Asparagus for bouquets, planting and care in the open field

Asparagus

- incredibly popular

vegetable culture. What's the secret? Why is it so actively grown and called the miracle plant and royal vegetable? This is what we will try to figure out.

This nutritious representative family asparagus It is remarkable not so much for its excellent taste as for its unique composition. Its shoots contain the necessary for the human body beta-carotene and choline, thiamine and niacin, folic and ascorbic acids, potassium and iron, magnesium and calcium, sodium, phosphorus, copper, manganese and selenium.

Asparagus (translated from Greek this word means "escape"), or Asparagus (Asparagus) is unpretentious and cold-resistant. She feels great in the wild: you can find her thickets throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and even Siberia. The secret is that it easily tolerates severe frosts, up to -30 ° C. Although it may suffer from small (about -5 ° C) spring frosts. This is perennial herb, reaching a height of 1.5 m. In one place it can grow for about 20 years, forming more than 50 shoots during this time.

Asparagus - dioecious plant... On female specimens, its flowers form first ovaries, and then small inedible red berries. Pollen forms on males. In berries, a bit like mountain ash, there are a maximum of two seeds that remain viable for up to 5 years.

The asparagus bush is a tall green, highly branching stem that divides into many small stems. The youngest are collected in whorls and are similar in shape to coniferous branches. And large edible shoots grow from multiple buds located on powerful dark gray rhizomes.

Planting asparagus

Asparagus prefers sunny places and fertile soils cleared of weeds, but grows well on sandy loam.

Spring planting

Planting asparagus in early spring before her buds start growing... The soil during spring planting is fertilized with ordinary humus, consuming for 1 sq. m of soil about 10 kg of humus... The rhizomes must be carefully laid in a previously dug trench about 30 cm deep and covered with a layer of earth so that the plant itself is planted, as it were, in a depression: this will greatly simplify watering.

Water the asparagus with plenty of water immediately after planting. The distance between the trenches is left not less than 60 cmsince over time, the bushes will grow. The spaces between plants in a row (for their normal development and growth) should be not less than 30 cm, that is, try to place no more than 3-4 plants per 1 sq.m. 

Autumn planting

The plot for autumn planting should be dig well and fertilizeby adding to the soil per 1 square meter:

• 60 g superphosphate,
• about 30 grams of potassium sulfate
• and 20 grams of ammonium sulfate.

When planting asparagus before winter, they do not deepen it, but, on the contrary, form a low mound above it. Thus, you can protect the roots from the winter cold. The distance between the plants themselves is the same as for spring planting.

Here's a video on how to plant asparagus:

Consider: if you want to get asparagus seeds, you have to plant at least 2 plants, and even more is better. This is due to the fact that only male or only female flowers develop on one specimen.

Growing asparagus from seeds

Most gardeners do not really like this method. This is due to poor germination, although, if you approach the matter correctly, it will not be difficult to grow asparagus from seeds.

Around the beginning of April, you need to soak the seeds for two days in warm water with the addition of a growth stimulant. Sow the prepared seeds in light soil, consisting of from two parts of garden land and one part each of sand, manure and peat... Lightly (about 1 cm) sprinkle with earth and periodically moisten it from a spray bottle, preventing it from drying out. If you do not have time to observe the crops, cover the container with ordinary glass: this way they will definitely not dry out.

Optimum temperature for germination seed is about +25 ... + 27 ° С, remember this. In order for crops to feel normal under glass, they must be ventilated daily, each time turning and wiping the glass.

Asparagus seeds take a long time to germinate - up to 6 weeks, so be patient. It will take a maximum of a month and a half after sowing, and if you did everything correctly, small charming bushes will appear above the ground - asparagus seedlings.

You can transplant them to a permanent place not earlier than mid-June... And when they grow up, it will be possible to replant them both in the spring and in the fall.

Propagation of asparagus by dividing the bush

Asparagus reproduces most easily by dividing the bush; this can be done not only in spring, but also in autumn, and even in summer. It is best to divide the bush during transplantation: young plants need to be transplanted every year, and adults every 10 years. When propagating asparagus by dividing the bush, remember: each division must have at least one shoot.

Propagation by cuttings

Asparagus can also be propagated by green shoots, using them as cuttings. For this from March to June cuttings are cut from last year's shoots of an adult plant, which are planted in moist sand for rooting. The planted cuttings are covered with a cap (for example, half a plastic bottle).

Cuttings should be regularly sprayed and ventilated by removing the bottle for several hours a day. They will take root after about a month and a half. After this happens, they must be dived into pots of the appropriate size.

Forcing asparagus in winter

This versatile vegetable crop is successfully cultivated not only in summer, but also in winter (in greenhouses) and in spring (in greenhouses). So let's talk about growing asparagus in winter and spring in more detail.

