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Growing Green Crops From Spring To Autumn
Growing Green Crops From Spring To Autumn

Video: Growing Green Crops From Spring To Autumn

Video: Growing Green Crops From Spring To Autumn
Video: 15 Vegetables YOU MUST Grow in FALL or AUTUMN 2024, March
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Most gardeners sow green leafy crops (in particular, lettuce, spinach, leafy turnips, etc.) only in the spring, and, as a rule, in open ground. Then, in the turmoil of affairs, they completely forget about these cultures. For some reason, many gardeners do not remember the possibility of growing all sorts of salads and other greens at the very beginning of spring, when there is still snow everywhere, but in greenhouses, with a strong desire, crops can already be carried out.

As a result, it is possible to feast on valuable greens for a short time - only in late spring and early summer. And it is a pity, because salad green cultures are tasty, low-calorie and rich in a wide variety of minerals and vitamins. Therefore, I think it makes sense to make certain efforts to maximize the period of consumption of such products. How to do it? It's just that in early spring, in addition to open ground, greenhouse and greenhouse areas should be actively used, and later, crops should be sown (of course, mainly in open ground) repeatedly and in small batches, choosing varieties taking into account the sowing time, the duration of daylight hours (which is important for a number of green) and some other individual characteristics.

Features of agricultural technology for green crops

Leafy turnips quickly form powerful greens
Leafy turnips quickly form powerful greens

Leafy turnips quickly form powerful greens

Early spring sowing of greenery

In early spring, greenhouse areas are still free, and it makes sense to use them to get the earliest production, since the greens sown in time or even planted with seedlings will have time to give a normal harvest. This method will allow you to receive, in addition to cucumbers and tomatoes, a large amount of valuable green products, which the body needs so much in the spring, and it is offered in stores and markets at impressive prices (and its quality does not inspire much confidence there).

When growing early spring greens in greenhouses and greenhouses, preference is given to early ripening varieties and for most crops thickened sowing is usually practiced (and often seeds are sown altogether). To accelerate the formation of the crop, they often resort to soaking and germinating seeds, and in some cases they even grow a number of green seedlings (of course, in limited quantities).

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For example, good results are obtained by germinating dill, which, when sown with dry seeds, emerges very slowly - germination, in fact, allows you to accelerate the harvest by about a couple of weeks, since sowing is carried out at home at a temperature of 20 … 22 ° C. To do this, around the middle of April (a week before the expected sowing), you should wet the usual sawdust and spread them in a thin layer (0.5 cm) in low containers. Then, on a layer of sawdust, you need to distribute the seeds (it is possible for the thickness of three seeds) and cover them with the same layer of sawdust. After that, the containers are placed in slightly opened plastic bags. After about a week, the seeds begin to hatch and white roots will appear. Then they immediately start sowing, evenly scattering the dill seeds along with sawdust over the greenhouse area allocated for this culture,and sprinkle crops with a thin layer of soil.

To speed up the production of spinach, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce and borage, they can also be sown with soaked (for 1-2 days) or sprouted seeds. It's not bad even to resort to growing seedlings, which will allow you to get marketable greens about three weeks earlier - in this case, the seeds are sown separately in cassettes or in boxes with sawdust at some distance from each other. Sprouted seeds are sprinkled with soil only after intensive pecking. Seedlings are planted in hotbeds and greenhouses when one or two true leaves appear. You should not delay planting seedlings sown on sawdust, as the plants will begin to experience a lack of nitrogen.

As for such early maturing salad plants as leaf turnip, leaf mustard and garden cress, their seeds are usually not soaked (that is, sown dry), since all these crops sprout very quickly. Although, if desired, soaking on sawdust is quite possible (at least, I have practiced it more than once), and it naturally allows you to get some gain in time (about 5-7 days). In this case, seeds are sown together with sawdust scattered.

Peking cabbage manages to form good rosettes in the greenhouse
Peking cabbage manages to form good rosettes in the greenhouse

Peking cabbage manages to form

good rosettes in the greenhouse

Summer Autumn Green Conveyor

The agricultural technique for growing leafy greens is generally the same and, at first glance, does not change depending on the sowing time. In other words, during summer sowing, such requirements as a high level of soil fertility, regular watering, loosening and weeding remain in force. Also, the generally accepted norms for the size of the food area do not change - of course, their own for each specific culture.

At the same time (that is, despite the fact that the general principles of agricultural technology are the same for both spring and summer crops), there are some nuances in relation to the latter.

First, for many green crops, it is important to choose the right time for re-sowing (often, taking into account specific varieties), since not all salad greens are successful in the hot summer period.

Secondly, it is necessary to pay increased attention to controlling the level of soil moisture, since with a lack of moisture, many green crops quickly discard flower stems, coarse and most of them become unsuitable (or completely unusable) for consumption. However, watering should be moderate, since excess moisture promotes the spread of rot, which many greens can be affected at all stages of development.

