Asparagus or asparagus is of interest as a food plant, but not all vegetable growers know how to cultivate it, because this crop is not popular in Russia. Meanwhile to get good harvest, without knowledge about growing and caring for asparagus in open ground not enough. Let's look at ways to obtain asparagus from seeds and by dividing the bush, as well as the rules for caring for plants, harvesting and storing them.

Despite the fact that asparagus as a vegetable plant is not popular among Russian gardeners, enough varieties of it suitable for cultivation in local conditions have been bred. For example, the following varieties of asparagus are included in the State Register of the Russian Federation.

Name of variety or hybrid	Productivity	Short description
Arzhentelskaya	1.5-2 kg/m 2	The petioles are greenish-purple, the flesh is white. Shoots are 12–20 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, weighing 30–50 g.
Baklim	3-3.5 kg/m2	Light green with pulp white petioles, 15-25 cm long, 1-2.8 cm thick. Weight of one is 100-140 g.
Waldau	From the 3rd year of cultivation - 130-150 g per bush, starting from the 4th year - up to 350 g	Petioles are green, with yellowish-white flesh
Gainlim	3.0-3.5 kg/m2	The petioles are green, yellowish-white inside, 15-25 cm long, 1-2.5 cm thick, weighing 100-140 kg.
Guelph Millennium	3.0-3.5 kg/m2	Petioles are light green with yellowish-white flesh, 15-25 long, 0.9-1.5 cm thick, weight of one shoot 100-120 g
Guelph Eclipse	2.7-3 kg/m2	Petioles are light green with yellowish-white flesh, 15-25 long, 1-2.5 cm thick, weighing 100-140 g
Xenolim	3.0-3.5 kg/m2	The petiole is 15-25 cm long, 1-2.5 cm thick, light green, weighing 100-140 g.
Cumulus F1	From the 3rd year - 100-120 g, from the 5th year - up to 300 g from 1 bush	Petioles and pulp are white
Magnus F1	From the 3rd year – 100-110 g, from the 5th year – up to 330 g from 1 bush	Petioles and pulp are white
Tsarskaya	2-5 kg/m2	Petioles are green, white inside, 15-20 cm long, 1-1.5 cm in diameter

Of these varieties, the oldest is Arzhentelskaya asparagus; it was included in the State Register in 1950. The next in line of inclusion is Tsarskaya asparagus (2006). All other varieties and hybrids were entered into the register quite recently - in 2015-2018. All varieties are intended for cultivation in private household plots throughout Russia, including in the Moscow region and even in Siberia.

How to grow asparagus from seeds

Growing asparagus in Russian conditions is carried out mainly seedling method.

Growing seedlings in a nursery

Loose fertile soils are allocated for the nursery. For digging, 5-6 kg of organic matter, for example, humus or compost, must be added per 1 m2. From mineral nitrogen fertilizers, urea (1 tsp) is used. Potassium sulfate and superphosphate are incorporated into the soil in the same dose. Then make grooves at a distance of 0.3-0.5 m and water them with a solution of the Energen growth stimulator (at the rate of 1 capsule per 5 liters of warm water).

Seeds need to be prepared before sowing so that they germinate better. To do this, they are kept in the preparation “Agricola Veta” (1 tablespoon diluted in 0.5 liters of water) in a fabric bag for 2-3 days. The swollen seeds are laid out on a damp cloth, wrapped in a roll and left in a warm place. Every day it is moistened with liquid so that the seed material does not dry out. The temperature at which germination should occur is approximately 23-25 ​​°C.

The sprouted asparagus seeds are planted in the nursery at the end of May or the beginning of the next month - June. They are buried 3 cm into the soil at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other. Then mulching is carried out with a 1 cm layer of rotted manure. To protect young seedlings from possible spring cold snaps, agrofibre is used, which is stretched over arches installed on the beds.

Caring for emerging asparagus seedlings is easy. These are watering and loosening the soil, which must be done regularly. Young plants need to be fed for the first time a couple of weeks after the seedlings have formed. To do this, take organic fertilizers: potassium humate in the amount of 2 tbsp. l. diluted in 10 liters of water. After the same amount of time, a second feeding is done, this time with complex fertilizers.

In autumn, after cutting off the above-ground parts of the plants, the ground is covered with peat, rotted manure or leaves. Asparagus remains in the nursery until next spring.

Growing asparagus seedlings at home

You can approach growing asparagus from seeds in the country in a different way. They can be sown not in beds, but in boxes, shallow and wide pots and containers, and the seedlings can be raised indoors before planting in the beds. This method allows you to get seedlings earlier than with conventional sowing, so in this case you can start sowing seeds already in early April. The method of growing asparagus at home is also convenient because it allows you to save space in the beds where you can grow early vegetables at this time. Pots and containers are small-sized and do not take up much space, so asparagus seedlings can be grown indoors, even on a windowsill.

Before sowing in pots, asparagus seeds are prepared in the manner described previously. Then they are sown in a light substrate, which consists of 2 parts of soil and 1 part of peat, manure and coarse sand, or use universal soil for seedlings. Containers are filled with soil mixtures, seeds are sown, spilled and sprinkled on top with soil or soil. The containers are covered with a piece of film or glass and left indoors at +25…+27 °C. Asparagus takes a long time to germinate - about a month and a half, which is quite normal for it, so there is no need to worry. While the asparagus seedlings are growing, they are watered, loosened, and fertilized with complex fertilizers. It is transplanted to the beds in the second half of June.

