. For a month and a half, the cuttings are sprayed and, from time to time, ventilated. After the designated period, they should be dumped into containers for further cultivation.
	You should start by removing the bush from the soil and cutting its rhizomes into sections using a knife. These cuttings are subsequently planted in open ground using the same method as seedlings. At the onset of next spring, the bushes hill up to thirty centimeters. Soon the tops of the head appear, after which you can safely cut off the shoots and eat them. Reproduction by dividing the bush allows, therefore, to accelerate the development of the bush by two years, which is the main advantage of this method

Reproduction method

Details

Cuttings used for propagation are cut from last year's shoots of a mature bush. This procedure is carried out from early March to June. To help the cuttings take root better, they are placed in damp sand, covered with a plastic bottle to create a greenhouse effect. For a month and a half, the cuttings are sprayed and, from time to time, ventilated. After the designated period, they should be dumped into containers for further cultivation.

You should start by removing the bush from the soil and cutting its rhizomes into sections using a knife. These cuttings are subsequently planted in open ground using the same method as seedlings. At the onset of next spring, the bushes hill up to thirty centimeters. Soon the tops of the head appear, after which you can safely cut off the shoots and eat them. Reproduction by dividing the bush allows, therefore, to accelerate the development of the bush by two years, which is the main advantage of this method

When to harvest?

Before planting asparagus, you should keep in mind that it makes no sense to expect a harvest from it for the first few years. Only by the third year of life will the shoots of the plant develop enough to be used in cooking. However, such a long wait has its advantages - with proper care, asparagus can serve you for about twenty years without requiring replanting.

Today, most of us think seriously about what goes into our stomach as food. Modern man, burdened with endless stress and negative environmental influences, also suffers from a lack of nutrients, vitamins and minerals in traditional food. More and more often, outlandish vegetables and fruits appear on our table. And today we offer you material, the topic of which is growing asparagus, from seeds and using rhizome layering.

Composition of asparagus

Many will be surprised to learn that asparagus has long been present with us, but only in the form of decorating holiday bouquets - these are sprigs of asparagus or the so-called “Christmas tree”. And the young, non-woody shoots and berries of this plant are eaten.

No vegetable can compare with asparagus in terms of the amount of vitamins and minerals it contains. In 100 gr. asparagus contains:

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) - 0.6 mg
Thiamine (vitamin B1) - 0.1 mg
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) - 0.1 mg
Niacin (vitamin PP) - 1 mg
Choline (vitamin B4) - 25 mg
Folic acid (vitamin B9) - 140 mcg
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) - 20 mg
Potassium - 200 mg
Calcium - 20 mg
Magnesium - 20 mg
Sodium - 40 mg
Phosphorus - 60 mg
Iron - 0.9 mg
Manganese - 0.1 mg
Copper - 0.1 mg
Selena - 6 mcg

Thanks to this composition, asparagus is often recommended as a medicine for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular and genitourinary diseases. The low calorie content of the vegetable (only 21 kcal) and high fiber content made it indispensable in the diet of diabetics and people suffering from excess weight. It has been noticed that young shoots of asparagus speed up the metabolism in the human body and help the process of eliminating toxins and waste. Asparagus is rightfully a favorite vegetable of all people who promote proper nutrition and care about their health, especially since it contains the most powerful antioxidant - glutathione, which prevents early aging.

Today, frozen and canned asparagus is sold in supermarkets all year round, and fresh asparagus does not appear on the shelves for long - for 6 - 8 weeks, from the beginning of April to the end of May. The vegetable can also be grown in your own plot, however, this will require patience - the first harvest can only be harvested after 3 years. But all efforts will be more than rewarded with a stable and rich harvest of asparagus for 20 - 25 years.

Asparagus, the shoots of which are called asparagus, is a cold-resistant, unpretentious plant; its fern-like leaves grow up to 1.5 m in height, and sometimes more. The plant prefers to grow on sandy, fertile soils. Asparagus forms many trunks, many of which are used for food, and the rest form a crown with a diameter of more than 1 meter. It is believed that a plant grown in northern regions, where the dormant period is several weeks longer, produces the most delicious shoots. Asparagus easily tolerates long-term frosts down to -30 C; short-term spring frosts down to -5 C or sudden temperature changes are dangerous for it, as they can damage young shoots. The spring awakening of asparagus begins when the earth warms up to +10 C; in July, inconspicuous inflorescences appear on the spreading crown, and already in August, asparagus is decorated with bright, first emerald, and then scarlet berries. If you decide to get asparagus on your own plot, you have two alternatives: growing asparagus from seeds and using cuttings from the rhizome of an adult plant.

Reproduction by rhizome layering

Naturally, when buying asparagus rhizomes, you can hope for almost 100% survival rate (as opposed to seed propagation). But asparagus rhizomes in the fall (with the branches cut off) are no different from the roots of other plants, so it will be very difficult for an inexperienced gardener to buy the “original”. You can ask the seller to find a rhizome with a longer stump, on which asparagus needles will be visible, or you can postpone planting the rhizome until spring, when asparagus shoots are clearly visible on the plant. Of course, it is preferable to plant a plant “before winter,” but in this case it is better to work hard in the spring and get the desired plant.