Thirdly, in the summer, more delicate and tasty greens do not grow in the open air, but under the covering material, so if possible, crops should be covered. In addition, the covering material will also extend the growing season, which is more than relevant when autumn comes.

In principle, re-sowing of salad green crops can be carried out throughout the season, albeit with some reservations, since some of the green crops react poorly to hot weather. In general, the last date for sowing green crops in central Russia is August 15-25 (depending on the specific leaf crop and region). For late sowing, only early ripening varieties are suitable, which can be harvested approximately 4-6 weeks after sowing. It is possible to sow green crops on any sown areas that are free after harvesting - both in the open field and in greenhouses or in greenhouses.

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Most popular green crops

Lettuce seedlings
Lettuce seedlings

Lettuce seedlings

Salad

Salads can be conditionally divided into two categories - leaf and head, however, in the group of head salads, romaine lettuce (synonym: Roman salad) is often distinguished as a separate group, which forms loose heads of elongated cabbage. Sometimes in the group of cabbage salads, semi-cabbage varieties are also distinguished, which, in my opinion, is not particularly important, since the agricultural technology of both those and others is exactly the same, and the differences lie only in the density of the head.

Lettuce is more often used for early spring crops in closed and open ground. And this is understandable, because at high temperatures and a lack of moisture, such a salad quickly fades into color. However, it can also be sown in summer - every 7-10 days (until the end of August). For June and July crops, preference should be given to varieties that are resistant to flowering, but any varieties are suitable for sowing in August.

Unlike lettuce salads, heads of cabbage are easier to tolerate high temperatures and are not so prone to flowering, although in heat and with a lack of moisture, heads of cabbage are formed loose and weak. As a rule, early ripening varieties of head lettuce (growing season 40–50 days) can turn into color faster, so they should not be sown in the hot summer period (these salads are sown from the first half of April to May). Mid-season (50-60 days) and late varieties (70-80 days) are usually sown from April to mid-June. For June crops, it is better to choose varieties that are resistant to flowering. As for autumn consumption, early ripening and mid-season varieties, which are sown at the end of July, are quite suitable. The choice in favor of one or the other depends on the region and weather conditions in a particular summer.

Romaine lettuce is resistant to high temperatures, so this type of salad can be safely sown not only in spring, but also in summer - until mid-July, which will allow you to feast on it until cold snaps, since it can withstand short-term drops in temperature up to 5 ° C. In addition, this salad can be grown without problems in heated greenhouses in the fall.

When growing lettuce salads, thickened sowing is more often practiced, while head salads and romaine lettuce provide a much larger area of nutrition. For early-ripening varieties of head lettuce, the distance between plants in a row and between rows should be at least 20 cm, for mid-ripening - 25 cm, late-ripening and romaine lettuce - at least 30 cm.

Spinach of August sowing
Spinach of August sowing

Spinach of August sowing

Spinach

According to a variety of modern studies, spinach is one of the healthiest green crops. It is a real storehouse of vitamins and microelements, which are largely preserved in it even in boiled form. Spinach forms small rosettes of 6–10 basal leaves (they are eaten) and an erect stem.

The varietal composition of spinach is not rich, depending on the variety, the appearance of the leaves is different - they can be matte and glossy, have varying degrees of wrinkling and differ in color, which varies from light green to dark and even gray-green. Some varieties are unstable to flowering. For even production in the spring-summer period, spinach is sown at several times - usually from early March to mid-May. Sowing is also possible in the 2nd and 3rd decades of August, when daylight hours are shortened and the heat subsides, but this is possible not in every region and not in every summer. For late spring, and even more so, summer crops, only varieties that are resistant to flowering are suitable, since this plant does not tolerate heat well, and varieties that are unstable to flowering at temperatures above 20 ° C can throw out flower arrows. Spinach is sown in an ordinary way with row spacing of 20 cm, in a row the seeds are distributed at a distance of 5-8 cm.

Dill

Dill, of course, does not need advertising. It should only be said that the quantity and quality of the greens obtained from this culture very much depends on the variety. For example, traditional varieties (that is, Gribovsky and Lesnogorodsky) belong to the category of weakly leafy and quickly move to flowering.

Strongly leafy and bushy varieties of dill grow much more than traditional varieties, they later throw out the flower arrow (since they do not have such a pronounced reaction to lengthening daylight hours), which ensures a longer period of consumption of fresh herbs. To obtain greenery, bush dill (varieties Buyan, Salut, Alligator, Richelieu and others) is more promising, which has a thicker and more powerful bush with a base of 5-6 closely spaced internodes (and not from 1-2, as usual) and forms lateral shoots growing out of the sinuses. As a result, it is possible to collect greens from bush varieties for a longer period.

In order to have on the table fragrant and rich in vitamins and essential oil dill greens until late autumn, you have to sow it many times during the season and in different versions. It is wiser to carry out spring crops in a greenhouse or greenhouse, summer crops (that is, for late summer and autumn consumption) - in open ground. For late sowing, it is better to use seeds soaked for 2-3 days or even germinated, since dill takes a long time to sprout and grows rather slowly. There are no restrictions on the timing of sowing for dill, however, for late summer sowing, preference should be given to early ripening traditional varieties (for example, Gribovsky).

