Under the greens in Russian cuisine most often refers to dill, cockerel, and green onions. That is, these are green herbs that are seasonings.
Despite the apparent simplicity of growing, these plants have their own characteristics, which we will consider below.
Growing greens. The choice of planting material, seeds
Parsley. Biennial plant. It has two types: root (conical root, thickened) and sheet (the root is thin, curved). Each species has its own varieties. It has high frost resistance (tolerates up to - 10 ° C). Harvest can be harvested from early spring to late autumn. The prerequisites for this are very simple. Landing is recommended at regular intervals, for example, every three weeks. To do this, in the prepared beds we make grooves with a depth of 1-2 cm at a distance of 15 cm from each other. The first sprouts should appear from 9 to 15 days. For the winter, parsley is not covered. The basics of care are quite simple: do watering greens in the evening, thin out when 1-2 leaves of the plant appear (the first time you need to leave a distance of 3 cm, after a couple of weeks we increase the distance to 10 cm), remove the weeds and loosen the soil. As for top dressing, if you have fertilized the soil, you do not need to perform any additional actions. And if something bothered you, then during the growing season parsley can be fed with nitrogen fertilizers.
Varieties of parsley, in fact, not so many. You can easily choose the seeds for growing herbs to your taste and desire. The most popular: Sugar, Leaf, Ordinary, Curly.
Dill. An annual herbaceous plant. The necessary conditions for growing this greens are similar to the conditions for parsley. Seeds can germinate already at a temperature of - 4 ° C. That is, in April, you can start planting seeds in open ground. If frost is expected, the seedlings must be covered with protective material. The greens of plants planted in autumn can be cut two weeks earlier. Dill loves sunlight and constant watering, i.e. moist soil. To prevent this plant from turning into an ordinary weed, select a separate bed under it. Also, thinning seedlings, which have reached about 6 cm in height, also belong to the care features. The final distance from each other should be approximately 20 cm.
Varieties of dill are not much different from each other in taste and aroma. The main difference in ripening dates:
• early ripening (Gribovsky, Dalniy, Aurora);
• mid-season Lesnogorodsky, Bushy, plentifully deciduous);
• late ripening (Alligator, Kibray, Dill).
Chives. Biennial and perennial herbaceous plant of the bulb family. It is unpretentious to climatic conditions and differs in simplicity in leaving. Different varieties of herbs are grown approximately the same with the same necessary conditions. For planting, take a medium or small bulb. A large onion will take up a lot of space and the feather will take longer to expel. You can plant onions in open ground in the fall before frost, or in early spring. The place to choose is sunny and dry. It is necessary to carry out watering regularly, preventing the soil from drying out. Before planting, it is recommended that the onions be soaked in warm water for a day and cut off the top from them. It is believed that due to these simple actions, onions will be faster forgrown to greens and yield will increase. Most often, onions are planted the so-called. tape method, in which the bulbs are stacked at a distance of 2-5 cm from each other between rows located approximately at a distance of 10-20 cm.
Scheme of onion for planting
But a bridge method can also be used, in which the bulbs are stacked close to each other (for 1 m² - 10 kg of onion). If planting takes place in the winter, it is recommended to pour humus or dung in a small layer from above, and remove and install a film frame on the garden in spring. From October to April, it is recommended to grow onions on greens in a greenhouse, and from February to May - in a greenhouse. Conventional mineral, organic or mixed fertilizers are recommended as top dressing. No chemicals can be used when forcing onions to greens. Collect the feather when it reaches a height of 24-42 cm.
The most famous types of onions are: onion-batun, chives, slime, shallots.
There are also general tips and rules that apply to all types and varieties of greenery:
1) The beds for planting greens are better prepared in the fall. Add organic (e.g. manure) and mineral fertilizers at the same time. In the spring, complex fertilizers with the content of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, superphosphate are additionally added; carbamide (urea) or ammonium nitrate can be added. It is recommended to sow in moist soil into grooves with a depth of 2 cm, do not sprinkle strongly with earth.
2) It is believed that the autumn planting of dill gives a crop much better than the spring. The plant will be more resistant and less susceptible to disease.
3) For seeds, there is one general rule: before sowing, place them in a 1% manganese solution and leave for 12 hours. This is necessary for disinfection and replenishment with the necessary trace elements for growth. The percentage of germination will be much higher than that of dry seeds.
4) When choosing seeds, pay attention to the expiration date and the producer.
Growing greens in a greenhouse
If you want to grow greens all year round, then you can’t do without a greenhouse. The necessary conditions that must be met are:
1) Land. The typical soil composition for greenhouses includes: different types of peat, ordinary garden soil, composts of different compositions, wood waste in the form of bark, sawdust, fallen leaves, river sand and clay, manure (except for pig), bird droppings, straw. The thickness of the soil cover is 25-30 cm. Planting can be carried out at any time by conventional methods intended for this crop.