Before planting in a permanent place, it is necessary to prepare the soil. It’s good if a place for asparagus has been allocated since the fall - for example, you have prepared a dug up area with added fertilizers (60 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate and 15 g of ammonium sulfate per 1 m2). If there is none, then in the spring, you need to dig a trench 35 cm deep, 45 cm wide, and long according to the number of rhizomes - the distance between them should be at least 100 cm. Immediately before planting, humus can be added to the trench at the rate of 10 kg per 1 m3. Any other fertilizers should not be added to the trench, as they can burn the tender asparagus roots. Then the rhizomes are placed at the bottom of the trench, watered with melt water and covered with loose soil. If the plant is planted in the spring, then the rhizomes should be filled 5 cm below the edge of the trench in order to conveniently water the young plants. If plants are planted in the fall, then it is necessary to fill up the rhizomes, forming a hill above the trench to protect the rhizomes from frost.

A young plant needs abundant watering and loosening of the soil. During the summer, several feedings should be done. The first fertilization is carried out 3 weeks after planting with a solution of mullein and water in a ratio of 1:5. the second feeding is done after another 3 weeks with a solution of bird droppings and water in a ratio of 1:10. The third fertilizing is carried out at the end of August with a complex fertilizer intended for vegetable crops. Immediately before frost, all shoots are cut off to 2.5 cm from the ground, and the roots are covered with a layer of foliage or straw to protect them from frost. This ends 1 year of life of asparagus in your garden plot.

In the second year, in early spring, asparagus will tempt its owner with tender shoots, but it is not worth cutting them off yet - the plant is very weak and harvesting can lead to its death, and the shoots are still very thin. You should not cut off blossoming asparagus branches to decorate bouquets - you need to give the plant the opportunity to get stronger and prepare to give up half of its shoots in the spring. During the second year, the plant also needs watering, loosening and fertilizing.

Asparagus from seeds has a very low germination rate, but if you follow all the nuances you can hope to get a healthy plant. You should start growing seedlings in mid-April. To begin with, asparagus seeds are soaked for 2-3 hours in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, then they are laid out for germination. It is a mistaken belief that asparagus seeds can be germinated in layers of fabric - they will, of course, germinate, but the fragile root will break when the seed is removed from the fabric. It is considered safest to germinate seeds in peat tablets or in wet small sawdust of non-coniferous trees at a temperature of +25 C for 3 - 7 days. The hatched seed is sown in a peat cup with a capacity of 100 - 200 ml in a soil mixture consisting of garden soil, rotted manure, peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1:1. The depth of planting the seed should not exceed 2-3 cm. After 10 days, a miniature green Christmas tree will appear on the surface of the soil - this is the future asparagus. By mid-June, asparagus should reach 10 - 15 cm in height, which is when it should be planted in the ground. In the first year, asparagus can be planted in any convenient place. The root system is still very small, which means the planting depth will be small. And in order to harvest full-fledged asparagus, a more significant planting depth of the rhizome is required (at least 30 cm).

Caring for young asparagus grown from seed is no different from caring for planted root cuttings. In the same way, it needs to be watered, fed, pruned and covered for the winter. In April of next year, the asparagus should be transplanted to a permanent place, following all the techniques for planting root cuttings.

Harvesting

Starting from the third year, you can harvest asparagus - asparagus. On supermarket shelves there are white (ethiolated) and green asparagus, sometimes green with a purple tint. White asparagus has a more delicate taste, but is poor in composition, while green asparagus has a pleasant bitterness. You should know that both types of asparagus are shoots of the same plant, they are just grown differently. At the beginning of April, tender, juicy shoots sprout from the ground, which can be buried in soil or covered with light-proof material, and then you will harvest white asparagus. If this is not done, the asparagus will turn green as it grows. When the shoots reach 15 - 20 cm, they must be cut with a sharp knife at a distance of 2 - 3 cm underground or broken off with your hands closer to the soil surface. You cannot collect absolutely all the shoots - the plant will die. The acceptable rate for asparagus harvesting is considered to be 70% of the total number of shoots, and in the first year of harvesting - 50%. After cutting the crop, it is necessary to carefully loosen the soil so that the roots do not remain uncovered.

Asparagus diseases

Asparagus is a very disease-resistant plant. The only pest is the fungus Helicobasidium purpureum; it can infect all existing plants in literally a matter of days. A sign of the appearance of this disease is the death of the root collar of the plant, as a result of which seemingly healthy branches break and fall to the ground. To get rid of the fungus, it is necessary to treat the soil under diseased plants with Fundazol. In the event of a massive spread of the disease, all plants should be destroyed and only after 10 years can asparagus be grown in this place again. Plant health can also be threatened by asparagus leaf beetles - small black bugs whose larvae destroy foliage. To combat this pest, insecticides are used (Fitoverm, Aktelik, Fufanon).

This is a herbaceous perennial plant of the lily family with numerous branched stems, reaching 1.5 m in height under favorable conditions. It has leaves reduced to barely noticeable scales, small, bell-shaped, greenish-yellow flowers and red spherical fruits. Plants planted in a permanent place produce a harvest in the spring in the third year after planting. This culture was known more than four thousand years ago in Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Asparagus is very picky about soil. Before planting, add manure (autumn) or compost (spring)- 30-50 kg per 10 m2, as well as superphosphate- 0.4-0.8 kg, potassium salt- 0.3-0.7 kg.