Spring planting of seedlings

In the spring, in the second year of cultivation, asparagus seedlings are transplanted to permanent place growing. It is planted in 1 or 2 rows. In the first case, you will need a plot 1 m wide, in the second - 1.7 m. The length of the ridges is arbitrary and depends on the number of seedlings. It is planted in rows every 0.4 m, leaving 0.7 m between rows. The soil on the ridges must be prepared in the fall. It is dug up to a depth of at least 0.3-0.4 m, organic matter in the form of humus is added to it in a volume of up to 20 kg per m2 and phosphorus-potassium mixtures. Acidic soils are limed with lime or chalk (0.2 kg per 1 m2). In the spring, the soil is dug up again and nitrophoska is scattered over it in the amount of 1 tbsp. l. or complex fertilizers, for example "Agricola" per 1 m 2 of nursery.

They begin work in early spring, even before the buds begin to grow. Planting ridges are prepared: 1 or 2 deep furrows are dug in their center or closer to the sides (depending on the method of forming the ridges). Their depth should be 0.4 m, width - 0.3 m. Compost is poured into the bottom in a layer of 25 cm and mounds of earth are added on top.

Asparagus seedlings are carefully dug up with a pitchfork, being careful not to damage them. Young plants should not have fibrous rhizomes - such specimens are removed. For the rest, the roots are straightened, immersed in the soil and directed downwards. The plants are lowered into the furrows so that the asparagus buds are at a depth of 0.2 m. After all the seedlings are planted, the ridges are watered.

Planting seedlings in autumn

Agricultural technology also allows for autumn planting of seedlings. In this case, it is better to prepare the area for asparagus in advance. It needs to be dug up well and fertilized with 30 g of potassium sulfate, 20 g of ammonium sulfate and 60 g of superphosphate. Difference autumn planting method of asparagus from spring is that the plants are not buried in the soil, but a mound is placed above them. The placement scheme is the same as for the spring one.

Reproduction by dividing the bush

When growing asparagus in open ground, you can resort to another propagation method. It reproduces well by dividing the bush, and they can be replanted even in the middle of summer, and not just in early spring and late autumn. You can divide the asparagus bushes into as many parts as required, it is important that at least 1 shoot remains on each piece.

It is permissible to propagate asparagus with green shoots. To do this, in March-May, small cuttings are cut from last year's asparagus shoots. They are planted in moistened sand and covered with jars or halves on top. plastic bottles to create a greenhouse effect. The cuttings are regularly sprayed with a spray bottle and ventilated every day, for which the covers are removed. Rooting of cuttings takes approximately one to one and a half months. Then the asparagus is planted in suitable sized pots.

Asparagus care

After planting, plant care consists of timely watering, loosening, fertilizing, hilling and harvesting. Asparagus plantings are watered systematically, but in small portions, because, despite the fact that it is a moisture-loving crop, asparagus does not like stagnant moisture: the roots can rot in wet soil. At the same time, overdrying the soil also does not benefit the plants: young food shoots become fibrous and rough, and this is unacceptable. The ridges are loosened after watering and heavy rains. This is done extremely carefully so as not to destroy the ridges or cut off shoots or roots.

With the onset of the third spring, an embankment up to 0.3 m high is poured onto the plantings. The soil is taken from the rows (the lumps are carefully broken up). The mounds are leveled with a rake and then the soil is compacted with a shovel. In the same spring, the gardener will be able to get the first harvest. In this way, white asparagus shoots are obtained. No mounds are made for growing greenery.

In the process of growing asparagus, it is important to pay attention to fertilizing. They begin to fertilize the plants even before planting and continue throughout the entire growing season. For the first feeding, rotted humus is used, which is incorporated into the soil in an amount of 10 kg per 1 m2. A month after this, the asparagus plants are watered with a solution of mullein (in a ratio of 1 to 5) or bird droppings (1 to 10). After the harvest is completed, which happens around the end of June, the asparagus is again fed with urea, potassium salt and superphosphate (30 g of each fertilizer will be needed per 1 m2). Simultaneously with the application of this fertilizer, the ridges are leveled and those shoots that appear after this are left to grow. This is necessary so that the bushes can grow aboveground part and store nutrients in the rhizomes for the next harvest.

The last feeding of asparagus is carried out late in the fall, after the end of the growing season, but before the onset of cold weather. First, all the shoots of the plants are cut off and the bottom of the stems are hilled up. Then the beds are covered with peat at the rate of one and a half buckets per 1 m2. At the same time, fertilizers are added - compost or 20 g of ammonium sulfate, 30 g of potassium sulfate, 60 g of superphosphate per 1 m 2 of area.

