A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods of Crown Daisy

Crown daisy is fresh, fragrant, tender and crisp, with the clear scent of mugwort and the sweet fragrance of chrysanthemum. Its carotene content exceeds that of ordinary vegetables, being 1.5 to 30 times that of cucumber and eggplant. It is cultivated in all parts of our country, so what are the cultivation techniques for crown daisy?

1. Land selection and soil preparation

For land used to cultivate crown daisy, it is best to choose sandy loam soil, and convenient irrigation conditions are required. After selecting the land, plow and turn the soil, and apply a small amount of dried manure as base fertilizer, mix it evenly with the topsoil, and make a flat bed 1.4~1.5 m wide, ready for sowing.

2. Sowing

Crown daisy cultivation mainly uses broadcast sowing or drilling. After sowing, cover with about 1 cm of soil, rake level and press firm. Spring sowing is generally between March and April, autumn sowing between August and September, and winter sowing between November and December. Small-leaf varieties are suitable for dense planting and require a large amount of seed, 2~2.50 kg per mu; large-leaf varieties have many side branches and a wide spread, require less seed, about 1 kg per mu.

3. Field management

1. Temperature

The suitable growth temperature for crown daisy is 17~20°C. When sowing in early spring, the weather is still relatively cold and is accompanied by late spring cold spells, so after sowing it is necessary to cover the bed surface with plastic film or old greenhouse film, press the edges firmly with soil to protect against cold and preserve heat, and uncover the film before the seedlings emerge and push against it when the weather turns warmer. When cultivating under protection and the temperature exceeds 25°C, open the ventilation openings to release air.

2. Thinning and weeding

When the seedlings grow to about 10 cm, thin small-leaf varieties to a spacing of 3~5 cm between plants and rows, and thin large-leaf varieties to about 20 cm square, while removing weeds.

3. Watering and fertilizing

Start watering after the seedlings emerge. The timing and frequency of watering should be handled flexibly, with the standard being to keep the soil moist. Apply a quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer once 10~15 days before each harvest, with 15 kg of potassium nitrate and about 8 kg of urea per mu.

For harvesting, crown daisy generally grows for 40~50 days, and can be harvested when the plants are about 20 cm tall. If multiple harvests are desired, use a sharp knife to cut it at about 3 cm above the base of the main stem, and tie the cut tender stems and leaves into small bundles of 0.5 kg for market sale. After cutting, the old stubble left behind should be top-dressed and watered in time, and another crop can be harvested after 1 month.