You can get asparagus in winter and early spring by forcing shoots from the rhizomes of adult 5-6 year old plants... To do this, in October, the rhizomes of the plants must be dug up and removed to the basement until December, the temperature in which is maintained at a level from 0 to +2 ° С.

About in the beginning of December asparagus rhizomes need plant in a greenhouse, in small containers, pressing tightly against each other, trying to place on 1 sq. m at least 18-20 rhizomes. From above they are covered with a fairly dense layer of humus (about 20 cm), and the containers themselves are additionally covered with black film.

During the first week in the greenhouse, you need to maintain a temperature of about + 10 ° C, but as soon as the roots start to grow, the temperature must be raised to about + 18 ° C. It is necessary to maintain the temperature regime for about 2 months - all the time while the harvest lasts.

And here, in addition to the usual, is described the old way of growing asparagus - steam.

Asparagus care

Asparagus, like most crops that we grow in greenhouses and in the garden, needs a care consisting of timely watering, fertilization and loosening of the soil.

Water the asparagus necessary in small portions, systematically. The main thing is to try to prevent stagnation of water, asparagus cannot stand it. However, the slightest drying out of the soil will also not do it good. Loosening of the soil should be done immediately after watering and weeding, but at least 7-8 times per season.

The yield of asparagus directly depends on fertilization, which is why feeding should begin even before planting and continue throughout the life of the plant:

• During spring plantingwe add ordinary to the soil humus(consuming about 10 kg of humus per 1 square meter of soil).
• When planting in autumnbring in per 1 square meter 60 g of superphosphate, about 30 g of potassium sulfate and 20 g of ammonium sulfate. 
• One month after plantingyou need to add to the soil mullein diluted with water(in a ratio of 1: 5). Every year after you have harvested asparagus (sometime by the end of June), the plants need to be fed (we spend 30 grams of superphosphate, potassium salt and urea per square meter) and uncoil-level the ridges. Thanks to such measures, we will give the asparagus the opportunity to develop stems and build up mass so that a sufficient amount of nutrients accumulates in the rhizomes by winter.
• At the moment of floweringperiodic preventive sprayingsystemic insecticide. This simple procedure will help repel pests.
• By julywhen the asparagus starts growing again, it needs to be fed again - with mineral or organic fertilizers. For example, bird droppings diluted in water would be an excellent feeding: for this, dilute 1 part of droppings with 10 parts of water.
• Fourthand the last seasonal top dressingneed to be done with a special complex fertilizeraround the end of October - before the first frost... So, in order to stop the growth of asparagus, superphosphate and potassium salt can be added to the soil (spending 30 grams per 1 square meter).

In autumn, before the onset of stable frostall old stems must be removed (this applies to both young and old bushes), and cover the lower part of the plants with peat (1.5 buckets per 1 sq. m) or compost, completely covering the lower part of the stem with a slide of about 5 cm in height - this way you will save the plants from freezing.

In the spring, in the second and third years of life asparagus is also needed feed — complete mineral fertilizer: nitrogen, potash and phosphorus, spending about 30 grams of each per 1 sq. m.

Harvesting

For the first time, food shoots appear on asparagus onlyin the fourth year of life... And it is necessary to break them out only when they begin to lift the crust of the soil. As a rule, harvesting begins in May. But if the winter is warm, and the spring is early, then you can harvest asparagus from the first ten days of April.

Carefully rake the ground where the cracks have appeared, and, having found a seedling, cut it off at the base, being careful not to damage the young shoots and rhizomes.All seedlings must be cut off: this will only contribute to the growth of new ones. The holes formed after cutting must be covered with earth again.

In the first year of fruiting cleaning should not be extended for more than a month, so as not to weaken the young rhizomes once again. Collecting seedlings from old plants should be completed by the end of June. The warmer it gets outside, the faster the asparagus begins to grow. But as soon as its shoots appear on the surface of the earth, the plant heads begin to crumble, and the shoots themselves lose their taste, turning into a dark pink and sometimes purple color. To prevent this,harvest on time- twice a day: early in the morning and in the late afternoon.At a temperature of about +15 ° C, you need to collect asparagus every 2-3 days.

After the end of the asparagus harvest, the ridges of the earth need to be undone, and the soil surface must be carefully leveled. Plants, if manure was not applied under them, it is necessaryfeed, using slurry or ammonium nitrate for this.

Carving out beautiful openwork greens of asparagus for arranging bouquets, do not cut all branches from one bush: this can be detrimental to the plant. Collect the seeds only when the berries acquire a deep red color.