Diseases and pests

Asparagus is considered a disease-resistant plant, but it can still be affected by fungal diseases: red root rot, rust and rhizoctonia:

1. Red rot, the causative agent of which is the fungus Helicobasidium purpureum, first affects the roots and root collar of the bushes, and then the pathological process moves higher and affects the entire plant. Branches fall off from diseased bushes, and they die very quickly, and a bald spot appears in their place. The drug Fundazol is used for treatment. If the damage is severe and such measures do not help, the infected plants are simply removed and a plantation is created in a new location.
2. Rust can attack bushes in mid-summer. In most cases, asparagus growing in wet and heavy soils is susceptible to this disease. Rust manifests itself as yellowing of leaves and stunted growth of shoots. Control measures - treatment with fungicides.
3. Asparagus suffers from rhizoctonia infrequently, mainly in cases where the beds are located in the place where root crops were previously grown. To prevent this disease, bushes are treated with Fitosporin and similar fungicides.

Pests that attack asparagus are the asparagus leaf beetle and the fly. The first are black bugs, the larvae of which eat the leaves, and the second are small gray insects with yellow legs, the larvae of which not only spoil the leaves, but also make tunnels in the shoots, which is why they gradually wither and dry out. Measures to combat these pests are treatment with fungicides Fitoverm, Fufanon, Karbofos.

Harvest and storage

An asparagus bush can produce young shoots suitable for food only in the 3rd or 4th year, when the plant is sufficiently strong. You can harvest when the tops of the shoots appear from the ground. This happens in the spring in April or May, depending on the weather.

To properly harvest the crop, they rake out the soil where cracks are found or where the top of the shoot is already visible and carefully cut it off at the base with a sharp knife. You need to cut off all the shoots to stimulate the growth of new ones.

In general, cutting petioles lasts no more than 2-3 months for adult bushes and 1 month for young ones. During the harvest period, it is important not to miss the moment when the shoots reach the surface of the earth. Once on the surface, they very quickly begin to open up and become pinkish or purple, become rude. They are no longer suitable for food. It is important to remember that asparagus shoots grow very quickly - sometimes up to 10 cm per day, and the warmer it is, the more intense the growth occurs.

After the collection of shoots is completed, the ridges are unearthed and the ground is leveled. In summer, you can collect another harvest - this time of blossoming branches. They are used to decorate bouquets. Seeds for propagation are collected when they are fully ripe and turn deep red.

The vegetable should be eaten immediately after it has been picked or after a short period of storage in the refrigerator. Room temperature quickly deteriorates the taste and quality of the product. To preserve asparagus, young shoots are kept in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf in a perforated plastic bag.

To make asparagus stalks last even longer, each cut is burned on a hot stove to char it. After which, each head is wrapped in silk paper, placed in a layer in a box, sprinkled with well-dried crushed charcoal, while no asparagus should touch another, and a new layer is laid. With this storage method, it is possible to preserve the shoots almost until a new harvest.

Asparagus, or asparagus, is a crop that is quite demanding on the soil and conditions in which it is grown. In this regard, it is very important to follow agricultural practices when cultivating it and provide the plant with proper care.

Asparagus agricultural technology

Asparagus plants grow especially well in loose conditions. sandy loam soil, saturated nutrients. If the soil is not fertile enough, there is a very high risk that the shoots will be too fibrous when they ripen. Practice shows that asparagus generally does not tolerate acidic soil and nearby groundwater. At the same time, a good asparagus harvest can only be obtained if the crop is sufficiently moistened.

When answering the question of how to grow asparagus without problems, one cannot help but note the culture’s love of light. Accordingly, the planting area should be sunny. It is advisable to plant asparagus after potatoes or cereals.

Important! If the asparagus bed is located next to a fence, you can protect the seedlings from the negative influences of weeds from the street by digging a sheet of slate into the soil.

Despite the fact that for a plant such as asparagus, growing and caring for it in open ground requires a certain amount of effort, in recent years the demand for the crop has become increasingly greater.

Appearance

Reproduction

Regarding the issue of asparagus: how to plant and grow this plant, one cannot fail to mention the methods of reproduction. Most often, the crop is propagated in two ways:

• dividing the bush;
• seeds.

If you propagate asparagus by dividing the bush, the plants should be replanted as soon as spring arrives and fresh shoots begin to appear. Autumn, in principle, is also suitable, but autumn division of the bush is less common. To obtain seedlings, selected healthy and strong plants completely dug out of the soil, cut into several parts, leaving 2-3 shoots, and sent to grow in a pre-selected and prepared place. The seedlings are planted in fairly large holes so that the roots are located freely. A small amount of superphosphate, potassium chloride and humus should be placed at the bottom of the hole. A crop such as asparagus should be grown in such a way that the distance between plantings is at least half a meter.

Important! Autumn breeding should be done after the asparagus wilts, but at least a couple of weeks before the onset of frost. If winter is early, fresh seedlings will not have time to take root and will inevitably die.

When looking for an answer to the question of how to properly grow asparagus from seeds, one cannot help but mention that this particular method is used especially often. Before starting the process, it is important not to forget about pre-soaking the asparagus seeds. The seed material is wrapped in a wet cloth and placed in plastic bag and sent to a warm place for a couple of days. This procedure speeds up the seed hatching process.

Planting seeds

If the soil has managed to warm up to +10 degrees, planting asparagus seedlings from seeds can be done directly in open ground. This is done at intervals of 30 to 40 cm to a depth of no more than 4 cm. If there is even the slightest threat of frost, the seedlings should be covered with film. It will be necessary to open the bed immediately after the first shoots appear.

