How to Grow Indian Kalimeris
Indian kalimeris (Kalimeris indica), also known as Indian aster, red-stemmed vegetable, or chicken intestine herb, is a perennial herb of the genus Kalimeris in the Asteraceae family. It is called "Indian kalimeris head" because people pick its tender tips for eating. It tastes fresh and delicious, helps clear heat and reduce internal fire, and is a fairly commonly eaten wild vegetable. It is also easy to cultivate and high-yielding, bringing farmers considerable income, so many people grow it. So how do you grow it? Let's take a look.
1. Choosing and Preparing the Land
Indian kalimeris mostly grows wild on roadsides, in fields, and on hillsides. It is widely adaptable, prefers a warm climate, and is fairly shade-tolerant, with extremely strong cold and heat resistance. It is not strict about light and can tolerate low temperatures of minus 10 degrees and high temperatures of 32 degrees. Therefore, choose a plot with loose, fertile, moist soil and convenient drainage and irrigation. Before planting, deep-plow the soil and expose it to the sun for one month, then apply base fertilizer. Propagation can be carried out in autumn from August to September.
2. Propagation
Indian kalimeris can be propagated by sowing seeds or by rhizomes. Sowing is done after the Beginning of Spring. With the sowing method, scatter the seeds evenly over the ground, and seedlings generally emerge 15 days after sowing. However, because the seeds are relatively difficult to collect, rhizome propagation is chosen in production. From August to September, dig up robust plants from the wild or from artificial cultivation together with their rhizomes, taking care not to damage the root system. Using the hole-planting method, lay the dug rhizomes flat in the holes, cover with a layer of decomposed organic fertilizer, then cover with a 3-5 cm layer of soil, firm it down and water, and they will survive in 5-7 days.
3. Field Management
After planting, pay attention to the wet and dry condition of the soil. If drought occurs, water frequently to keep the soil moist until seedlings emerge. When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, apply a topdressing of thin fertilizer water once. When the seedlings grow to 5-8 true leaves, thin and fill in the seedlings, and control the plant and row spacing of the seedlings. Indian kalimeris seedlings are relatively few and easily mix with weeds, so weeding is key. It is best to pull weeds by hand to keep production pollution-free.
4. Pests and Diseases
Indian kalimeris rarely suffers insect pests during cultivation, but due to the influence of surrounding crops, cabbage caterpillars may appear and gnaw the leaves, so after harvesting, use pesticides for control. As a wild vegetable, Indian kalimeris also has extremely strong disease resistance, but gray mold occasionally occurs, which can be controlled with the pesticide diethofencarb.
The above is an introduction to how to grow Indian kalimeris. We hope it helps you. For more related growing knowledge, please stay tuned to us.