Salad. Outdoor cultivation

Salad refers to annual vegetable plants. It has a lot of medicinal properties, contains vitamins B, A, PP, C, trace elements such as molybdenum, iodine, manganese, copper, boron, iron. In most of the country, the vegetable can be grown throughout the year: in summer, autumn and spring in the open ground, and in winter in a sheltered. The undoubted advantage of the plant is that it is one of the first to give its vitamin greens and at the same time it feels great both in the kitchen garden and in the pot on the windowsill.

Characteristics of culture

Salad, the cultivation of which does not require special efforts, is a cold-resistant culture. The optimum temperature for vegetation is the range from 16 to 18 degrees. At higher temperatures and a dry climate, the entire strength of the plant can go away in color. The most common are leaf and cabbage salads. Their leaves may be whole or dissected, dentate or smooth, rounded or round-flat. Salad, the cultivation of which in the soil does not require special preparation, ripens after 25-40 days after the first shoots.

Soil for salad. Cultivation in the open ground.

Salad grows best in places where potatoes, cabbage were planted last year, especially if organic fertilizers were applied to the soil. Salad, the cultivation of which does not require special preparation of soil, nevertheless does not accept brackish, clay soils. However, in general, the plant is unpretentious. The increased content of humus and mineral fertilizers in the soil will only improve the germination capacity.

Salad. Cultivation from seeds

Salad seeds are sown very early - in late April - early May. Such early varieties include Salad Zabava, Yeralash, Credo, Dubrava. Sowing must be carried out in an ordinary way. Between the rows to withstand the intervals of 20 centimeters, between the seeds - one and a half centimeters. Germination of seeds occurs already at a temperature of +2 degrees, the most active growth at a temperature of +20 - +22 degrees. Harvest in the open ground can be obtained during the period from June to September, with the use of film - in May. Salads, the cultivation of which requires a large amount of light, refers to plants of a long day. During the vegetation it is extremely important to provide the plant with the necessary amount of moisture. If humidification is not enough, then the lettuce leaves will become crusty, and the vegetable itself will lose most of its beneficial properties.

Salad dressing

Harvesting takes place 30 to 40 days after the emergence of seedlings. Partially it is possible to collect leaves and at thinning of a plant. The head of lettuce is characterized by a longer period of maturation - up to 70 days.

Growing from seedlings

To grow salad from seedlings, use a cassette or potted plant, since seedlings do not tolerate damage to the root system. A peat tablet with a seedling should be planted sufficiently finely that it will rise by a centimeter above the main soil, since with a deeper planting the lower leaves can be rotted or infected with a fungus. This method is most suitable for growing lettuce varieties.