If you start sowing seeds when the soil has not yet warmed up well enough, it will be better if the planting does not leave the house and warmth at first. To do this, sowing is carried out in separate cups. It can be transplanted into the garden later, when there is no threat of frost.

Planting seedlings

In regions such as Siberia, the Leningrad region, the Moscow region and the Moscow region, seeds for seedlings in the spring are first planted at home and only in early summer are they moved to open ground.

Before planting, special holes are prepared on the site, the depth of which is at least 30 cm and the width is 40 cm. The distance between the holes should be slightly less than a meter. Loose soil is poured into the hole and a seedling that has managed to grow from seeds is placed in it. First, its root needs to be slightly shortened, to about 3 cm. The hole is filled with soil, lightly compacted and watered. After all the water has been absorbed into the ground, it is recommended to additionally mulch the planting site - this will significantly simplify caring for the plant. The plant will not need any more transplants - With proper care, asparagus grows in the same place for many years.

Create optimal condition Even the most inexperienced agricultural technician or gardener can grow asparagus - just periodically weed, loosen the plants and water moderately. A couple of weeks after planting, the plant requires feeding.

Asparagus care

The answer to the question of how to grow asparagus begins with finding a way to plant asparagus correctly and ends with organizing proper care for the crop. In general, caring for the crop is quite simple - the plant is unpretentious.

Loosening

It is enough to loosen to a depth of just over 5 cm. In this case, it is important to make every effort so as not to harm the root system. Proper care involves loosening at intervals of 2-3 weeks throughout the entire growing season.

Advice. During the first two years of a crop’s life, it is recommended to plant certain green crops in the inter-row spaces.

Watering

In the first two weeks after planting, it is recommended to water asparagus very generously. Over time, both the number of irrigations and the volume of water are significantly reduced. Optimally, the soil should be slightly moist at all times. If you water the plant rarely, this will affect the taste of the asparagus - it will become more bitter.

Irrigation

Top dressing

As for feeding asparagus, it must be done without fail. The slurry solution should be added to the soil in a ratio of 1:6 a couple of weeks after the first weeding. After another couple of weeks, it will not be superfluous to feed the crop with a solution of bird droppings in a ratio of 1:10. The last fertilizer is applied immediately before the onset of frost. IN in this case We are talking about complex mineral compositions.

Important! If the area was fertilized before planting asparagus in open ground, fertilizing should begin in the second year of crop growth.

Disease and pest control

Rust

This is about fungal disease, which leads to a slowdown in plant development. Typically, crops that begin to be grown in areas with soil that does not permeate moisture well or are close to groundwater are susceptible to the disease.

Note. Frequent rains also contribute to the development of rust.

Root rot

Another disease that affects asparagus is root rot. It can occur when creating the same conditions for the plant as in the case of rust - when high humidity soil.

Asparagus leaf beetle

Of the pests, the crop is most often attacked by the asparagus leaf beetle. This is a dark blue beetle that feeds on the tops, flowers and fruits of the plant. The insect appears in the spring, the peak of its invasion usually occurs in mid-summer. If the crop is affected by this pest, you can forget about the royal harvest.

Asparagus fly

Another problem that gardeners who grow asparagus face is the asparagus fly. This insect pest is a brown insect with yellow limbs that feeds on plant shoots and makes tunnels in the stem. As a result, the plant begins to bend, wither and eventually die.

Advice. Preventative spraying of plants will help protect asparagus from diseases and reap a good harvest at the end of the season. Bordeaux mixture or any other fungicide. Karbofos will help fight insects. In addition, it is strongly recommended to carefully inspect all beds and, if clutches of eggs are found on them, destroy them.

Harvesting and storing asparagus

Having figured out what asparagus is and how to grow this crop at the dacha, all that remains is to figure out how to collect the plant and its subsequent storage. You can collect shoots starting from the third year of growing the crop. The first two years will be spent on root system has become sufficiently strong. Edible shoots must be cut. This should be done in May, until the heads open. You need to rake away the soil from them in the place where a crack has formed in the ground. The stumps should be left 1 or 2 cm high. It is not strongly recommended to remove more than five shoots from one bush in the very first year of growing asparagus. This approach can significantly weaken the plant. When the crop becomes more mature, at least thirty shoots can be removed from the bush every year.

Harvesting

Homemade asparagus should be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in a slightly damp cloth. Depending on the variety, the plant will live quietly from two weeks to a month. Under no circumstances should you store foods that have a strong odor near asparagus. The plant will absorb it. The shoots must be laid vertically. Otherwise, they will become deformed.

Today, the business of growing asparagus in our country is still underdeveloped; if the crop is planted, it is only for personal use. But there is every reason to believe that the situation may change in the foreseeable future.

Asparagus can be grown in one place for more than 10 years. It is used as food for kidney diseases, gout, the cardiovascular system, and to increase tone. The shoots are very rich in vitamins and minerals, which help normalize metabolism.

Asparagus cold-resistant plant, can withstand spring frosts down to -5°C. Starts active growth at +10°C. Flowering occurs in July and fruit ripening in August. Most popular varieties asparagus - Snowy head, Dutch green, Glory of Brunswick.

