What is asparagus

Asparagus is also called asparagus. This is a perennial plant that can grow up to 1.5 m in height. The place of planting must be approached very responsibly, since it grows up to 20 years. This unpretentious plant easily tolerates frosts down to -30 degrees. But during the spring frost, when the temperature jumps up, down can suffer. This representative of the asparagus family contains a unique composition of nutrients: iron, magnesium, beta-carotene, folic acid, calcium, copper, sodium, selenium and manganese.

It is a dioecious plant. Has both female and male flowers. Red berries appear on female flowers, they are not edible, they contain seeds, one, sometimes two. The germination capacity of these seeds lasts up to five years. Pollen occurs only on male flowers. Asparagus looks like a tall stem that has many small growths. The edible part of asparagus is the shoots that grow from buds on huge, sturdy roots.

There are more than three hundred species of asparagus. They can be decorative, vegetable and even medicinal. For example, "Snow Head" is a very popular mid-early variety, soft and delicate, it tastes like young green peas, and the color of "Snow Head" is soft green. But the variety "Glory of Braunschweig" is late, giving white shoots, suitable for conservation.

How to grow asparagus properly

Asparagus is grown from seeds, but it must be borne in mind that they germinate for a very long time. At the very beginning of April, the seeds need to be soaked in warm water for 2-3 days, and when they hatch, they need to be sown in a mixture of earth, manure, peat and sand, and in an amount of 2: 1: 1: 1. Then it is easy to sprinkle with soil about one cm, periodically moistening to prevent drying out.

In order for the seeds to germinate, a temperature of + 25-27 degrees is needed. And then in a month, maximum one and a half, small bushes of asparagus will appear. And in mid-July, seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place where they will grow for many years.

Caring for asparagus is not difficult, the main thing is to water it in small portions, regularly so that the soil does not dry out, but in no case should there be stagnation of water either. You need to loosen the ground after each watering. But what kind of harvest you get directly depends on how often you fertilize the soil. At that moment when the asparagus begins to bloom, it needs to be periodically sprayed from pests.

In autumn, before the first freezing of the soil, all the stems must be removed, piled up and covered with compost or peat about 5 cm so that it does not freeze.

You can also propagate asparagus by dividing the bush at any time of the year.

You can also propagate it by cuttings. To do this, you need to cut the cuttings from the shoots of the last year, plant them in wet sand and cover them with any jar on top, creating something like a cap. The cuttings will need to be sprayed with water and ventilated for several hours a day. But when they take root, they need to be transplanted into pots.

Asparagus can be obtained even in winter or early spring. To do this, you need to distill the shoots of adult summer plants. To do this, in October, the roots of the plant are dug up and stored in the basement until December at temperatures from 0 to +2 degrees. In December, the roots are planted in a greenhouse in small containers and covered with humus by 20-25 cm, and covered with a dark film on top. In the greenhouse, in the first week, the temperature should be +10 degrees, then it is gradually increased to +18 and kept until the moment when it is already possible to harvest, which is about two months.

You can also propagate it by cuttings.To do this, you need to cut the cuttings from the shoots of the last year, plant them in wet sand and cover them with any jar on top, creating something like a cap. The cuttings will need to be sprayed with water and ventilated for several hours a day. But when they take root, they need to be transplanted into pots.

When asparagus grows on the ground, it can be harvested in its place in the fourth year.

Asparagus should be planted in a sunny place where there are no weeds and the land is fertile.