How to store asparagus properly

That, it would seem, is all: the asparagus shoots are harvested, the plants themselves are reliably covered, and no frost is no longer afraid of them. But not everyone knows how to properly store asparagus. Of course, it will not be difficult for a seasoned gardener to preserve the harvest. And those who grow this culture for the first year often complain that the shoots quickly wither and darken. How can you avoid this?

Store asparagus shoots in a dark cool place - on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Only in this way they will not lose their taste for quite a long time - about 3 months. Asparagus is also perfectly preserved in an ordinary wooden box, placed in a cool, well-ventilated cellar. And so that the shoots do not fade, sprinkle them with sand.

Asparagus varieties

There is not just a large, but a huge number of asparagus species - over 300, among which there are vegetable, medicinal and ornamental.

In this article we will not talk about each type and, as you already understood, we will only talk about the most common in our country. vegetable asparagus and its most common varieties. We have already discussed how green, white and purple asparagus differ.

Snow head

One of the most popular varieties of vegetable asparagus is the mid-early Snow Head variety. The medium-sized shoots are distinguished by a pointed greenish-creamy relatively loose head. The pulp is very tender and tastes like green peas.

Glory of Braunschweig 

An equally popular late variety, one of the few whose juicy white fruits are intended mainly for canning.

The peculiarity of the Slava Braunschweig variety lies not only in the highest taste qualities of fruits resistant to greening, but also in their large quantity.

Argenteuil late

This asparagus variety has rather large, low-fiber white shoots with slightly spread head scales.

Differs in a long period of receipt of fruits suitable both for canning and for fresh use.

Diseases and pests of asparagus

Despite the fact that asparagus is an extremely disease-resistant plant, it can be affected by the dangerous fungus Helicobasidium purpureum, which is able to destroy asparagus in just a couple of days. The first sign of damage to asparagus by this dangerous fungus is shedding of branches. The reason lies in the death of the root collar. To get rid of such a dangerous disease, you can use the drug "Fundazol".

The most dangerous enemy of asparagus are asparagus leaf beetles - small black bugs, the larvae of which devour foliage, as a result of which the plants quickly die. To effectively combat asparagus leaf beetles, insecticides are used - "Fitoverm", "Fufanon", etc.

Asparagus plants are often attacked in spring asparagus flies, the larvae of which gnaw small holes in the shoots, due to which the growth of shoots stops and, unfortunately, they are no longer suitable for food. In the fight against the asparagus fly, ordinary chlorophos is excellent. Remove all damaged shoots, and treat young plants with the drug.

How do you feel about asparagus? Share your secrets of growing, caring for and storing this wonderful plant!

It is difficult to imagine such a bouquet that could not be decorated with a sprig of asparagus.In fashionable compositions, arrangers widely use thermophilic species, which give acicular greens of various shapes and density, but species growing in open ground are still popular.

Description of asparagus (asparagus)

Plus, asparagus is great for backstage planting, creating a delicate curtain of openwork branches that can hide a fence, compost heap, or utility yard. Asparagus is especially beautiful in autumn, when bright scarlet berries ripen on a yellowing bush. We add that in Europe, young shoots of asparagus are used for food. Since the time of the Roman Empire, asparagus has been considered an exquisite aristocratic vegetable.

Varieties and types of asparagus (asparagus)

Only a few types of asparagus, or, scientifically speaking, asparagus are suitable for outdoor use. The most traditional medicinal asparagus (A. officinalis) is a 1.5-2-meter plant.

The whorled asparagus (A. verticillatus) is more graceful, giving a thicker greenery, which is ready for use in bouquets earlier than the previous type.

If you do not have room for such large plants in your garden, we recommend A. schoeberioides asparagus from the Far East. Its bushes are more compact and reach a little over 1 m in height.

Reproduction of asparagus (asparagus)

Propagate asparagus in the spring by sowing seeds in the ground. They remain viable for 4-5 years. Purchase seeds from stores. With abundant fertilization, good quality seedlings can be obtained already in the first year.

They are transplanted to a permanent place in early spring (while the buds have not started to grow) or in the fall (September). Asparagus prefers open, sunny locations and is wind resistant.

Planting asparagus (asparagus)

For planting, dig holes or trenches 30 × 30 cm in size, lay organic fertilizers (compost or manure) on the bottom in a layer up to 10 cm, cover it with a thin layer of earth and plant seedlings.

For rocker planting, a 60 x 60 cm pattern can be recommended, but if you are going to use asparagus for food, the distance between the plants should be increased to 1-1.2 m.

In adulthood, asparagus does not tolerate transplanting well and has difficulty restoring roots. It can be propagated by dividing the bush, but after that the plants get sick for a long time.

In early spring, thick shoots with numerous scaly leaves appear from the soil. Until they are tough, they can be cut and consumed as a vegetable. If you want to get bleached asparagus, then in the fall, a layer of sand or light soil (15-25 cm) should be poured over the plant. As soon as the tips of the shoots are on the surface, the soil is scooped up and the bleached shoots are cut out at the base.