Place and soil

To plant asparagus, you need to select a sunny area, protected from the wind. Prepare the soil in advance: in the fall, add rotted manure or compost and 50-60 g of superphosphate per 1 sq.m. for deep digging. In the spring, after the snow melts, harrow and fertilize wood ash(60 g per 1 sq.m.). Acidic soil is a must.

Landing

Asparagus is grown in seedlings, since sowing in open ground will not give rapid growth. Sowing seeds in April.

Place the seeds in a cloth and soak for 1 hour in a warm solution of potassium permanganate (40°C), then rinse well warm water and dry (covering with a cotton cloth is not recommended, as the roots of the seeds may become tangled). Sow in separate cups using any nutritious soil mixture, or mix garden soil with sand and peat to a depth of 2 cm at a temperature of 25-28°C. Sowing seedlings in boxes according to a 6x6 cm pattern. The distance between rows is 40 cm.

You can transplant asparagus into open ground in any month of summer. In autumn, protect from frost.

Next summer, the asparagus is transplanted to a permanent place, maintaining a distance between rows of 70-90 cm, and a distance between plants of 30-40 cm. Holes are dug 25-30 cm deep, and a mound of humus is formed at the bottom up to the edge of the hole. Straighten the asparagus roots, cut very long ones to 4-5 cm. Fill the soil, water it and compact it slightly. In autumn, cover young plants with humus or peat.

Plant seedlings between the asparagus rows so that the space is not empty.

Care

Remove weeds regularly. Water as needed; from lack of moisture, the shoots begin to dry out, and from waterlogging, the root system rots. Loosening should be carried out every time after moistening the soil.

You need to fertilize for the first time 3 weeks after planting the seedlings, using mullein diluted with water in a ratio of 1:5. After another 3 weeks, carry out the next feeding with diluted bird droppings (1:10). The last fertilizing should take place before the onset of frosts in a comprehensive manner. mineral fertilizer.

In the fall, cut off the entire above-ground part of the asparagus, leaving stems 2-5 cm high, mulch with wood chips, and compost before frost.

The shoots will grow faster, and the taste will become more delicate, if they are periodically covered with earth.

Diseases and pests. Holes in asparagus shoots indicate an attack by the asparagus fly. Such shoots slow down their growth and become unsuitable for consumption. After removing the damaged parts of the plants, burn them and treat the remaining parts with chlorophos.

Beetles on asparagus are collected by hand, knocked into a bucket with a small amount of water, and then pollinated with Pyrethrum. And also against asparagus pests (mole crickets, beetles, etc.) effective drugs are Aktelik and Fitoferm.

Shedding of branches occurs due to infection of the root collar by a fungus. The drug “Fundazol” will help cope with this disease.

New ones cannot be planted in the place where asparagus plants have died for at least 5-6 years.

Harvesting and storing asparagus

Harvesting begins after 3 years (May), cutting or breaking off shoots at the very base of the bush. Asparagus is harvested every 1-2 days for 20-40 days. In order not to reduce the yield in subsequent years, during the first three years you need to cut up to 5 asparagus shoots from one bush, then up to 16. After harvesting the asparagus, weed the rows, level them and apply complex mineral fertilizer.

Store in the refrigerator at 0-2°C.

Growing asparagus in the garden is not common. If this useful, but still very exotic vegetable is grown, it is in large farms and agricultural firms for sale. The thing is that growing this perennial crop is quite a troublesome task. First of all, you need to find suitable planting material and wait a couple of years stable harvest and be sure to follow simple but specific rules of agricultural technology.

However, it’s worth trying to grow asparagus in your garden, because this delicacy is valued by gourmets around the world for its beneficial medicinal properties.

Asparagus, or Asparagus - perennial crop which can reach the age of 20 years. We are all familiar with decorative asparagus shoots - lush, delicate green panicles, which are widely used in bouquets, successfully complementing any floral arrangement.

Along with decorative ones, there are also vegetable varieties; they practically do not differ in appearance, decorative varieties can also be eaten, but vegetable asparagus is juicier and more delicate in taste.

Asparagus is edible by young shoots that grow from the rhizome in the spring, and the green vegetative mass is not consumed as food and is needed only for photosynthesis. It is believed that it is not practical to grow asparagus from seeds - the seedlings will yield a harvest only in the third year. Therefore, it is better to plant with rhizomes (among agronomists they are called rosettes), which should be completely underground.

Growing Asparagus
If you want to grow asparagus as a vegetable plant for food, one bush will not be enough. For all its unpretentiousness, asparagus has certain preferences. The soil should warm up well. Optimal temperature for growing asparagus, 15-24 degrees Celsius.

Starting to grow asparagus is quite difficult. It is young plants that are extremely sensitive to frost. However, if you choose frost-resistant male forms of asparagus (and within each variety there are variants of female and male forms), they are much more frost-resistant, some varieties can withstand up to -30 ° C without strong shelter. Such cold-resistant forms, once rooted in a sufficiently deep trench bed, can grow for several years and produce crops from certain shoots each year.

It is very easy to distinguish male plants from female ones. Male plants do not form berries, they are better developed, have a large number of shoots, but their stems are quite thin. Female plants have thick stems, but there are significantly fewer of them.