To grow asparagus, seedlings are mainly used, which are obtained from seeds. Annual seedlings are best for planting. Older seedlings, as a rule, produce lower yields throughout the entire growing period.

Asparagus seedlings are planted in a permanent location as soon as soil conditions allow. The seedlings should be overgrown, with thick light roots, with 5-6 buds. On small plots, it is convenient to plant asparagus in one or two rows along the edges of the plot, where it can remain outside the crop rotation for a long time (10 years or more). Asparagus prefers sunny places. The trench planting method is used. At a distance of 120-150 cm from each other, ditches are dug 40 cm wide and 25-30 cm deep, at the bottom of which mounds are poured every 40 cm, preferably from compost or from soil mixed with well-rotted manure. The seedlings are placed on these mounds, spreading the roots evenly; then pour the soil in a layer of 5-8 cm and carefully compact it. You need to add a little loose soil on top to prevent a crust from forming. Seedlings planted in this way are 15-20 cm below ground level. The soil remaining during planting is distributed along the grooves and used to gradually fill them in as the plants grow. The grooves need to be leveled to the ground in the fall. Green shoots should appear at the end of May.

In the second year after planting the seedlings, mineral fertilizers are applied, then the soil along the rows of plants must be loosened as soon as possible, being careful not to damage the roots. In the third year after planting, if the plants are strong and bushy enough, they begin harvesting. If the plants are weak, harvest is postponed until next year and asparagus is cared for in the same way as in the second year of cultivation. In the fourth year and thereafter, caring for asparagus is similar.

In April, the soil, poured in the form of rollers on the rows of fruiting asparagus, should be carefully leveled and lightly compacted. This will make it easy to spot cracks in the soil above the asparagus sprouts (the appearance of cracks indicates that the sprouts can be cut off). The width of the windrows at the base in the first years of cultivation should be 40 cm, in subsequent years- 50-60 cm.

If you want bleached asparagus; it is necessary to loosen the soil between the plants when it dries, then apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and immediately pour rolls of soil selected from the row spacing onto the asparagus rows. In the first year of harvesting, the height of the rollers above the ground surface should be 15-20 cm, in subsequent years- 25-30 cm. Young shoots, growing through such a roller without access to light, “turn white.”

In October, drying asparagus shoots should be carefully cut off close to the ground, trying not to damage the rhizome, and burned. In plants that are not affected by rust and asparagus fly, the tops do not need to be cut; in winter, they will protect the roots from freezing. In severe frosts in the absence of snow or little snow cover, asparagus seedlings in the nursery should be covered with leaves, straw or manure. Annual, biennial and fruit-bearing plants should be fed with superphosphate (0.3-0.5 kg per 10 m2) and 40% potassium salt (0.25-0.35 kg). After applying fertilizers, the soil between the rows is deeply loosened. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the roots and seedlings of the asparagus.

In early spring, asparagus harvesting can begin in the first ten days of April. Carefully raking the soil in places where cracks appear, you should expose the seedling and cut it off at the base; Try not to damage the rhizome and young shoots. The sprouts can be broken out by hand. The holes formed after this must be covered with earth again and compacted. Collected sprouts are stored in bunches in an upright position in a cool and dark place until use. To prevent them from withering and coloring in the light, they are sprinkled with wet sand. Simultaneously with harvesting, the beds are weeded and weeds are removed. In the first year of fruiting, harvesting should not be extended for more than 3 weeks. After its completion, the ridges should be immediately scattered and the plants should be fed with ammonium nitrate or slurry, if manure was not applied under them. The collection of seedlings of old plants is completed by June 20.

Fresh asparagus spears should be stored in the dark on ice or in the refrigerator. Then they do not lose their taste for 3-4 months.

Young thickened shoots that appear in early spring are used to prepare delicious salads and soups. Asparagus is prepared like cauliflower: boiled in salted water, fried in breadcrumbs and butter. It is canned, pickled, salted and subjected to other types of culinary processing. Asparagus fruits are sometimes used as a coffee substitute.

The rhizome, roots and young shoots of asparagus are rich in proteins, amino acids, especially asparagine, saponins, vitamins B "B 2" C, PP, carotene, carbohydrates and, due to the presence of these valuable substances, have healing properties and an appetite stimulating effect.

I. Konstantinov

How to Grow Asparagus

Today we will tell you how to grow this delicious vegetable in your garden. Asparagus is propagated by seeds, which are sown directly into the ground; in this case, you will get a harvest in the third year. True, you can speed up this process if you grow it from one-, two-, three-year-old seedlings.

Asparagus loves open, well-lit places. Acidic soils must be limed and all perennial rhizomatous weeds must be removed. You can prepare the ground for asparagus in the fall. The soil is dug up to the depth of a spade and well-decomposed manure or compost (6-8 kg per 1 sq. m) is added. Asparagus roots are located close to the surface, so the main supply of nutrients should be in the top layer of soil at a depth of no more than 30 cm.

Propagation by seeds

In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, the soil is dug up again and beds 1 m wide are made at a distance of 40 cm from each other. If the area is high and dry, then there is no need to make ridges; otherwise, take care of good drainage.