It should be remembered that harvesting asparagus weakens the plant and must be allowed to photosynthesize. Therefore, at the end of May, a layer of poured soil is removed, the plants are fertilized with a mullein solution or complex mineral fertilizers and the bushes are allowed to develop lush greenery.

Remember that you can only cut off shoots from well-developed plants; it is better not to disturb newly planted and young specimens.

Spring shoots are unstable to frost, but there is no need to make a special shelter for them: dead shoots are easily replaced by new ones growing from dormant rhizome buds.

Closer to the top of the shoots, the scaly leaves become smaller and smaller, but flattened lateral branches appear, which also perform the function of photosynthesis. In addition, small yellowish-green flowers can be found on the branches.

Asparagus has a peculiarity: either female or male flowers develop on one plant. Therefore, if you want to get your own seeds, you need at least two plants: a male and a female.

Asparagus (asparagus) care

At the time of flowering, carry out a prophylactic spraying with a systemic insecticide. If this is not done, flowers and future berries will become the prey of beetles. Usually this does not affect the decorative effect of the branches, but it will be more difficult to propagate asparagus.

In the middle of summer (July), the second growth wave begins for asparagus, which is especially noticeable on young plants. During this period, asparagus must be fed with organic or mineral fertilizers.

You can cut openwork greens for arrangement all season, but do not cut all branches from one bush at once.

The seeds are harvested when the berries turn red.

After the first autumn frosts (at the end of October), the asparagus branches die. They are cut, leaving only hemp (10 cm) and composted. Then you can fill in a bed for spring bleaching of shoots. If asparagus serves purely decorative purposes, it does not need a special shelter for the winter. However, it is useful to regularly add soil as the rhizome grows upward and may eventually rise to the surface.

Often, the owners of summer cottages pay very little attention to the cultivation of asparagus. In some flower beds, a green herringbone decorates the flower bed, does not require special care, its branches are added to bouquets - that's all the use of a useful plant. And if you plant the bushes correctly and organize good care for them, you can indulge yourself with a vegetable delicacy, which in many countries can only be afforded by people with high incomes. Your main task is to choose the right place for asparagus in your dacha - this is how asparagus is called in another way - and it will give a tasty harvest for more than a dozen years.

Preparation of planting material

The easiest way to get planting material is to buy a root in a specialized center. There they will explain to you the features of each variety, tell you what kind of soil and care it needs.

Popular among gardeners are asparagus of the following varieties:

• Early Yellow - prized for its yield and disease resistance;
• "Arzhentelskaya" - has excellent taste;
• "Tsarskaya" - received recognition from gardeners for its resistance to frost and drought;
• "Gainlim" - gives a lot of shoots.

You can get the material yourself from an adult bush. The first way: divide the rhizome into parts, take several fragments for growing and plant them in the country. The second option: cut the cuttings from the one-year-old shoots, dip the lower parts into the growth stimulator and stick them in the sand. Seedlings need to create suitable rooting conditions and provide proper care at home. Cover them with the necks of plastic bottles, on hot days, remove the caps and moisten the soil in a timely manner. When the plants are well established, transplant them to a permanent location.

Growing from seeds is a very laborious task; you cannot plant them immediately on the garden bed. The grains should be soaked in water and kept in a warm place at + 30⁰ for 2 days. When the seeds swell, you need to grow strong seedlings and only then plant them in open ground. Most often, the grains are planted in a greenhouse, for this you need to carefully prepare the place. Make furrows, put black soil on the bottom, to which superphosphate and ash are added. The top layer is garden soil with fallen leaves and manure. The planting depth should be about 2-4 cm, the distance between plants should be at least 3 cm.

Growing asparagus at home

Those who do not have a summer residence sometimes wonder if it is possible to grow edible shoots from seeds on a balcony or on a windowsill. At home, you can only grow seedlings or indoor flower asparagus. To get the first harvest, the plant must be 3 years old. During this time, a very long root will develop. Of course, you can put a large tub in the room and plant 1 bush, but the harvest will be so insignificant that there is no point in doing such work.

Advice

If you are looking to buy a delicacy in the store, remember that asparagus and soy asparagus have nothing to do with asparagus. The first of them is also a very tasty and healthy plant of the legume family. The second name is a semi-finished product made from soybeans.

If you want to grow seedlings from seeds, plant the seeds in separate deep cups. Fill them with a mixture of equal parts garden soil, peat, sand and rotted manure. Seedlings require careful care. The plant does not tolerate dryness, moisten the soil daily. 2 weeks after germination, feed with complex fertilizer.