2) Lighting. Additional lighting will extend the sensation of daylight and give plants extra energy.
3) Watering. Ideally install a drip irrigation system in a greenhouse.
4) Heat. The optimum temperature in the greenhouse should be + 18ºС.
Use sprouted seeds to grow parsley in a greenhouse. To do this, planting material is kept for several days on a doubled gauze at room temperature until the first sprouts appear. Plant prepared seeds in the soil with an interval of 5 cm and then water well. Thin the resulting seedlings. After the first cut of the crop, you can fertilize the soil with a mullein solution. Further care will be to maintain optimal temperature (+ 12ºС - + 18ºС), humidity (75%), illumination and weed removal. Harvesting is possible 30 to 40 days after planting.
The scheme of the device of the greenhouse for growing parsley
For planting dill in a greenhouse, you should choose varieties of bush type. It is first necessary to soak them in water for 2 days. Dill is not picky to the soil, but it is better to fertilize it with humus, and top-dressing is done every two months. It should also be borne in mind that the thickness of the soil layer should be 50 cm, since the roots of the plant are long. Needs constant watering and an additional light source. Special requirements in the care are thinning of seedlings of plants. You can harvest dill after 20-30 days.
Planting green onions in a heated greenhouse can be done at any time of the year. To do this, the tops of the bulbs need to be trimmed (do not worry if the cut is too wide, with the growth the feathers obtained will smooth this cut). The soil should be well fertilized with organic compounds. A good crop is obtained when the onions are planted in boxes filled with peat, humus or compost. When caring for growing greenery, the following conditions must be observed: regularly water and feed, ensure a temperature of no higher than + 19 ° C. Additional lighting is also necessary, and the lamps should be located vertically, which will avoid wringing the pen. Harvest can be harvested after 30 days.
Home grown greens
The simplest and cheapest green garden is the garden of the house. By the volume of the crop and the assortment, it is, of course, difficult to compare with the usual one, but it is quite comfortable to have fresh juicy greens at any time. We are used to the fact that you can grow green onions on the windowsill, but few people know that it is also excellent to grow other herbs - parsley, dill, etc. The greens grown on the windowsill are in no way inferior in quality to the one that grows on the garden bed.
There are also secrets and necessary conditions in this matter:
1) The right seed choice: it should be early ripening varietiesresistant to adverse conditions;
2) Presowing preparation seed and soil. Believe that the selection and soaking of seeds is not a waste of time, but a condition for the success of your garden.
As for the soil, here you have two options:
- buy the finished mixture in the store (which is more convenient and easier);
- cook yourself. Composition: humus, garden turfy land and complex mineral fertilizers (1 tablespoon per bucket of the mixture). The bottom layer of the pot or boxes should be covered with expanded clay or small pebbles. For a green feather, plant the bulbs in a container that is one third full of soil. Also, some lower them into the pan, adding water from time to time to cover the roots.
Tip: if you are reusing the soil for planting, remove a little of the top layer and add fresh soil with biohumus.
3) Proper technology and care. There are several factors here:
• Drainage. Do not forget to lay expanded clay or small pebbles at the bottom of your pots or boxes. This will prevent stagnation of water and avoid the death of roots and the formation of mold.
• Do not bury the seeds in the soil, the sowing depth should be no more than 2 cm.
Temperature condition. Place a thermometer on the windowsill (or in another place where your garden is) and monitor the temperature. The room should have - 18-28 ° C heat.
• Avoid too bright sun and drafts.
• Fertilizing and fertilizers. No matter how hard we try, we can’t provide our plants with the same climatic conditions as in nature. Therefore, here we will come to the rescue various kinds of additives. Organic fertilizers such as manure will have to be abandoned. They are not suitable for a balcony or a window sill.
4) Lighting. It is better to put plants on a windowsill located in the southeast. If there is no way to do this, then additional lighting will come to the rescue. Its lack can be fatal for growing greenery.
5) Watering should be carried out as the plants dry. In the summer it will be carried out more often and more abundantly, in winter less often. Use water at room temperature so as not to destroy the plants.
