Good afternoon, my reader. Sorrel leaves 2-3 years old lose their juiciness, which requires a new sowing of this crop. Before winter, this operation is performed in regions with a prevailing temperate climate. With spring and summer sowing, sorrel grows well in warm areas.
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Self-collecting seeds
If you plan to harvest high-quality seeds from your own site, then in the spring they choose the strongest and healthiest sorrel bushes. At the end of May, you need to remove all leaf plates from them, leaving large peduncles.
After the development of the seeds, they wait 10-14 days until the peduncles turn brown. They are carefully cut, tied in small bunches and hung to dry in a ventilated cool room. Can be put on shelves in a thin layer. The dried raw materials are threshed and poured into paper bags for storage. It should be borne in mind that seeds show the best germination after two years of storage.
You can purchase seed in specialized stores. Such varieties of sorrel are popular as Belleville, Odessa, Shirokolistny.
Optimal sowing time
Different dates of sowing sorrel are practiced. If it is sown in March-April, when the soil is already warming up steadily up to three degrees, then they provide high germination and a vitamin harvest by the end of summer.
Some gardeners prefer to sow in the first two summer months. In such a situation, it is important to ensure sufficient moisture for the ridges, since with prolonged drying out of the soil, the seeds may not sprout. Harvest with a favorable outcome is obtained the next year.
If it is decided to sow sorrel before winter, then it is important to carry out this procedure in November before stable frosts. It is recommended to increase the number of seeds by 30-50%, since they often germinate unevenly after winter, which significantly reduces the yield.
Site selection, soil preparation
To grow sorrel, you should use loamy, fertile, slightly acidic soil. Well-drained peat is good. A place with light partial shade, without signs of waterlogging, is selected. Aquifers should be located at a depth of one meter or less.
Carefully dig up the site, remove the rhizomes of wheatgrass and other weeds. In case of insufficient fertility, 5-10 kg of well-rotted compost is scattered on each square meter before digging. Add 15-16 g of ammonium nitrate, the same amount of potassium chloride, and 30 g of superphosphate.
Ridges are formed, the surface is leveled with a rake and grooves are marked with a depth of 20-30 mm. Observe the gap between them, focusing on average values of 20 cm. Cover the ridges with foil to protect them from being washed away by rains. Place 2-3 buckets of dry garden soil in the shed, which will come in handy later.
Sowing begins, depending on weather conditions, usually in November or even shifting the dates to the first days of December, since stable frosts should be established by this time. This will protect the seeds from germination, which means that prematurely appeared seedlings will not freeze.
The film is removed, an even layer of 10 mm of dry soil is poured into the grooves. Sowing is done thick, which will allow in the spring, if necessary, to thin out the seedlings, choosing the strongest shoots. It is taken into account that the distance for high-quality formation of greenery between developing plants should be at least 50 mm. Immediately after sowing, the grooves are sprinkled with dry soil. Cover with leaves and a layer of snow.
With a well-chosen plot, timely sowing on prepared beds, sorrel grows amicably in the spring, forming juicy leaves by summer.
Do you plant sorrel on the site?
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