When the seedlings grow to 15 cm, start hardening the seedlings. Take it out to fresh air or ventilate the greenhouse first for 1-2 hours in the warmest time. Gradually increase your time outdoors. When the seedlings can stand in the air constantly without any changes for the worse, you can plant them in open ground in the country.

Site preparation

It is not for nothing that asparagus is very expensive. It takes up a lot of space, it takes a lot of time from sowing seeds to harvest, and the number of shoots is small. For those who are trying to collect a large amount of vegetables from a small garden, it is better to abandon this culture. And yet, find a small area in the garden where you can plant at least 3-4 bushes, and grow several seedlings at home. When you taste the juicy shoots after 3 years, your attitude towards asparagus will change.

At the dacha, you need to start preparing asparagus soil in the fall. Note that each bush will need 0.25 m2 of empty space. The site must be sunny, sheltered from the wind. The plant does not tolerate stagnant moisture; with a high occurrence of groundwater, good drainage or bulk beds are definitely needed. Most of all, asparagus likes fertile sandy loam. When digging in autumn, add per 1 m2:

• Compost - 20 kg;
• Superphosphate - 70 g;
• Potassium sulfate - 40 g.

If you dug the garden well in the fall, you can only loosen it in the spring. When harrowing, 60 g of ash and 20 g of ammonium nitrate are introduced per 1 m2. The holes should be spacious, 35 cm in diameter and depth. In June, you can plant home-grown bushes in a permanent place. In the hole, make a mound of fertile soil, shorten the root of the seedling to 4 cm and set the plant on the embankment. Bury a hole, compact and water the soil well. In the future, young bushes will need proper care, then they will grow thick and strong.

After planting, mulch the bed with sawdust or leaf compost. This procedure will keep the soil loose, prevent weeds from breaking through, and keep the roots from freezing during the winter months. In the early years, while the bushes are still small, use the space between them for cultivation of herbs and herbs.

Proper care - a good harvest

Asparagus is a fairly large bush that has been growing in one place for many years. For proper development, it needs a lot of nutrients, and the soil is depleted over time. If you want to get good yields up to 25 years, fertilize the area with manure every fall, and apply compost in the spring. In order for the shoots to grow faster and the harvest becomes richer, do not spare organic matter, water the beds with slurry every 3 weeks.

Do not allow the soil to dry out; on dry days, water the garden bed in the country every day, especially during the growing season of edible shoots. If the sprouts don't get enough moisture, they will become bitter and tough. Excessive humidity or stagnant air is also dangerous: plants can be infected with a fungal infection. After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the top layer well. If you want to make it easier to care for the plants, mulch the bed with peat or compost when planting. With a layer thickness of more than 5 cm, not a single weed will appear in the garden.

You can see that if you plant asparagus in an open area with strong winds, it grows poorly, often gets sick. This does not happen from the cold, but from the fact that the roots of the plant are sensitive to any movement of the aboveground part. A strong stream of air shakes the stems, while small underground root processes break off, and the entire system begins to rot. To prevent this from happening in your garden, be sure to install a strong stake and tie shoots to it.To prevent scattered seeds from germinating and not making it difficult to care for the garden, remove the fruits that have appeared on the branches.

Advice

If you want to harvest asparagus grains, do not cut the shoots, let the bush develop. Please note that both male and female specimens must grow on the site to obtain viable seeds.

The asparagus rhizome grows upward every year and gradually emerges from the soil. Inspect the plantings several times a season and huddle them. This will enable the normal development of the underground part of the plant. At the end of summer, cut off the yellowed shoots, and before the onset of cold weather, cut off all the stems and cover the ground with peat or sawdust at least 5 cm thick.Rhizomes of adult plants will not die even in severe frosts, and spring frosts are dangerous for young shoots.

Diseases and pests of green bushes

Asparagus rarely gets sick, but sometimes it can get infected with fungal infections. Basically, such problems arise if the care of the plant is done incorrectly. The cause of diseases is excessive moisture in the soil or air. Bushes do not like strong winds, but they need fresh air. Do not arrange a bed in a completely enclosed space, allow a light breeze to penetrate there. For prevention, you can spray plantings with fungicides in spring and autumn.

Among insects, asparagus has 2 enemies.

• Asparagus fly. Brown midge with yellow legs and head. Its appearance can be determined by twisted and withering shoots.
• Asparagus leaf beetle. A beetle with blue wings and a red stripe. Eats up all parts of the plant. It is especially active in the second half of summer.

Spray plants with insecticides to combat parasites. When watering, pay attention to emerging pest eggs. Cut off damaged branches and burn them. To prevent insects from settling on plants, remove dry and damaged shoots in time, fight weeds. Proper care will save you the trouble of growing asparagus.