Soak the seeds in warm water, then place them in damp sand and soak them in it for 7-8 days at a temperature of about 25°C until they sprout. Winter sowing is also possible, but in this case the seeds are sown dry. Seeds are sown in open ground at the end of May.- early June, when the soil warms up well. Seed placement depth 3 cm, sowing rate- 10-15 g per 1 sq. m. The crops are sprinkled with earth and rolled down a little, then mulched with humus, straw or other loosening materials. After the emergence of seedlings, the plants must be thinned out, leaving 15-20 cm between them.

Propagation by seedlings

You can also grow asparagus through seedlings. To do this, in March you can sow seeds in peat pots measuring 6x6 cm, which must be placed in a bright and warm place. Seedlings grown in this way are planted in open ground in early June and watered regularly.

Over the summer, several feedings are carried out. You can alternate mineral fertilizers with organic ones (mullein solution or bird droppings). By the beginning of August, good seedlings should have 2-4 stems. Just before frost, all shoots are cut off, and the roots are covered with a layer of humus (5-8 cm) or leaf soil to protect them from freezing.

In April next year, the plants can be transplanted to a permanent location.

Remember that asparagus will grow for you for about 20 years, so you should take great responsibility when choosing a site for it. Starting a bed of asparagus is tantamount to starting an orchard.

High-quality seedlings have the following characteristics: they have at least three intact, well-developed buds, a fresh, undamaged root system- the roots are elastic, without spots or shriveled areas.

It is preferable to choose a cloudy day for planting asparagus.

In April, in an area previously prepared in the same way as for the nursery, furrows are dug 35-40 cm deep and 35 cm wide. For each square meter, 100 g of complete mineral fertilizer is applied and mixed with soil. On nitrogen-rich soils, about 50 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate should be added. A 7-8 cm high ridge is placed at the bottom of the furrow. One strong or two weak plants are planted on top, 40-50 cm apart from each other, carefully straightening the roots so that the rhizome buds are 10-15 cm below the surface (for green asparagus- by 8-10 cm). A stake is placed in the center, to which the plants are subsequently tied. If you need to plant asparagus in several rows, the row spacing should be 1.2 m. When growing asparagus in one row, place it so that there are no perennial crops at a distance of 50-60 cm from the center of the row.

The plants are watered abundantly and covered with a 5-8 cm layer of soil. In the first two years after planting, as a result of loosening, fertilizing and hilling, the furrows are gradually filled up. As the asparagus grows, due to the constant application of compost, a roll is gradually formed in which tender bleached shoots will form.

Vegetative propagation

Asparagus is propagated by dividing the bush. It is better to choose small but thick horizontal rhizomes with well-developed roots. In early spring, they are cut into two or three parts so that each part contains several developed buds. Each division is planted on a prepared one; as mentioned above, a garden bed. After three to four weeks, when the plants have taken root, you need to carefully loosen the soil without damaging the roots.

Asparagus care

Caring for asparagus comes down to timely weeding, fertilizing and watering.

A special feature of vegetable asparagus is its high need for organic fertilizers. They are applied as periodic fertilizing and during the annual hilling of plants. Under no circumstances should you cut off “sprigs for a bouquet” from asparagus vegetable plantations; this will weaken the plants and reduce the harvest next year.

In the fall, when the leaves turn yellow, the plants are cut off at the base and the area is weeded again. Cut stems are burned to prevent the spread of diseases and pests. After this, the asparagus is covered with a layer of mulch up to 10 cm thick.

Next spring, the plants are fed with complete mineral fertilizer.- 60-100 g per 1 sq. m. In summer, 2-3 feedings are carried out with an infusion of mullein or bird droppings with the addition of ash. Loosen the soil to a depth of 8-10 cm and water as necessary.

V. I. Budnikova

(Country Club, December 2009)

Asparagus, or asparagus

Common asparagus, or asparagus- asparagus from the lily family- the famous “herringbone” for bouquets. This is a dioecious herbaceous perennial up to 150 cm tall, known perhaps to all gardeners. The width of a multi-stemmed asparagus bush can reach 100 cm. In the wild in our country, it grows throughout the European part of Russia to the borders of the North-Western region (and in cultivation further north), in the south of Western Siberia and the Caucasus.

Asparagus (asparagus): growing conditions

Inhabits flooded meadows, bush thickets, and coastal cliffs. It is found as a wild plant in weedy places and near human habitation. Its scientific name "asparagus" comes from the ancient Greek word "asparaseo", which means "strongly tearing". The fact is that some types of Mediterranean asparagus have numerous and strong spines, hence the distorted Russian “asparagus”. Its numerous dark green cladodes (leaf-like stems) 0.5 to 1.5 cm long, similar to needles, form an amazingly beautiful openwork crown, which gives any bouquets greater decorativeness and splendor. The flowers are greenish-yellow, inconspicuous, bloom from late May to mid-July, very honey-bearing. The berries are bright red, shiny, ripen in August- September, they decorate the plant very much. The seeds are large, coal-black. The rhizome is thick and short. Asparagus is not too demanding in terms of lighting conditions: it is light-loving, but also grows well in partial shade. Drought-resistant, does not like damp places. It is demanding on the soil: the soil must be fertile, well fertilized, deep and loose. Winter-hardy, overwinters without shelter. Propagated most often by seeds or vegetatively- dividing old bushes into parts. Sowing is carried out in spring or autumn. They are sown rarely, with a spacing of 5x20 cm. Subsequently, the seedlings are thinned out every other year, and in the second year they are planted in a permanent place where it can be grown for 10-15 years. Tillage depth for asparagus- 40-50 cm, distance between bushes- 70-100. Care: weeding, loosening, frequent watering, regular mineral fertilizing. Asparagus bushes are well suited for creating sparse groups, tapeworms, and trimmed green summer hedges. Cut stems (as already mentioned)- exquisite material for bouquets and arrangements.

