Asparagus - Asparagus

Asparagus - Asparagus

Asparagus is grown for ornamental shoots. Needle-shaped tracks, usually considered as leaves and as such, they are actually transformed stems and are called twigs. The actual leaves are reduced to small scales and occur at the base of the branches.

Two species are most commonly grown: Sprenger asparagus (Asparagus blaster) about long branches Approx 2,5 cm, collected in bunches of 2-6 pcs., and pinnate asparagus (A. plumose) about smaller branches, more delicate, length approx 0,5 cm and collected in bunches of 12-15 pcs. In addition, Sprenger asparagus has a light green color, while the pinnate asparagus is dark green with a bluish tinge.

Both species grown in pots are used to decorate both apartments and various types of public premises, and cut shoots are added to the bunches.

Siew. Propagate asparagus from seeds, which we usually sow in January or February (Sprenger asparagus can also be sown in August). Spherical seeds, black tinted, with a slightly wrinkled surface, have a diameter of approx 0,3 cm. The shell covering them is quite hard and therefore the seeds are soaked in warm water before sowing 48 hours. Fill the boxes for sowing asparagus with a mixture of 3 parts of leaf land and 1 parts of sand and knead well on the sides. Across the boxes, co 3 cm lines are marked, in which the seeds are decomposed one by one every 1 cm. Cover the arranged seeds 1 cm with a layer of earth and a thin layer of moss or peat, to prevent the growth of algae. Place the seed boxes in a greenhouse with a temperature of 18 ° and sprinkle them with water every day, paying attention, that the earth is always moderately moist. They germinate after 4-6 weeks, therefore, moss or peat must be removed before this date.

Quilting. When the seedlings develop a second shoot, we quilt them into boxes filled with richer soil, heavier, consisting of 2 the inspection part, 1 the leaf part and 1 parts of peat. Lines also mean what 3 cm, but a co is placed in the rows of plants 2 the 3 cm, as deep as they grew before. Within 7-10 days after quilting, we maintain the temperature of. around 20 ° and the greenhouse is not aired, for the seedlings to take root and begin growing. With the advent of summer, we ventilate greenhouses taking care not to fluctuate in temperature, and the earth was constantly moist. In hot weather, it may be necessary to water the plants twice a day.

Potting. If the plants are growing well, can be re-quilted with a spacing of 5X6 cm, but usually in August, asparagus is planted directly in pots with a diameter of 7-8 cm. We use soil as for quilting, but it is advisable to add slow-decomposing fertilizers, namely, 2-3 kg of horn filings per 1 m3 of mixture. As usual, keep the temperature around 20 ° after transplanting.

With the onset of winter, asparagus grows less, during this period, the temperature can be lowered even to 15 °, but care should be taken that it does not fall below 12 °, because if the temperature is too low for a long time, the plants turn yellow. Plants can look similar, that were watered too much, that is, they were flooded. Irregularly watered plants are easy to recognize, for even if they do not throw off branches, this produces fleshy tubers at the roots (just Sprenger asparagus). When transplanting, the tubers can be removed, but it should be done carefully, so that after removing the tubers, the plant would not be left without roots. Asparagus requires soil that is constantly moderately moist.

Further nursing. The further course of cultivation will depend on this, Will the asparagus be grown in pots or cut greenery?. In the first case, with the advent of spring, in March, the plants are transplanted into pots with a diameter of 10-12 cm, to the same mixture, what was used for potting. In a period of strong growth, that is, from the end of May to the end of August, asparagus requires a lot of fertilization. Organic fertilization is the most appropriate, for this reason, we feed them with slurry diluted in the proportion 1 : 30 co 10 days. During this time, the plants can be kept in the greenhouse under the same conditions as in the first year of cultivation, set after 25 pcs. on 1 running meters of the window sill or pitted in the inspection after 35 pieces in the window. In the fall, the material should be ready for sale.

When growing for cut greenery, asparagus is planted in pots with a diameter after overwintering 14 cm. Planting directly into the spaced beds is often used 30 X 30 cm. It is even better to plant in wooden or concrete deep boxes 20 cm and width 40 cm, using 20 cm spacing. Plants should grow rapidly. When we observe that they produce very thick and strong shoots, we limit the supply for some time. In the fall of the second growing year, i.e.. after 22-23 months after sowing, plants in pots are ready for sale, and from those intended for greenery, you can already cut the first shoots. The cut asparagus shoots are sorted into 2 class.