Asparagus grows well after grains and those crops that require deep digging of the soil, such as potatoes.

In the fall, after pruning, it is useful to rake the mound to allow the roots to breathe.

Sowing asparagus seeds for seedlings
Before sowing, it is recommended to soak asparagus seeds in water at a temperature of 30-35 °C. Changing the water daily, leave the seeds for 3-5 days before biting. Then first dry the seeds and then sow them.

In March, you can sow asparagus seeds in peat-humus pots measuring 6 by 6 cm. After sowing, the pots are placed in a bright and warm place. Seedlings grown in this way are planted in open ground in early June. Do not forget to water the planted seedlings regularly.

When asparagus rosettes from several shoots begin to form on the seedlings, they can be planted at a distance of 40 cm between plants and 20 cm between ridges.

Annual seedlings are most suitable for planting. When planting older seedlings, the yield is usually lower. The seedlings should be overgrown with thick roots and 5-6 buds.

Sowing in open ground
When preparing to sow seeds, they are soaked for a couple of days; the sprouted seeds will germinate faster.

When planting in a planting trench, it must be filled with rotted manure, sprinkled with soil, and vegetable asparagus seeds can be sown on top of this soil.

Sow seeds on beds at a distance of 5-7 cm from each other. The distance between 2 ridges is about 30 cm. Then the seedlings will need to be thinned out, leaving the strongest plants to create a 20 by 40 pattern, and removing the weak ones.

Preparing the area for asparagus
For asparagus, you should choose an area that is open, well-lit, heated and sheltered from the wind - this way the shoots will begin to form faster. Asparagus is contraindicated if it is close to groundwater. The depth of their level should be at least 1.4 m.

In addition, asparagus requires large quantity organics. From autumn it is recommended to apply approx. 6 kg of humus per 1 sq. m, and on sandy soils even more: 1-2 buckets.

Soil for asparagus
Asparagus can't stand it acidic soils. Therefore, it is imperative to enrich and lim the soil in the fall for spring asparagus seedlings. Also, the area for asparagus must first be cleared of perennial weeds and old rhizomes. A light soil texture is considered ideal for asparagus. It will not be superfluous to make sure that there are no fusarium pathogens on your site.

Asparagus can be grown flush with the soil surface by filling special trenches with dense, nutritious humus compost. But if groundwater is too close, then better than ridges raise 10-15 cm above the soil level.

Asparagus beds
In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, they dig up the ground and make beds. The width of the bed should be approx. 1 m, the distance between them is left at least 40 cm. If the area is high and dry, ridges need not be made. Since the root system of asparagus penetrates deeply, it requires deep digging when preparing the soil. The processing depth can reach 1 m.

Planting asparagus in trenches
It is advisable to plant asparagus from north to south. Planting is carried out with rhizomes to a depth of 12-24 cm.

To plant asparagus you need to prepare landing hole or a trench with a flat bottom 30 cm deep and 50 cm wide. The excavated soil remains along the edges of the furrow in the form of a shaft. Then the bottom of the furrow is dug up again, covering it with manure or compost (if you didn’t add organic matter in the fall). Then, at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, mounds approximately 10 cm high are raked at the bottom of the furrow and the rhizome is “sat” on them, directing the roots down and evenly distributing them on all sides of the mound. The asparagus head, located 10 cm below the soil surface, is covered with the roots with a 5 cm layer of soil and lightly pressed. Seedlings must be planted in moist soil. If planting is done in pots, then they need to be carefully placed on mounds.

The planting density is from 3 to 5 plants per 1 linear meter. Optimum row spacing approx. 2 m.

Whether you need to form a ridge depends on whether you want white or green asparagus. Their color will depend on where the shoots form: underground they turn out white, and on the surface they turn out green. White ones are more valuable, but they are more difficult to grow, collect and store.

If you want to get white asparagus, you need to form a ridge 6-8 cm high immediately after planting, and raise it to 60 cm in early spring of next year. Green asparagus is grown on a flat surface.

Caring for asparagus consists of constantly raking the soil, regular weeding and watering.

Watering and loosening asparagus
Despite the fact that asparagus does not like close groundwater, it is sensitive to watering, since during drought the shoots become bitter in taste, rough and fibrous. Do not allow the soil under the asparagus to dry out; constantly carry out deep irrigation, especially during the dry period and on young plantings, until the plants have formed a deep root system.

After heavy rainfall, it will be useful to carry out surface loosening to prevent the formation of a soil crust, which impedes the plant’s breathing. In addition, a dense crust on the surface can interfere with the germination of young asparagus seedlings.

However, be careful: deep loosening can damage the roots and fragile shoots of asparagus. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to dig up asparagus plantings with a pitchfork; it is better to use a wooden roller specially adapted for loosening asparagus with nails driven in no more than 2 cm long. With such a roller you can roll the surface of the mound where the asparagus grows several times - this will be enough for the plant to breathe normally. grew again.

Fertilizing asparagus
Asparagus loves fertile soils and needs good nutrition. To get thick, juicy sprouts, you need to feed it quite often. organic fertilizers over the summer with manure and herbal infusions.

A bucket of compost humus for 1 plant will improve the taste and appearance asparagus The sprouts become whiter, bleached, and taste more tender. It is best to carry out such fertilizing in the fall, but it can also be done in May, when the first shoots already appear. You need to pour a mound of humus onto the ridge, using approximately 1 bucket per 1 plant.

