Asparagus

Asparagus officinalis L. entered the culture from time immemorial and was well known to the vegetable growers of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome..In France, asparagus was cultivated and eaten already at the end of the XV-XVI centuries, and then this plant spread to other European countries. In Russia, asparagus appeared in the XVIII century. In Russia, asparagus is still not widely distributed as a vegetable. Meanwhile, young shoots of asparagus are rich in vitamins and minerals and have medicinal properties.

Asparagus is a perennial, herbaceous plant of the lily family, propagated by seeds and vegetatively. Stems erect, smooth, branched, up to 1.5-2 m high. Due to the powerful rhizomes in which the reserve substances are located, shoots develop in the spring. In older plants, they are formed from numerous buds and reach 15-20 cm in thickness. In food are young thickened shoots, appearing above the surface of the soil in early spring, if they are covered and grown without access to light, shoots are white( etiolated).With the development of shoots in the light, they acquire a green color, which is due to the presence of chlorophyll, which in the light assimilates CO2-air and turns it into complex carbohydrates.

More than 300 kinds of asparagus grows in India, South America and the Mediterranean. There are among them rhizome perennials, semishrubs and shrubs, including curly ones. The leaves of asparagus have degenerated into scales, from the sinuses of which there are numerous green needle-like branch-cladodia. The flowers of the plant are small, unattractive, but on female specimens( only in the presence of a male plant) bright red berries appear in late summer, which darken late in the fall.

All over the world, asparagus is planted not so much for the sake of decorating the garden, but for the sake of its exceptionally tasty and useful young shoots. Tek that this plant is more delicious than decorative. Sometimes they write that decorative and edible asparagus are different. But this is not true, because all kinds of asparagus are edible.

The plant prefers a sunny place, but it is tolerated and with slight shading. It grows well in rich humus, light soils. Before planting, dig a pit of 40 x 40 x 40 cm and well fill it with a flaked peat, in which you must add a glass of ash, 1 tbsp.a spoonful of full mineral fertilizer. Well moisturize, make a mound of earth in the center And spread out the roots on it. Then fill them with soil and water. The root neck is buried in the soil for 5-6 cm. In dry and hot weather, the plants are watered, but in general, asparagus does not like waterlogging, it should not be planted in damp places. At one place can grow without transplantation for more than ten years.

It is easiest to propagate by seeds, because when dividing a bush, the larvae develop badly and grow slowly. Fresh seeds are sown in autumn. In the spring, shoots appear that dive according to the scheme of 15 x 15 cm, and in autumn are transplanted to the place according to the scheme of 60 x 60 cm.

Elegant greens of asparagus are used for arranging bouquets. But the asparagus growing with a separate bush looks very elegant.
The plant forms a fleshy rhizome and thick white roots, in which nutrients accumulate. From the kidneys on the rhizome develop powerful shoots, giving the bundles of thin, tender stems, playing the role of leaves. Being in the soil, the shoots retain a white color, and when they come out into the light, they become dark green, coarsen and branch. Adult asparagus shrubs reach a height of 2 m. Asparagus - the plant is dioecious: male specimens are more productive and early-ripening than ken.

Requirements: adult plants are rather cold, but the seeds germinate in unison quietly at 20-25 ° C, and the shoots suffer from frost. The optimum temperature for shoot growth is 10-12 ° C.

Asparagus is moisture-loving, with lack of water shoots become bitter, become fibrous, and, conversely, if excess, its roots rot and die. It is very demanding on fertility and soil structure, the grows well on light, fertile, organic soils rich in organic matter.

Asparagus does not tolerate acidic soils and near standing of pound waters.

The asparagus plot is prepared in autumn. The soil is dug to a depth of 35-40 cm and 10-12 kg / m2 of manure or compost is applied. In the spring it is again digested, add 25-30 g / m2 of ammonium nitrate, 30-35 - superphosphate and 15-19 g / m2 potassium salt.

Ingredients: contains many vitamins A, C, B1, B2, PP, proteins, carbohydrates and mineral salts.

Cultivation: Asparagus is grown mainly in seedlings. Under the nursery, a plot with loose fertile soil is introduced with 5-6 kg / m2 of humus or compost under composting, 25-30 g / m2 of ammonium nitrate, 35-40 superphosphate and 10-15 g / m2 potassium salt. The surface is leveled, grooves are made at a distance of 25-30 cm and watered abundantly. Seeds before sowing 2-3 days stand in warm water( 25 ° C), changing it daily. The swollen seeds are scattered on sacking, the top is covered with another wet burlap and placed in a warm place( 20-25 ° C).The seeds that have been seeded are sown to a depth of 3 cm with a distance of 6-8 cm and mulched with a humus layer of 1 cm. The planting is carried out at the beginning of June.

Shoots are thinned, leaving a distance between them 10-15 cm, fed slurry, diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 4. In this case, before and after fertilizing, plants are watered.

For furrow next summer grooves are prepared with a depth of 30-40 cm at a distance of 110-120 cm. Manure or compost is placed on the bottom of the furrows with a layer of 20-25 cm, on top - with a humus layer of 5-8 cm. Then they are watered abundantly. Seedlings are planted at a distance of 40 cm, evenly spreading the roots so that they do not bend upward, and sprinkle with humus or peat with a layer of 10-12 cm. To get the whitened asparagus, during the loosening of the rows, the ground is first lifted by 10 cm, then by another 10-15, so that the humus layer above the rhizome is at least 25 cm.

Varieties

Argenteuil early - early maturing;shoots large, slightly fibrous, white, have pink heads, above-ground young shoots are green-violet.

Mary Washington - mid-rip;shoots are very large, thick, yellowish. Above-ground shoots are green-violet. Good for getting green asparagus.

Early yellow - new domestic early maturing;the shoots are tender, white with a dense yellow head. Above-ground shoots are greenish-yellow. Resistant to diseases.

Yield 6 - mid-ripening;shoots are thick, large, white, pink. On the surface of the soil they acquire a green-violet color.

Gradual filling of asparagus with soil for four years( as plants grow)

Care : in the following 2 years, soil loosening, watering and top dressing with weak fertilizer solutions are required.

Autumn cuts shoots near the surface of the soil and burns them, rows are covered with manure, peat or leaves.

Harvesting: to harvest begins in May of the third year. To do this, the soil is carefully removed from the shoots and cut out with a sharp knife, and the holes again fall asleep. The collection of whitened asparagus is done daily and only in cold, cloudy weather after 2-3 days. Good shoots should have a length of 15-20 cm and a thickness of 1 - 1.5 cm. One plant on average produces 10-12 shoots, sometimes up to 30, weighing 20-30 g.

AND Usage: from asparagus shoots prepare salads, side dishes, soups, they are used in boiled, stewed, toasted and canned form.

Asparagus also has healing properties: serves as a diuretic, helps to remove chlorates and phosphates from the body, helps with kidney, heart, rheumatism, gout, lowers blood pressure and relieves fatigue.