Dill of traditional varieties is usually sown thickened - often without observing any rows at all (randomly), sowing on ridges or even sections of ridges freed from other crops. At the same time, the so-called highly leafy and bush varieties of dill are sown less often - in rows with row spacing of 15–20 cm.

Leafy turnip and leafy mustard

These lettuce plants are not very well known, but they are a real treasure for gardeners, because they are capable of very quickly (much faster than lettuce and spinach) form tasty, slightly sweet salad greens in cold climates. Therefore, these crops are indispensable for growing in a cool period - first of all, in early spring. These plants do not tolerate hot weather - they quickly throw away flower stalks and coarse and therefore turn out to be unsuitable for human consumption. And it is no coincidence that they are most often sown in the spring - in April-May.

It is not difficult to grow leafy turnips and leafy mustard, but it should be remembered that these crops are from the cruciferous family, which means that they are susceptible to such a disease as keela and are very loved by traditional cabbage pests (primarily the cruciferous flea). Therefore, crops must be covered with covering material.

It is possible to sow leafy turnips and leafy mustard both randomly and in the traditional ordinary way, forming rows every 10 cm. When 1-3 true leaves appear, young plants are thinned out so that the interval between them is about 15 cm.

Delicate borago leaves taste very good
Delicate borago leaves taste very good

Delicate borago leaves taste very good

Borago

Borago (cucumber herb or borage) is now a little-known salad plant, which, in addition to its outstanding taste advantages, is also widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of ailments. As a rule, young leaves (which have a very delicate taste and strong cucumber smell) are used for food in the cucumber herb, replacing them with more whimsical greens in the culture, in particular, spinach. However, in countries where borago is very popular, shoots and flowers are also used - the latter, for example, have a sweetish honey taste and are very good for flavoring drinks (punch, punch, wine, table vinegar) and bakery and confectionery products.

It is worth noting that it is much easier to get fresh borage greens in the summer-autumn period than greens of lettuce and spinach, since borage can more easily tolerate high temperatures.

For this plant, both early spring sowing and sowing are possible throughout the growing season at certain intervals. How often to sow is a matter of taste. If borage is grown to obtain flowering plants (and they too, and can be eaten with flowers), then there is no need for repeated crops. However, very young plants have a more delicate taste, which can be used for salads already at the stage of appearance of 1-2 true leaves - in this case, sowing is carried out about 15-18 days, starting in early spring and ending in late autumn. To obtain young borago greenery, seeds are sown according to the scheme 15-20x15-20 cm; a more compacted sowing of seeds is also possible, scattering with subsequent thinning - the pulled out plants are used for food. When it comes to obtaining flowering borage plants,then a large feeding area is required with distances between plants of about 45-55 cm.

Purslane

An equally interesting green salad plant is the vegetable purslane.(or dandur), which, alas, is little known in Russia, although it grows well in our climatic conditions. Young shoots, leaves and even flowers are eaten. Juicy purslane greens have a pleasant aroma and a slightly pungent sour taste, giving a sensation of freshness. That is why fresh purslane perfectly quenches thirst, stimulates appetite and increases vitality. As a medicinal plant, purslane has been widely known in folk medicine since the times of Hippocrates and Avicenna. Since purslane is thermophilic, it is better to sow it with seedlings in a greenhouse or greenhouse in the spring and then plant part of the plants on the garden allotted to it, and use others for food purposes. To extend the season of consumption of fresh purslane, repeated crops are carried out throughout the summer until mid-August. Purslane is usually sown quite densely in a row with aisles of 50-60 cm,and in the phase of 1-2 true leaves, the plants are thinned out, leaving the seedlings in a row at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other.

Rucola

RucolaIs another interesting salad plant, known since the times of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, where it was considered an aphrodisiac. It is widely used in Mediterranean and Arabic cuisines as salad and spice culture. Has a unique mustard-nut-pepper taste and spicy aroma. For uniform production of green arugula in the spring-summer-autumn period, it is sown at several times and over a sufficiently long period - they often resort to staged sowing after two to four weeks, which allows to ensure continuous production of young greens. To obtain early greenery, it is more reasonable to sow arugula in a greenhouse or greenhouse for the first time, later it is sown in open ground. Then, for the period from early June to late July-early August (exact dates vary depending on the region), you need to forget about crops,because in conditions of a long day and hot weather, rucola is highly susceptible to flowering. At the end of the hot period, it will be possible to start sowing again and sow this crop in Central Russia until the first decade of September.

Arugula is sown in an ordinary way with row spacing of 30-40 cm, in a row the seeds are distributed at a distance of 5-8 cm. When the plants are closed (in the phase of one or two true leaves), the crops are thinned so that the remaining specimens in the rows are at a distance of 8-10 cm apart. Plants torn out during thinning are eaten, if desired, they can be used as seedlings.

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