How to properly harvest and preserve the crop

The gardener is eager to taste the young sprouts. Take your time: until the plant is 3 years old, you cannot cut off the shoots. Wait until the bush has accumulated enough strength, then in the next years it will give you good harvests. The first time, cut no more than 5 stems, leave the rest for the development of a strong bush. From good adult specimens, the gardener can collect up to 30 sprouts per season. Never remove all shoots: if not a single branch remains, the bush may die.

Shoots that have reached 20 cm in height, on which leaf buds have not yet bloomed, are suitable for food. As soon as the first needles begin to form, the stems will become tough and unsuitable for food. Break open the soil and break off with your hands or cut off the shoots with a knife near the rhizome, just proceed carefully so as not to disturb or injure the root system. You can harvest all summer, but the richest spring months.

There are 3 product categories.

1. White asparagus is the most valuable species. These shoots were dug out of the ground, were not exposed to sunlight and retained the maximum concentration of nutrients.
2. Purple asparagus was not exposed to light for long and did not have time to develop chlorophyll. It tastes slightly bitter.
3. Green asparagus grew in the sun, accumulated a lot of chlorophyll and carbohydrates, but lost some of the vitamins. Bitter taste.

Everyone's preferences are different, some gourmets consider white asparagus the most delicious and tender, others argue that green shoots have a richer and richer taste. If you want to taste the white sprouts, protect them from light. In the fall, after cutting the stems, make an earthen mound about 20 cm high above the roots. In the spring, keep an eye on the soil surface. When you notice bumps or small cracks, gently break up the soil to the root. Cut off the shoots that have reached the desired height and rebuild the embankment.After a few days, the next shoots will begin to break through to the surface, dig up the ground again and harvest.

Advice

If in the fall you did not make mounds, in the spring you can cover the ground with boxes or make a shelter from a material that does not transmit light: black film, roofing material.

Fresh shoots should be eaten immediately or used for cooking, preparations for the winter. If you need to use the asparagus later, place it in a jar of water like a bouquet and put it in the refrigerator. Remember that if there are products with a strong smell on the shelves, the shoots will absorb the extraneous odors. Sprouts can be frozen, but at the same time they will lose some of their taste and useful qualities.

Conclusion

Don't believe the rumor that asparagus is a very capricious plant, that growing asparagus from seed outdoors and caring for it is too time-consuming. The most difficult thing happens in the first year, when growing seedlings at home or in a greenhouse, and when the bushes take root and begin to develop well, they do not require much attention from you. It is necessary to cultivate the soil well once and plant asparagus correctly in the country, and then it will grow in one place for many years.

In order for the shoots to turn out white and delicate in taste, they must be protected from light. The most convenient way is to pour a mound of earth over the plant in the fall, after cutting the stems, and dig out the soil during harvesting. When cutting, do not be greedy, do not completely remove all the stems, leave something for the development of the bush. The faster you put the product into processing, the tastier and healthier the dish will turn out. Use asparagus for salads, soups, vegetable side dishes, and feel like a millionaire who has access to expensive delicacies.

Asparagus (asparagus) is one of the most delicious, healthy and expensive vegetable crops. The first sprouts of asparagus, which are white, green, pinkish green or purple, are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. The color of the sprouts depends on the cultivation method and the time of collection. Green asparagus grows like a common vegetable in the garden; sprouts of white asparagus are spud so that no light falls on them; and the sprouts become purple after "sunbathing" - they do not immediately spud it, allowing the tender shoots to soak up the sun.
Young tender shoots can be eaten raw or quickly steamed, in water, in the oven or on the grill. Asparagus is one of the earliest vegetables of the new season: harvesting young shoots begins in April-May.

Seed preparation

Planting asparagus requires a lot of space; it cannot be done at home, except that seedlings can be grown at home. The seeds are distinguished by poor and slow germination, so many summer residents prefer to sow them in a greenhouse or at home, and then plant ready-made seedlings in open ground. In the south of Russia, you can sow them in the spring right on the garden bed, but you need to remember that for germination they need an air temperature that has reached + 25 degrees, and the soil warmed up to + 15.
The seeds must first be prepared at home: soak for 2 days in warm water, it is desirable to maintain the temperature at + 30 degrees, then they need to be dried. Some growers insist on using a growth stimulant. Only after such care are they ready for sowing.