Asparagus, or asparagus - a dietary vegetable

Asparagus was already known as a vegetable in Ancient Egypt, more than 2 thousand years BC. e. Currently, many of its varieties have been bred abroad. In our country, it is rarely cultivated as a vegetable, only by individual hobbyists, although almost all gardeners know that it is edible. But they don’t eat it, obviously because they don’t really know how to cook it. Have you ever heard that it needs to be bleached, covered, tied, boiled somehow... What if you do something wrong? There’s a lot of hassle, but will you still like it? That's why they don't eat.

To begin with, you don’t need any of this.- a light green, not “covered” shoot emerged from the ground about 12-20 centimeters- -cut it off, washed it, and put it in your mouth! If you make a mistake and cut off an old stem- it will be tough and not edible, but don't worry- Don’t get poisoned, they are not poisonous. And when you taste the young stalks (this will happen quickly, children are especially keen on them), then you will come up with various culinary delights... Asparagus sprouts taste, perhaps, most like young sugar peas. At least there is some difference, of course. Plus, they're just as juicy. Try it, you won't regret it.

And how many benefits they have! Vitamin C- 25-60 mg/%, also contains vitamin B and carotene. And this is when they are most in short supply- in the spring. Asparagus is also high in protein. In Europe, white shoots that have not yet come out of the ground are more often used, and green ones are less common, although the latter are healthier. Asparagus is eaten fresh in salads, or added to soups, and main courses are prepared from boiled asparagus, breaded in breadcrumbs and beaten eggs and fried in oil. You can also preserve asparagus. Main- try it for the first time, and then you will experiment yourself, no worse than the French. Asparagus seeds are also used to make ersatz coffee that smells like chocolate.

Asparagus also has medicinal properties, which is why one of its names is- pharmacy First of all, its rhizomes with roots, as well as young shoots, are medicinal. Asparagus contains asparagine, steroid saponins, glycoside coniferin, coumarin, chelidonic acid, carbohydrates, and essential oil. A decoction of the roots (1:10) acts as a laxative and diuretic, used for diseases of the liver, kidneys, inflammation of the bladder, kidney stones and sand in the bladder, heart disease (tachycardia). Asparagus is used as medicine and in veterinary medicine.

V. Starostin , candidate of agricultural sciences sciences

Photo: asparagus in my garden (G. Kazanin)

Despite the fact that melon is a “purebred southerner,” summer residents grow it not only in the south. And all because this culture is extremely tasty and very healthy. And varieties “for the market” are not always distinguished by high taste qualities, not like fruits from your own garden or greenhouse. True, melon has its own “secrets,” but they are not particularly difficult. Therefore, if you have not yet grown melon on your acres, you should definitely try it at least once!

“Red Sea” salad with squid, crab sticks and red caviar is a light and healthy appetizer that is suitable for a pescetarian menu; it can also be prepared on fasting days, when fish and seafood are allowed on the menu. The salad is simply extremely tasty and easy to prepare. Buy squid freshly frozen. I do not recommend preparing a dish with giant squid fillet; although it looks appetizing and tempting, it has a strong ammonia aftertaste that is difficult to get rid of.

Columnar fruit trees differ from ordinary fruit trees in their compact crown, small height, and lack of lateral branching. With a small habit, these miracle trees are distinguished by their ability to produce large yields of large, tasty and beautiful fruits. On 1-2 acres you can place up to 20-25 columnar trees - varieties of apple trees, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, apricots and other crops of different ripening periods. Our article will tell you about the features of creating a columnar garden.

August can feel a little sad - autumn, followed by a long winter, is already on the doorstep. But the flower beds are still full of colors, and their color scheme creates an atmosphere of warmth and joy. The rich palette of August flower beds mainly consists of yellow, orange, and crimson tones. And it seems as if the garden has become warmer and has more sunny color. What flowers should definitely be planted in flower beds so that they brighten up the inevitable passing of summer with blooms?

Peach jam with bananas is aromatic, thick, healthy and, most importantly, it contains half the sugar than regular jam. This is a quick jam with pectin, and pectin powder, as you know, allows you to reduce the sugar content in the jam, or even make it without sugar. Sugar-free jams are fashionable sweets these days; they are very popular among supporters of a healthy lifestyle. Peaches for harvesting can be of any degree of ripeness, bananas too.

Coriander is one of the most popular spices in the world, and its greens are called coriander or coriander. Interestingly, cilantro leaves no one indifferent. Some people adore it and happily use it in any salads and sandwiches, and they love Borodino bread for the special flavor of coriander seeds. Others, citing the smell that evokes associations with forest bugs, hate coriander and flatly refuse to approach bunches of cilantro even at the market, let alone plant it in their own garden.