Asparagus grows well under a layer of humus soil - the shoots will be bleached (they are also called etiolated).

The nitrogen requirement of asparagus is quite low, so intensive fertilizing is not necessary. nitrogen fertilizers. It is good if the soil is equally enriched with both macro and microelements. Deficiency of elements such as copper, borax, and potassium negatively affects the ability of asparagus to form juicy shoots

Every spring and autumn it is necessary to feed asparagus with organic matter and mineral fertilizers: add potassium, phosphorus and calcium. If necessary, shoots are mulched with humus or manure with soil. After fertilizing, the soil must be watered.

In autumn, under one- and two-year-old plants and fruit-bearing plantings, it is advisable to add superphosphate and 40% potassium salt at the rate of 300-500 g and 250-350 g, respectively, per 10 square meters. m. After applying fertilizer, the soil between the rows should be carefully loosened so as not to touch the roots and seedlings of asparagus.

Diseases and pests of asparagus
It is not recommended to grow asparagus in one place for more than 4 years; the plants begin to be affected by a specific asparagus disease - purple root rot. By growing asparagus in crop rotation with regular replanting of rosettes, this disease can be avoided. You should also carefully monitor the cleanliness planting material. Therefore, asparagus plantings should be regularly rejuvenated by digging up and discarding old plants and planting new plants obtained from seeds in a new place.

When to Harvest Asparagus
It is better not to touch the plant for the first two years so that it develops a good root system - when the roots are strong, they will lay down thick, juicy shoots. Asparagus is harvested when the sprouts are 12-20 cm long.

In warm weather, asparagus spears grow very quickly, and if you want bleached spears, you will have to cut them every morning and afternoon. The more seedlings you cut, the better - new ones grow more actively.

To harvest, use a sharp knife or pruning shears, scrape away the soil to reach the bleached parts of the shoots and cut out this tight escape leaving a small stump. Then the soil is raked again, adding humus compost to it.

Asparagus - perennial herbaceous plant asparagus family. Since ancient times, the crop was grown as a medicinal plant, and a little later the tender sprouts began to be eaten. This delicious vegetable has long been intended for the nobility, its taste is so delicate and pleasant. It is possible that this is why asparagus was dubbed royal.

Description of asparagus

The value of asparagus lies not only in the content of a large amount of vitamins and beneficial macro- and microelements, but also in the fact that it is an early vegetable crop. Young asparagus sprouts are the first to appear in our gardens, and this usually happens in April. Shoots of milky ripeness taste like green pea
. Asparagus can be boiled, baked, steamed or added to salads - it is good in any form.

In early spring, asparagus shoots are the first to appear in the garden beds. In addition to practical benefits, asparagus is also an ornamental plant. Tall bushes with heavily dissected leaves resemble Christmas trees and are sometimes planted by gardeners not in special beds, but in flower beds

. Florists use beautiful asparagus panicles when arranging bouquets - the delicate greenery goes well with flowers and retains a fresh look for a long time.

Planted in a flowerbed among flowers, asparagus enlivens the composition The point is not in the varieties, as it might seem, but in the timing of collection and methods of cultivation. If asparagus grows in a regular bed, we get green sprouts. To grow white or purple shoots, asparagus is hilled up, depriving it of sunlight, but in the first case this is done immediately, and in the second - when the shoots stretch out slightly and turn green.
Applying various ways growing, you can get asparagus sprouts of different colors

Growing methods

Asparagus is usually grown from seeds - in this case, the first harvest can be obtained in the third year. When planting ready-made seedlings or root cuttings, the time is significantly reduced, and the first shoots will appear already next spring.

Sowing seeds for seedlings

Before sowing, asparagus seeds are soaked for two days in a solution of Epin or another biostimulant. Considering the difficulty of seed germination, this measure will not be superfluous. You can start sowing at the end of March or in April. The soil for asparagus should be light and breathable. You can use store-bought soil for seedlings, adding sand and vermiculite to it in a ratio of 5:1:1. Instead of vermiculite, coconut substrate is often used.

Sowing seeds in a container:

1. Fill the planting container with prepared soil and lightly compact it.
2. Place the seeds on the surface at a distance of 3–4 cm from each other.
3. Sprinkle the seeds with a layer of soil no more than 1 cm and press lightly.
4. Moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
5. Cover the container with film and place in a bright, warm place.

The main conditions for germination are warmth and humidity. Condensation will accumulate on the film, so the container with seeds must be ventilated every day. At an air temperature of at least 25 o C, seedlings will appear in about a month and a half.
Six weeks after sowing, lacy asparagus shoots appear

Planting seedlings in open ground

For asparagus, choose a sunny, flood-free place with fertile, light soils. On poor soils, compost or manure (one bucket is enough for 1m2) and complex mineral fertilizers are first applied. If the soil on the site is heavy and clayey, add sand for digging. It is advisable to carry out all these events in the fall.

If you plan to plant asparagus seedlings in the fall, then instead of complex mineral fertilizers, apply phosphorus-potassium or nutrient mixtures marked “autumn.” The fact is that the nitrogen contained in complex fertilizers, stimulates the growth of shoots, but in the fall it is undesirable. At this time, the shoots must ripen and the root system strengthen, so phosphorus and potassium are what you need.

