The Latest Asparagus Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Asparagus is a herbaceous plant in the Liliaceae family, genus Asparagus, and is widely distributed in China. At present, some wild resources still exist in the Xinjiang region of China, while other areas are mostly cultivated artificially. Asparagus is both a vegetable and a medicinal herb; when used as a vegetable, it is mainly harvested at the young shoot stage. So, do you know how to grow asparagus? What is the process for planting asparagus? Today let us learn about asparagus planting techniques together.
1. Soil and Fertilizer Management
Asparagus has strong resistance and is generally very easy to grow; the survival rate of cultivation can basically reach over 95 percent. Asparagus has good adaptability to the environment, and ordinary planting sites can be used to grow asparagus. However, if you want asparagus to grow well, with good yield and good quality, then the planting site soil should be fertile, rich in organic matter, with abundant water sources, uncontaminated soil, deep soil layers, good aeration, strong water and fertilizer retention capacity, and sufficient sunlight. Note that the previous crop must not be a Liliaceae plant, and do not plant in heavy clay soil. Before land preparation, spread sufficient farmyard manure, with the amount controlled at around 1,000 kg, together with around 20 kg of compound fertilizer for land preparation. Deep plowing is required, break up the soil clods finely, then open furrows and make beds, and level the bed surface.
2. Propagation Methods
We should select excellent asparagus seeds and also carry out seed soaking and germination promotion. Because asparagus seeds are relatively hard and have poor water absorption capacity, we should soak the seeds in warm water at around 30 degrees Celsius for two days. During the soaking process, generally change the water once a day, and rinse once daily with clean water to avoid seed rot. During the germination promotion process, if about 10 percent of the asparagus seeds show white sprouts, we can sow them, which is also one difference from germinating other crops. Sowing is generally done by direct seeding and drilling; scatter the seeds evenly in the field, then cover with soil to bury the seeds, water once, and wait for the seeds to sprout.
3. Cultivation Techniques
After the asparagus seeds sprout, when the seedlings grow to around 15 cm, we can carry out thinning and final planting as well as transplanting. The density should be controlled at around 40 cm between rows and around 25 cm between plants. After the transplants survive, soil should be earthed up twice, respectively at around half a month after survival and around one month after survival. When earthing up, clear away the weeds growing in the field. When the seedlings grow to around 12 cm, carry out the first topdressing, mainly with cake fertilizer. Later topdressing should be based on the growth condition of the asparagus, but the last fertilization is before the annual Frost's Descent, which can improve the resistance of asparagus so that it can overwinter safely. Also, during topdressing, we should still apply more organic fertilizer and use chemical fertilizer as little as possible. Finally, we should keep the soil moist. In high-temperature and drought seasons, water in time, while in low-temperature or rainy weather, water less and drain promptly.
4. Pest and Disease Control
The main diseases of asparagus are anthracnose, brown spot disease and rust disease. These three diseases cause the greatest harm during the growth of asparagus, so after finding diseased plants, burn them promptly and disinfect the soil. Before the disease occurs and in the early stage of disease occurrence, we can use anthracnose thiram wettable powder, benomyl wettable powder, and flusilazole emulsifiable concentrate respectively for control, spraying once every week, generally two to three times is enough. The most common pests are aphids, red spiders and white grubs. When pests are found, catch and kill them promptly, or use low-toxicity insecticides to kill the pests.
Growing asparagus is actually very simple. Generally, as long as we plant according to the planting process above, there will basically be no major problems. Of course, there are also some detailed management techniques that need to be understood. If you are interested, you can follow us.