Saintpaulias are coming back into fashion and turning the idea of cute blooming violets that willingly live on any windowsill. Trends in the “market” for Uzambara violets indicate a rapid increase in interest in plants with unusual leaves. More and more admiring glances are attracted not by the unusual colors of flowers, but by the exotic variegated colors of the leaves. Variegated Saintpaulias are almost no different from all the others in cultivation.

Sweet and sour marinated cherry tomatoes with red onion and basil marinated with balsamic vinegar and mustard. These pickled vegetables will decorate any holiday table; they are very tasty and aromatic. Marinade filling is a completely different story: you get a delicious brine, the only drawback of which is the small quantity. Choose sweet, red onions. Cherries are strong, slightly unripe, and the smallest. Fresh basil will work either green or purple.

My first acquaintance with hydrogel took place a long time ago. Back in the nineties, my husband brought funny multi-colored balls from Japan, which greatly increased in size when filled with water. They were supposed to be used for bouquets or for some other decorative purposes. Of course, at first it was funny, but then I got tired of playing and abandoned them, I don’t even remember where they went. But I recently returned to using hydrogel. I will tell you about my experience in this article.

Watermelon and summer are inseparable concepts. However, you won’t find melons in every area. And all because this African plant takes up a lot of space, is quite demanding of both heat and sun, and also of proper watering. But still, we love watermelon so much that today not only southerners, but much more northern summer residents have learned to grow it. It turns out that you can find an approach to such a capricious plant, and if you want, you can get a decent harvest.

You can make red gooseberry jam in 10 minutes. However, it should be borne in mind that this is the time required to cook the jam without preparing the berries. It takes a lot of time to harvest and prepare the berries for processing. Cruel thorns discourage any desire to harvest, and you still have to cut off the noses and tails. But the result is worth it, the jam turns out excellent, one of the most aromatic, in my opinion, and the taste is such that it is impossible to tear yourself away from the jar.

Monsteras, anthuriums, caladiums, dieffenbachias... Representatives of the Araceae family are considered one of the most popular categories of indoor plants. And not the last factor in their widespread distribution is diversity. Aroids are represented by aquatic plants, epiphytes, semi-epiphytes, tuberous plants and lianas. But despite such diversity, because of which it is sometimes difficult to guess about the relationship of plants, aroids are very similar to each other and require the same care.

Donskoy salad for the winter is a savory appetizer of fresh vegetables in a sweet and sour marinade with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The original recipe calls for regular or apple cider vinegar, but with a combination of wine vinegar and light Balsamico it turns out much tastier. The salad can be prepared without sterilization - bring the vegetables to a boil, put them in sterile jars and wrap them warmly. You can also pasteurize the workpieces at a temperature of 85 degrees, then quickly cool.

The main mushrooms collected are: porcini, obabka, boletus, chanterelles, boletus, moss mushrooms, russula, milk mushrooms, boletus, saffron milk caps, honey mushrooms. Other mushrooms are collected depending on the region. And their name (other mushrooms) is legion. As well as mushroom pickers, of whom there are more and more every year. Therefore, there may not be enough for all known mushrooms. And I know for sure that among the little-known there are very worthy representatives. I’ll tell you about little-known, but tasty and healthy mushrooms in this article.

The word "ampel" comes from the German word "ampel", meaning a hanging container for flowers. The fashion for hanging flower beds came to us from Europe. And today it is very difficult to imagine a garden where there is not at least one hanging basket. In response to the growing popularity of container floriculture, a large number of hanging plants have appeared on sale, whose shoots easily fall outside the pots. Let's talk about those that are valued for their beautiful flowers.

Plant asparagus (lat. Asparagus), or asparagus, belongs to a genus of plants in the Asparagus family, numbering about 200 species, growing in dry climates around the world. The most common type is Asparagus officinalis. Asparagus can be a herb or subshrub with a developed rhizome and branched, often creeping stems. The upper parts of the sprouts of some types of asparagus - medicinal, whorled and short-leaved - are considered delicacy. The asparagus vegetable is one of the healthiest, tastiest and most expensive crops.

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Planting and caring for asparagus (in brief)

Landing: sowing seeds for seedlings - in mid-April, planting seedlings in the garden - in early June.
Lighting: bright sunlight.
The soil: rich, fertile, sandy loam.
Watering: the first week and a half after planting - frequent and plentiful, during the dry period - daily, the rest of the time - as needed: the soil on the site should be slightly moist all the time.
Feeding: a week and a half after planting, a solution of slurry is added to the soil, three weeks after that - a solution of bird droppings (1:10), before the onset of frost - a complete mineral fertilizer.
Reproduction: seed.
Pests: asparagus flies, aphids, asparagus leaf beetles, scale insects, asparagus rattles, greenhouse thrips.
Diseases: root and gray rot, rust, fomoz, cercospora.

Read more about growing asparagus below.

Asparagus plant - description

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable plant. Its rhizome is powerful, developed, and its stems are branched. On the branches, numerous needle-shaped branches are collected in bunches, growing from the axils of small, underdeveloped spiny or scaly leaves, at the base of which hard spurs are formed. Small asparagus flowers, solitary or collected in racemes or thyroid inflorescences, are also mostly located in the axils of the leaves. The asparagus fruit is a berry with one or more seeds covered in a thick dark skin.