Greenery on the windowsill
Growing greens for sale
This idea belongs to the category of promising and profitable. It does not require large investments, the demand for greens is stable, the yield is high, the growing period is small, and attractive payback. But a fly in the ointment here too. This is a market. This is your primary concern. Selling to resellers for a penny - it makes no sense. We need to look for serious customers. You can offer your services to cafes, restaurants, shops, but here they will require documents from you. Opening an individual business is also associated with certain troubles and costs. Another option is to stand on the market yourself. In any case, you should consider all costs. If you will sell surpluses, then do not count on special cash incomes. It will only be possible to earn on large volumes of production. And if you plan to grow greens for sale, be sure to consider the cost of heating and lighting the greenhouse, without which you can not do. Now this is a very big expensive article. It is also necessary to take into account the cost of renting land (when implementing it), building a greenhouse, transportation costs, wage labor (when using). If the above points do not scare you, and you are ready to establish contacts on the market for products, then the "green" business will pay off your hopes.
For example, consider the leader of this business - green onions. The yield per crop can be 1.5 kg per m². The ripening period is 30 days. The average annual retail price per kilogram of greens is approximately 300 rubles per kg. The purchase price of bulbs for sowing will be approximately 10-20 rubles per kg. At the same time, we still do not take into account that boxes with bulbs can be stacked on shelves, on top of each other, and there are also onion varieties that give higher yields. Based on the above figures, each for himself can calculate the cost and estimated profitability of this type of business. Already held businessmen talk about 100% profit, and in some cases even more.
The necessary conditions for growing greenery for a business practically do not differ from the basic ones. Planting can be carried out all year round in a conveyor way to produce a continuous crop. Watering should be timely so that the soil does not dry out. And in this you will be greatly helped by the drip irrigation system, which you can do yourself. More thoroughly, it is necessary to carry out the fertilizing of plants, as the plant can be sick, it can be infected with pests, the soil is depleted over time. All this requires the use of special complex fertilizers. The care is the same as for these plant species. Features are only in the collection and transportation of plants. After all, here it is necessary to ensure long-term storage of products, their transportation and, of course, presentation for sale without loss of quality and appearance.
Growing greens in winter
In winter, you can grow greenery not only in the greenhouse, it can also be done at home. And these two methods have the same number of pros and cons. In a greenhouse, green onions, parsley and dill are only profitable to grow for sale. Because the costs associated with lighting and heating are already pretty high. But at home, a completely small home garden can please you all winter. And this will significantly affect your finances, since prices for greenery are not pleasing to the eye. As for taste, in winter frosts it is not easy to get spicy aromatic greens, but it will still be different from frozen.
For winter planting special varieties are suitableresistant to adverse conditions. Soil for growing green onions should contain organic fertilizers, for parsley and dill, ordinary soil is enough. The growth period is 30 days. Parsley is resistant to cold, dill requires enough light. Water and fertilize plants as needed. Care is similar for this type of plant. Avoid cold and frozen windows and window sills, and be sure to heat the greenhouse.
Care, dressing
As with any other crops, it is necessary to take care of it when growing greenery, creating all the necessary conditions. Weeding, thinning seedlings, loosening the soil, applying fertilizing should be done regularly. Be careful with all kinds of fertilizing. After all, you do not need meter parsley and dill with a finger-thick stalk.But fertilizing its role in caring for plants will fulfill its role perfectly: it will not only nourish the soil with all the necessary macronutrients, but also protect plants from all kinds of diseases.
Kinds:
- Organic - which include natural ingredients. These include: manure, peat, bird droppings, composts, sawdust, bone meal. They are used in dry or diluted form, for example, for irrigation. If you did not fertilize the soil in the fall, then you can use the following fertilizing: half a bucket of humus per 1 sq. m of sown area. Instead of humus, you can take a mullein diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Mineral fertilizers, which are:
- simple, which includes one element (nitrogen, phosphorus);
- complex, which consist of two or more components.
You can easily find the methods and rules of use on the packaging. The approximate ratio will be 1 tbsp. l for 10 liters of water.
Each time after you cut the leaves of parsley, feed it (about 2 times per season). To do this, feed a piece of land with ammonium nitrate in an amount of 20-30 g per m².
- Otherwhich include bacterial, dietary supplements, etc..
Growing greens. The main pests and ways to combat them
Every summer season we encounter pests in the garden and try hard to fight them.
Parsley is susceptible to the following diseases and pests: rust, white rot, carrot leaf, carrot fly, gourd aphid, white spotting.
Dill can be overcome by omnivorous pests (larvae of the May beetle, caterpillars of a gnawing scoop, a bear, etc.) or aerial parts (spider mites, cicadas, aphids, bugs, etc.).
Green onions are constantly fighting aphids, onion flies, thrips, stem worms.
Control measures are common for these species. It can be pesticides (actarin, actellik, karbofos, medvetoks, etc.) or folk remedies (onion infusion, aloe solution, etc.). And it is better to carry out preventive measures.
Enjoy the green beds, as they create the atmosphere of your own green little world, pleasing to the eye and warming the soul.