You can plant seedlings in open ground from the second half of June. By this time, the soil has time to warm up, and the possibility of return frosts is unlikely. The fertilized deoxidized area is dug up well, removing clods of earth and roots of weeds.
Grown asparagus bushes are ready for planting in open ground

It is more convenient to plant seedlings in trenches at least 30 cm deep. Asparagus grows in one place for about 20 years, growing both in height and width. Therefore, if in the future it is not intended to replant the grown plants, then the seedlings are placed 35–40 cm from each other. The distance between rows is 1 m or more.

Landing rules:

1. Mounds of fertile soil are placed in the dug trench.
2. The roots of the seedling are straightened over the mound so that they are directed downward, without bends. Long roots are shortened, leaving 4–5 cm.
3. Sprinkle the roots with soil and lightly squeeze.
4. The trench is spilled with water and the planting is mulched with peat or rotted sawdust.

Sowing seeds in open ground in spring

Asparagus can also be grown by direct sowing in open ground. The bed is prepared in the same way as for planting seedlings, but instead of trenches, grooves 4–5 cm deep are made. At the end of May, the seeds are soaked for a day in a biostimulator for quick and reliable germination. Sowing is carried out in a prepared bed, placing the seeds in grooves. If there are a lot of seeds, it is advisable to sow them thicker, since not all of them will sprout, and the excess can later be cut out with scissors. Sprinkle the furrows with a small layer of soil, compact and water. After the water is absorbed, mulch the bed. Asparagus seeds take a long time to germinate, so it is advisable to cover the bed with agrofibre - this will prevent moisture loss and speed up the emergence of seedlings.

Video: sowing asparagus for seedlings

Reproduction by dividing the bush

The easiest way to propagate asparagus is by dividing the bush. This procedure can be carried out in spring, autumn, and even in summer, if there is no extreme heat. The dug out bush is divided into parts so that each section has one sprout. This is usually done with your hands or, if that doesn’t work, use a sharp knife. Separated plants are planted in trenches in the same way as seedlings obtained from seeds - at the same time and according to the same scheme.
The preferred method of propagating asparagus is by dividing the bush

Using the same principle, asparagus is propagated by dividing the rhizomes. This is usually done in the spring, before new shoots grow. Dig up the root and divide it into parts so that each has a bud. The cuttings are planted in the described way - in trenches on mounds.

Parts of asparagus rhizomes are planted on a hill

Parts of asparagus rhizomes are planted on a hill

Caring for asparagus in open ground Planted plants need to be kept moist, especially at first.

When the seedlings take root and become stronger, watering can be reduced, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Mulch will help keep the soil moist. In addition, the mulched area does not need to be loosened, and weeding is purely symbolic in nature - to remove individual blades of grass that have emerged.
In the first year until autumn, it is not advisable to prune asparagus shoots so as not to interfere with the full development of the bush. The first edible sprouts will appear in small quantities next spring, and in the third year you can harvest.

If you don’t trim asparagus shoots in the year of planting, then by next summer they will be beautiful mature bushes.

Fertilizing If the bed was well fertilized when planting asparagus, then fertilizing is not needed in the first year. Young plants begin to be fed from the second year. In early spring, dry nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium mixtures are scattered between the plants and the soil is loosened well. Then, until mid-summer, feed once every two weeks. green fertilizer

or mullein infusion. At the end of summer, fertilize with autumn mineral fertilizer, which can be applied dry or prepared in an aqueous solution according to the instructions.

Preparing the plant for winter To protect asparagus from freezing, the bed must be properly prepared for winter.

I planted my first asparagus about 20 years ago. We didn’t have the Internet then and I, as a novice gardener, knew nothing about this plant. I saw seeds of something new on sale and bought them. There is minimal information on the bag - I only found out that edible sprouts will appear in the second or third year. I sowed the seeds directly into the garden bed, without any special tricks - one row and that’s it. For a long time no shoots appeared, and I managed to happily forget that I had such seeds. Closer to the middle of summer, I saw a row of slender fir trees of a soft green color and began to think what it could be - I had never seen asparagus shoots before. I remembered when the bushes grew, at the same time it became clear with what greenery the grandmothers used to decorate simple bouquets of their gladioli. By autumn, the bushes had grown and were already about a meter high, with 5–6 shoots each. In the fall, I cut off all the greens and my asparagus went into the winter without any hilling or insulation. No frost had any effect on my plants, and in the spring we picked the first shoots. The first time I tried this plant was from my own garden; before that I didn’t even know the taste. Pleasant, tender greens - we didn’t cook any dishes, we just ate fresh, slightly sweet, pea-like sprouts. Since then, we have had asparagus in our garden and this is the very first plant that we harvest in the spring.

Growing asparagus does not require special knowledge and is not difficult even for beginners. The only problem is waiting for the harvest. It’s more common for us to plant seeds in the spring and get our vegetables in the summer. Asparagus takes three years to grow, but it doesn't have to be planted every year. With minimal care, the plant will delight the eye and enrich the owner’s menu for many years. This is the advantage of a perennial culture.