Young asparagus shoots that just emerge from the ground are eaten. If leaf buds have already begun to bloom on the shoot, it becomes tough and is no longer suitable for food. Asparagus during its peak fruiting period produces from 9 to 12 shoots per season - this is just two full servings of a side dish. It is precisely this modest yield that explains the high price of this vegetable. In our gardens, where from year to year we grow such familiar and healthy vegetable crops as carrots, beets, peas, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, squash and pumpkins, asparagus is still a rare guest. For those who decide to grow this healthy and tasty vegetable on their plot, we suggest using the information collected in our article on how to grow asparagus from seeds, how to plant asparagus in open ground, what are the conditions for growing asparagus and whether asparagus can be grown at home conditions.

Growing asparagus from seeds

Sowing Asparagus Seeds

Since asparagus seeds take a very long time to germinate in open ground, we suggest that you first grow seedlings from them. Before planting asparagus, The seeds are kept in warm water for 3-4 days, changing the water twice a day. Then the swollen seeds are laid out on a damp cloth and wait until sprouts emerge from them. In mid-April, sprouted seeds with sprouts 1-3 mm long are planted in boxes at a distance of 6 cm from each other or in pots with a capacity of 100-200 ml with a soil mixture of the following composition: sand 2 parts, garden soil, peat, rotted manure - one at a time parts. Seed the seeds to a depth of 1.5-2 mm and place the containers in a well-lit place. The room temperature must be maintained within 25 ºC. The soil needs to be moistened daily. If these conditions are met, after 7-10 days you will be able to see the first shoots. The emerging sprouts are lightly sprinkled with peat. After two weeks, the seedlings are fed with complex mineral fertilizer in low concentration.

Picking asparagus

Picking seedlings will only be necessary if you are growing them in a common box. When it reaches a height of 15 cm, transplant the seedlings into a large container, keeping a distance of 10 cm between them and slightly shortening the asparagus root when transplanting. Seedlings are fed only a few days after picking. After another week, hardening procedures begin, and as soon as the asparagus can stay in the fresh air for a whole day, it is planted in open ground.

Growing asparagus at home

You can only grow asparagus seedlings at home, which are then transplanted into open ground. It is very inconvenient to keep an edible plant with such a long and powerful root in the house. Asparagus can be grown in an apartment as an ornamental plant, and vegetables have a place in the garden.

Planting asparagus in open ground

When to plant asparagus in open ground

Asparagus is planted in open ground in early June. Where does asparagus grow best? In well-lit, windless places, preferably close to a wall or fence. Since asparagus does not tolerate waterlogged soil, do not plant it in places where groundwater is high. Choose a site for asparagus responsibly, because this crop can grow in one place for 20-25 years.

Soil for asparagus

The optimal soil composition for asparagus is rich, fertile sandy loam soil. The plot for asparagus begins to be prepared in the fall: it is cleared of weeds and dug to a depth of 40-50 cm with the addition of 15-20 kg of compost, 70 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m². After the snow has melted, the area is harrowed while simultaneously adding 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 60 g of wood ash per m².

How to plant asparagus in open ground

Before planting, holes are made on the site 30 cm deep and 40 cm wide at a distance of a meter from each other. The bottom of the furrow is loosened to a depth of 15-20 cm. Then a pile of loose soil is poured onto the bottom of such a height that it reaches the edge of the hole. A seedling is placed on a mound, having first shortened its root to 3-4 cm, filled the hole with soil, compacted it and watered it. After the water is absorbed, the hole is mulched with dry soil.

How to Grow Asparagus

Asparagus care

Asparagus is a non-capricious plant. Caring for it consists of procedures familiar to any gardener: watering, loosening the soil around plants and between rows, weeding, fertilizing. Loosening is carried out to a depth of 6-8 cm, trying not to damage the roots of the plant. It is advisable to grow green crops between the rows for the first two years.

Watering asparagus

For the first one and a half to two weeks after planting, asparagus is watered frequently and abundantly, then the amount of water is reduced and watering begins less often. In dry weather, you may need to water the area daily - the soil should be slightly moist at all times, otherwise the shoots will become fibrous and their taste will become bitter.

Feeding asparagus

To speed up the growth of shoots, after the first weeding, add a solution of slurry to the soil on the site - 1 part slurry to 6 parts water. After three weeks, the asparagus is fed with a solution of bird droppings - 1 part droppings to 10 parts water. The last fertilizing is applied before the onset of frost, and it consists of a complex mineral fertilizer. If you fertilized the area before planting asparagus, fertilizing begins only in the second year of growth.

Diseases and pests of asparagus

Asparagus diseases

Asparagus is quite resistant to diseases, but sometimes there are problems with it. Asparagus is most often affected by:

Rust is a fungal disease that develops on asparagus in four stages. As a result, the affected specimens lag behind in development and almost do not produce shoots, and at the end of summer they turn yellow prematurely and stop growing before they form a root system and lay buds at the base of the stems, which will certainly reduce the next year's harvest. Typically, the disease affects asparagus growing in areas with moisture-impermeable soil and close groundwater. Frequent rains also contribute to the development of the disease;

Rhizoctonia– a disease that usually occurs on root vegetables, especially carrots. Asparagus is rarely affected by rhizoctonia, but such cases have occurred;

Root rot or fusarium– a most harmful disease that affects many plants. It occurs on asparagus under the same conditions as rust - when the soil moisture is too high.

