How to grow asparagus from the seeds in the garden?

Those who do not know how to grow asparagus from seeds, the article will help to understand the intricacies of this matter and the peculiarities of caring for vegetable culture. To begin with, asparagus is incredibly popular in Europe, America and southeast Asia. A piquant taste of dishes cooked by cooks from long tender stems was visited there. Now in our country there are many fans of an appetizing dietary vegetable, and therefore, those who would like to grow it on their own in the garden. By the way, asparagus quickly adapted to our climate, and breeders can boast of excellent domestic varieties.

Benefit

The food is used by young, slightly undeveloped stems-pods, which are tasty not only in boiled and baked form, but even freshly cut, when they are juicy and crunchy. It seems strange that once in our country asparagus was used only as an element of the design of flower bouquets. Only sometimes in pre-revolutionary Russia exotic dishes from it were served on the bar.

Vegetable is famous not only for its taste and dietary qualities. It contains a whole list of vitamins, including group B, as well as many useful trace elements and amino acid asparagine. The use of asparagus dilates the peripheral blood vessels, normalizes the pressure and work of the heart muscle; Favorably affects the liver tissue. In addition, long juicy stems in any form are indicated for diabetes, gout and kidney disease. That's why many are asking: how to grow asparagus from seeds at home?

And the demand for a green vegetable is largely determined by the fact that it germinates in the early spring, when the body is deficient in vitamins, and fresh greens have not yet gone.

Stages of cultivation

Certain difficulties of independent cultivation suggest to think about whether it is possible and how to grow asparagus from seeds. The councils of truck farmers consist primarily in the fact that it is necessary to collect the vegetable daily, not permitting the overgrazing of young shoots. Further, the whole season will require a large amount of special fertilizing and organic fertilizers.

The third advice: should be in advance stocked with first-class seeds. The matter is that asparagus is not divided from roots, and mature specimens do not take root after transplantation. It remains the only option - the cultivation of crops from seeds. It is interesting that this perennial plant is considered a seedling for a very long time - two or three years. To learn how to grow asparagus from seeds in a country house or garden according to all the rules and with good results, you should separate for the crop planting the weed cleansed and fertilized with organic soil.

Planted seeds are planted in June, and during the whole summer they loosen and water the bed. When the seedlings appear, ammonium nitrate is fertilized at the rate of 10 grams of solution per square meter of soil. Re-fertilization is carried out after 3 weeks. The next year after wintering the plant blooms.

A perennial and resistant plant

Before answering the question of how to grow asparagus from seeds, you need at least a little to learn about the culture itself. Asparagus is a large enough perennial plant that can reach a height of about two meters. Although it does not have leaves, long shoots are very branchy, and the lobed roots are huge.

The vegetable blossoms with inconspicuous flowers and has beautiful red fruits. Since asparagus is a dioecious plant, male and female flowers are present on different bushes. If you properly take care of it, then the harvest from one specimen can be obtained within 15-20 and even more years, so you can rightfully consider asparagus a green long-liver.

And still, if you have wondered about how to grow asparagus from the seeds in the garden, it will be superfluous to know that this is a very persistent and hardy plant. Even at our frosts it can not be harbored for the winter and do not prune, if not in time. Under the remaining rules, the harvest will be ensured.

Conditions for growing asparagus

If you decide to plant asparagus for decorative purposes, then it is enough to simply plant it, and it grows by itself. But growing gentle shoots for eating is different, so you need to create special conditions for the plant. Namely:

• Loose, fertilized soil is necessary. Well, if it's sandy loam in your area. With a lack of nutrients, asparagus stems grow thin and coarse-fibered.
• In no case should the soil be acidic, otherwise the plant will not survive.
• The pledge of a good and delicious harvest is abundant watering; With a lack of moisture, the asparagus will be stiff and bitter in taste. But she does not like the proximity of groundwater.
• Planting beds should be located in a sunny place, although a small shadow does not damage the plants too much.
• Annual mulching will ensure the active growth of succulent shoots.

To learn how to grow asparagus from seeds, it is necessary to take into account that the roots of this vegetable grow very much and lie almost at the surface of the soil. Every year they grow from above, and the lower parts die, so gradually the bush along with the root system rises higher, to the surface. That is why there is a need for annual mulching, that is, covering the soil at the roots, which prevents drying out, overheating and supercooling of plants.

About asparagus seeds and correct planting

Asparagus seeds are large, black, in a protective shell. Before use (usually for planting in the garden this is the beginning of June) they are soaked for three days in a solution of manganese, several times changing it, or in ordinary water, also periodically replacing it with fresh. This procedure will accelerate the emergence of seedlings. After that, the seeds are spread on a wet cloth until germination. This takes about one week.

So, how to grow asparagus from seeds? The photo shows a variant of early germination of seeds at home, when each seed is planted in a separate pot. This is better done in April-May. If you sow immediately to the beds, then to get a good harvest, the germinated seeds are laid to a depth of 3 cm in the soil, placing them 5 cm apart from each other in a row.

Between the rows endure a distance of at least 20 centimeters, otherwise it will be inconvenient to thin the stretched seedlings. And it is necessary to do this immediately after the appearance of the first shoots, as the roots of asparagus grow rapidly, and it is impossible to get them out of the soil without damaging the neighbors.

Care for shoots of asparagus

Care for young shoots of asparagus is traditional for most vegetable crops - this is fertilizing, weeding, watering and loosening the land. At the time of emergence, they are fed with ammonium nitrate, and 3 weeks after that - they are fertilized with liquid manure.

In September, in the first year of life, the seedlings have 2-3 stems. Peat and compost will be an excellent mulch for plants for the winter. And gardeners have enough time to prepare permanent beds for transplanting asparagus.

Preparation of a permanent bed

Preparation of a permanent bed for asparagus is carried out in several stages. Autumn digging should be deep enough - 35 centimeters, and spring is accompanied by the introduction of manure (for 1 square meter - 10 kg of fertilizer). Mineral compositions can be applied in autumn, or just before planting seeds. In this case, 1 m2 of soil will require: 3 g of potassium salt, 2 g of ammonium sulfate, 5 g of superphosphate. You can use ready-made complex fertilizers.

Planting seedlings on a constant bed

How to grow asparagus from seeds, you already know. And how do they plant seedlings on permanent beds? To do this, in the soil make furrows about 40 centimeters in width and depth, observing the distance between them a meter and a half. At the bottom lay a layer of overgrown manure and a humus roller 5-7 centimeters thick, on which the seedlings are placed. It is important to straighten the branched roots so that they do not bully up.

The distance between individual seedlings should be at least 40 centimeters. As the asparagus grows, the furrow will be leveled by pouring the soil from the edges. In addition to summer fertilizing in September, when the vegetation is over , the plants will need potassium and phosphorus. Every 5 years, the soil is fertilized with organic matter, for example, by repulsed manure. Mulching is carried out for the winter, preliminarily cutting off the stems.

Harvesting

Knowing how to grow asparagus from the seeds of a house on the plot, it is now necessary to find out when it is possible to harvest its harvest. Begin the cutting of shoots for the second year; And the white shoots that reached the surface of the shelter layer are considered ready, and the green shoots are grown by 15-18 centimeters.

The very first harvesting lasts 2-3 weeks, and then the vegetable is collected a month and a half each day. Keep fresh asparagus can be a few weeks in the refrigerator in plastic bags.

In general, knowing simple rules, you can independently grow different varieties of juicy asparagus. By the way, it is noticed that female plants give thick and gentle shoots, and masculine - a plentiful harvest.