Planting asparagus seedlings

Before planting, the site is marked out and grooves 30 cm wide and deep are plowed. They should be straight: if you plant asparagus in uneven rows, then with mechanized filling of the ridges, the rhizomes will not be located strictly along the middle line. (It is not recommended to plow the furrows in advance, as the soil quickly dries up and crumbles, the furrow becomes uneven, and seedlings will not appear at the same time).
Rotted manure is introduced into the finished furrows (3.0-3.5 kg for each running meter). Then they cover it with a layer of soil of 4-8 cm, after which plants are planted on top, which are again covered with a layer of 5-8 cm.After planting, the furrows are watered abundantly (40-50 m3 / 1000 m²), taking care that the plants are not washed out with too strong a stream of water.
Container seedlings can be planted during the growing season from early July. After applying the main fertilizer and plowing, taking into account the width of the row spacing, furrows are prepared with a depth of 30-32 cm.The manure is scattered to the bottom of the furrow, covered with a layer of soil of 2-3 cm, after which plants are planted on top in peat pots (or together with soil from ceramic pots ). Then the furrow is filled up to the level of the roots.
Plantation maintenance before the first harvest
Consider the types of work on an asparagus plantation before the first harvest (it is received only in the third year after planting).

The first year of growing asparagus

Young plants almost do not form shade, so weeds grow quickly on the plantation, especially in the first years after planting. Asparagus of autumn planting is weeded after germination, in early spring, while the weeds have not yet matured (3-5 weeding must be carried out during the entire growing season).
Simultaneously with weeding, they begin to gradually fill the furrows so that the thickness of the soil layer poured over the plants immediately after planting the seedlings at a depth of 14-18 cm does not exceed 8-10 cm. During the summer, the furrows are periodically sprinkled with soil; by autumn, the surface of the plantation should be flat. This work is done by cultivators.
To accelerate the growth of young plants, top dressing is carried out at the end of June and July. On small areas, an effective method is to apply fertilizer solutions: 1% is prepared from a nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizer, and a 0.5-0.6% solution is prepared from complex fertilizers (at the rate of 5 liters per running meter). On a large area, when it is not possible to apply liquid fertilizing, nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizers are scattered twice on the soil surface (at the rate of 100 kg / ha) and with the help of a cultivator they are embedded in the soil.
Watering is carried out in such a way that the soil is moistened to a depth of 40-50 cm. In a dry period or on sandy soils, it is recommended to water the asparagus plantation twice.
Before asparagus enters the fruiting season, it is necessary to constantly plant new plants instead of fallen ones (it is better to do this in the fall, when you can accurately determine the places of attacks). It is recommended to use plants grown in a container: they take root well, they can be planted during the entire growing season.
The final work on the asparagus plantation is the removal of the stems. The stems are cut at the very surface of the soil, leaving no stumps. The cut stems are harvested and burned to prevent the proliferation of pests (in particular, the asparagus beetle).
By the autumn of the first year, the height of the stems of young asparagus can reach 80-120 cm, well-developed plants form 6-8 stems.

Second year of asparagus cultivation

Care is basically the same as in the nerve year (weeding, watering, planting new plants, removing stems), but now there is no need to fill up the furrows. Top dressing continues. If the plants develop satisfactorily, nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizer is twice embedded in the soil at the rate of 10 kg / 1000 m³ (2 × 100 kg of calcium and ammonium nitrate / ha). In case of unsatisfactory development, the dose is increased to 20 kg / ha.
To increase the content of nutrients in the soil, organic fertilizer is applied - manure. It is scattered to the bottom of a furrow 25-30 cm deep, dug between rows (at the rate of 40-50 tons of manure or 100 m³ of high-quality compost per hectare). After that, mineral fertilizers are applied (0.6 tons of superphosphate and 0.8 tons of 40% potassium nitrate per 1 ha). In the second year, well-developed plants already form 10-12 stems 140-160 cm high.

Third year of asparagus cultivation

They also carry out weeding, watering, remove the stems. Replenishment of attacks remains a necessary measure.It is necessary to strive so that by the time the harvest begins, there are no unplanned areas on the plantation.
It happens that due to the insufficient content of nutrients in the soil, plants develop unevenly. To correct the situation, fertilizing is carried out - manure is introduced, the amount of which is determined on the basis of a chemical analysis of the soil. If analysis is not possible, then it is advisable to apply the same amount of manure as in the second year.