Asparagus pests

Asparagus in the garden is not subject to pest invasion, but it has two enemies in the world of insects:

Asparagus leaf beetle, imported from Western Europe along with asparagus. This is a dark blue beetle with a red border along the back that feeds on berries, flowers and asparagus tops. It appears in the spring, but the maximum number of beetles can be observed from mid-summer;

Asparagus fly- a small brown insect with yellow limbs, head and antennae, feeding on asparagus shoots and making passages in them. As a result, the shoots become bent, wither and die.

Processing Asparagus

Spring and autumn preventive spraying of plants with Bordeaux mixture or other fungicides - Fitosporin, Topaz, Topsin M will help you protect asparagus from diseases.

In the fight against insects, reliable results are obtained by treating asparagus with Karbofos, a low-toxic, odorless preparation, or some other product from this range, which can be purchased in stores. Treat asparagus as soon as you notice pests. However, this is not enough: it is necessary to regularly inspect the beds and, if oviposition is detected, remove and burn them. Prevent weeds from appearing in the area and destroy dead parts of the asparagus.

Harvesting and storing asparagus

You can cut the shoots only from the third year of growing asparagus - two years will be needed to allow the root system to strengthen. Cut edible shoots in May, before their heads open, carefully raking away the soil from them in the place where a crack has formed in the soil, and leaving stumps 1-2 cm high in place. Do this in the morning or evening, every other day or every day. It is not recommended to remove more than 5 shoots from one plant in the first year of cutting, as this can weaken the bush. As the asparagus bushes mature, up to 30 shoots can be removed from each one each year.

Store asparagus in the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp cloth, from two weeks to four months, depending on the variety and storage conditions. Do not keep foods with strong odors in the refrigerator at this time, otherwise the asparagus will quickly absorb them. The shoots are laid vertically, since they become deformed when stored horizontally.

Types and varieties of asparagus

There are three varieties of asparagus:

green asparagus- the most common variety, which was cultivated for medicinal purposes back in Ancient Rome;
white asparagus, or bleached, or etiolated, or chlorophyll-free, appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, Moscow was considered the center of forcing and growing white asparagus;
purple or red asparagus– the rarest variety with an unusual, slightly bitter taste. When cooked, this asparagus turns green.

Asparagus varieties also differ in terms of ripening. We offer you a choice of several varieties that you could plant in your garden, if only to see how asparagus grows:

Early yellow– a productive and disease-resistant early-ripening variety of Russian selection with tender shoots with a dense yellow head and white flesh;
Gainlim– an early foreign variety, characterized by a large number of tall shoots of excellent quality;
Mary Washington- a mid-early variety of American selection, perfectly adapted to growing in our conditions, with thick large shoots of different shades of red and purple. In bright light, the color of the heads may turn green;
Arzhentelskaya- a foreign mid-early variety, modified by domestic breeders, with white-pink shoots that acquire a greenish-violet hue in bloom. The pulp is yellowish-white, juicy and tender;
Tsarskaya– winter-hardy, drought-resistant, almost not affected by diseases and pests, a mid-season variety with needle-like green shoots;
Glory of Brunswick– a late variety, distinguished by a large number of shoots with juicy white pulp, intended mainly for canning.

Properties of asparagus - harm and benefit

Asparagus in the country is not only a delicious product, but also a source of vitamins K, A, C, E, PP, group B, as well as folic acid, dietary fiber, copper, sodium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese and other elements.

What are the benefits of asparagus? This is an ideal, low-calorie product for fasting days. The substances contained in asparagus form connective tissue, strengthen bones, take part in the hematopoietic process, and help the functioning of the kidneys, liver and heart. Due to the folic acid content in asparagus, it becomes an indispensable product for pregnant women. For patients who have had a heart attack, an asparagus diet is recommended, since the asparagine contained in the product dilates blood vessels, stimulates the work of the heart muscle and lowers blood pressure. The benefit of asparagus is also in the coumarins it contains, which stimulate cardiac activity, cleanse the blood and prevent the formation of blood clots in blood vessels.

The beneficial properties of asparagus stimulate processes that free the body from waste and toxins - phosphates, chlorides and urea. They have a tonic effect on the bladder, kidneys and the entire excretory system.

Asparagus is an excellent cosmetic product: its juice cleanses, nourishes and softens the skin, and also removes calluses and small warts.

Asparagus - contraindications

As much as the healing properties of asparagus are indisputable, the evidence about its harm is equally contradictory and dubious. They claim that with long-term consumption of asparagus, oxalic acid salts accumulate in the body, and this, supposedly, can, if there is a genetic predisposition to this, provoke urolithiasis. Other experts believe that asparagus, being a diuretic, prevents urolithiasis. In addition, the saponin found in asparagus can irritate the gastric and intestinal mucosa in patients with exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases. Asparagus is not recommended for articular rheumatism, cystitis, prostatitis and individual intolerance to the product.

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