Caring for a fruiting asparagus plantation

Spring tillage includes disking (an effective way to control weeds) and forming ridges. Before that, the dry remains of the stems are removed, otherwise the young shoots growing through them will acquire a brown color, which reduces the market value of the product by 30-50%.
The height of the ridges is set in accordance with the standard dimensions of the collected shoots - 22 cm (top width - 25-30 cm, height - 25-30 cm from the rhizome). Over the years, the width of the ridges increases to 40-50 cm, since over time the asparagus rhizomes grow.
Too high ridges should not be poured, otherwise the shoots will reach a length of 30-40 cm or more. Only the upper part of them 22 cm long has commercial value, the rest has to be discarded (the share of such a marriage can account for 30-40% of the total harvested crop).
The ridges are formed in two steps, since it is not recommended to take soil near the rows (asparagus roots are located almost horizontally, and when plowing a deep furrow, they can be damaged). For this, a conventional plow is used, which rolls the soil to the row of plants from both sides. The surface of the ridges should be smooth so that you can see when the grown asparagus shoots begin to lift the soil.
After the formation of the ridges, the plants are not taken care of until the end of the collection of shoots. Upon completion of the collection, after leveling the ridges, 2-3 weeding of row spacings is carried out during the growing season. (Asparagus grows in one place for 12-15 years, so weed control remains an important task at all times).
Feeding is carried out regularly. In the spring, before disking the soil, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied (400 kg per 1 ha). At the end of the collection of asparagus shoots (mid-June), the ridges are not leveled until the rows are green. After 10-14 days after the completion of the cleaning, the aisles are deepened and manure is introduced (30-40 tons per 1 ha), after which it is covered with a layer of soil 4-8 cm. It is advisable to fertilize a fruiting asparagus plantation with manure once every 3 years.
During the growing season, the water demand of asparagus is constantly increasing, so special attention should be paid to watering. To obtain a larger yield after a winter poor in precipitation, 2-3 waterings are carried out before the onset of the harvesting period or during harvesting (20-25 mm of water for 1 watering). During the dry summer period, asparagus is watered abundantly in July and August (50-60 mm per watering).
Sprinkler irrigation is carried out on large plantations, on heavier soils - furrow irrigation.

Harvesting asparagus

They start it in the third or fourth year after planting the culture. In the third year, it is possible to collect only 3-8 shoots from each rhizome, while it is necessary to fill in ridges throughout the plantation, and the duration of collection should not exceed 3-4 bedels. The implementation of these works requires significant labor costs for a short period of time, therefore, the economic feasibility of harvesting in the third year for large farms should be well weighed.
Asparagus is harvested from early May to mid-June, with the highest harvests occurring in mid-May to early June. From mid-June, the collection is reduced, since new shoots develop only from dormant buds, which leads to a weakening of the rhizomes, and if you do not stop cutting the shoots, the rhizome may die.
The average daily harvest for the entire season is 6-8 kg / 1000 m². (The size of the harvest with a sufficient degree of probability can be determined in advance, as early as early October, by the condition of the rhizomes).
Collect etiolated asparagus. Asparagus is harvested early in the morning or in the afternoon. It is recommended to break the shoots by hand. Do not use knives, scrapers or shovels, as the cut shoot will dry out or rot and the rot can spread to the entire rhizome. It is better to dig up the soil with a wooden spoon: with its help, you can easily find a tender shoot without damaging it. Excavated and clearly visible shoots are broken out as follows: with the index finger they reach the rhizome itself, the shoot is deflected to the side and pulled towards itself.
Under favorable conditions, shoots develop quickly, therefore, at the beginning of the harvesting season, they are harvested 1 time, and subsequently at least 2 times a day. Shoots that have reached the surface of the ridges must be harvested within the next 1-2 hours - this is the only way to preserve their quality. Two or three inspections of the plantation a day are justified: shoots that could be called “first-class” in the morning, by the evening or the next morning are already getting color and can only be sold as broken, the price of which is only 20-25% of the price of asparagus I varieties.
The collected shoots are placed in a basket lined with a damp cloth and protected from light (this helps to protect them from wilting, weight loss and staining). Packing and packing of shoots is carried out in a darkened room, and then transferred to a refrigerator for several hours.
Collecting green asparagus. Green asparagus is harvested when the shoots reach a length of 15-20 cm or somewhat shorter, but sufficiently developed, as evidenced by the expanded scale-like leaves.
At a depth of 1-2 cm below the soil level, the shoots are either broken out or cut (very carefully so as not to damage the young shoots). It is necessary to collect all shoots, including those unsuitable for sale (diseased, damaged, too thin). If this is not done, then asparagus pests will multiply on the plantation.
Under optimal conditions, green asparagus grows very vigorously and is harvested daily. You should not be late with the collection of marketable products, since the heads of the shoots open quickly and their cost falls.

Preparing and storing asparagus for sale

Freshly picked asparagus shoots contain a lot of water (93-94%). A protective layer does not form on etiolated shoots, which protects them from evaporation, therefore, the harvested asparagus very quickly loses moisture and coarsens.
Collected shoots can be stored in a shaded area at the edge of the field for up to 2 hours. They should be stored in a cool basement or refrigerator until processing. At low temperatures (0, 2… 3 ° C) and high relative humidity (90-95%), asparagus can remain fresh for 20-28 days.
Preparation of asparagus for sale consists of washing, bulkheading, sorting and removing unnecessary parts of the shoots. All these works must be performed by the manufacturer.
Packaging and preparation for transportation is the final production operation, which must ensure the safety of the shoots during transportation and intermediate storage.