There are no particularities for growing sorrel in greenhouse conditions. Not only an experienced gardener, but also a novice will cope with this task. Sorrel feels great in the shade, not afraid of the cold. The leaves tolerate a drop in temperature to -7 ° C. To get a good harvest of green mass, you should take care of the fertility of the soil and monitor the moisture of the soil.
Which grade to choose?
The assortment of sorrel is not as rich as that of other green crops. Early ripening varieties are the most popular and common, that is, only 40-45 days pass from the appearance of the first sprouts to leaf cutting:
- Belleville - a variety with light green large foliage with a mild flavor and a slight acidity. In length, the leaves grow up to 15 cm, in width 5-10 cm.
- Large leaf - the variety is derived on the basis of Belleville. Unlike the previous variety, it is resistant to shooting, can withstand more severe cold. The length of the leaves does not exceed 14 cm, the width is 6-10 cm.
- Odessa 17 - A variety that tolerates drought. Leaves are up to 16 cm long and 7 cm wide.
- Broadleaf - sorrel with medium-sized leaves, width up to 6-8 cm and length up to 15 cm, resistant to shooting, winter-hardy.
- Altaic - the variety has a sharp sour taste and leaf color - they are green with a reddish tint.
- Lyon - not a winter-hardy variety with beautiful yellow-green foliage.
Landing time
Seeds in the greenhouse are sown throughout March. They germinate already at 2-3 ° C of heat, but the temperature range of 15-23 ° C is considered optimal. Rhizomes of plants are planted even earlier - in late February and early March.
Preparation of the greenhouse
Sorrel prefers fertilized loamy soils. To do this, in the autumn, they dig the earth and make semi-rotted manure or humus (6 kg per 1 sq. M). In the spring, a few weeks before planting, the ground is watered with warm water and fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate (2-3 g), superphosphate (4-5 g) and urea (40 g) are dissolved in 12 l of water.
In one place, the culture is grown no more than 3 years. With long-term cultivation of it in one and the same place, the quality of greenery deteriorates, the leaves become smaller, and the yield decreases significantly.
Growing sorrel from seeds
Sowing seeds is practiced when growing new varieties or primary crops. Seeds are pre-soaked in water 2 days before planting, and then sown in moist soil.
Make grooves with a depth of 1.5 cm and sow there swollen seed material. A distance of 12-15 cm is left between the rows. They try to plant seeds at a distance of 5 cm from each other. After sowing, the groove is filled with a soil mixture, the depth of incorporation should be 2 cm, well watered with water by sprinkling and mulch the soil with humus. Shoots appear on the 10-12th day.
For faster seed germination, the bed is covered with plastic wrap. The first sprouts will appear 5 days earlier. In the greenhouse, maintain a temperature of 10-12 ° C, if necessary, ventilate.
You can also read more information about growing sorrel in open ground in our article here.
Rhizome Forcing
Experienced gardeners to breed sorrel use the old rhizomes of two to three-year-old plants, which are released. They are harvested in late November, before the onset of cold weather. Leaves are cut, trying not to damage the kidneys, gently dig them directly with an earthen lump and place them in a cellar or basement. Storage temperature - 0-1 ° C.
At the end of February, furrows 10-12 cm deep are made on the prepared beds, the distance between them is 10 cm. Rhizomes are placed at an angle of 6 cm in them, keeping the interval of 6 cm. The seed material is well watered. The first crop is removed after 15-20 days.
Care
In order for the sorrel to grow strong and juicy, adhere to the following rules:
- Water the plant in a timely manner with warm water. Sorrel is demanding on moisture; he does not like both stagnation of water and its lack. In the first case, growth retardation of the leaves occurs, in the second, the leaves become coarse and the plant throws arrows early. After watering, the ground must be loosened.
- Thin Sorrelso that plants grow more powerful. For the first time, this procedure is carried out as soon as the seedlings appear. A distance of 5 cm is left between the plants. Later thinning is repeated in a phase of 3-4 leaves, leaving 7 cm between them.
- Remove weed grassotherwise the plant will suffer from a lack of nutrients, which will adversely affect the quality of greenery.
- Delete arrowsso that the sorrel does not bloom, because the leaves of the flowering specimen become coarse and lose their taste. If the task is to collect seeds, then the peduncles are left, but the leaves from the bush are not collected.
- Feed the plant after each harvest of greens - per 1 square. m 10 g of ammonium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate. This stimulates faster growth of new leaves. Unlike other green crops, sorrel accumulates little nitrates, so do not give up feeding.
Diseases and Pests
Proper plant care reduces the appearance of diseases and harmful insects. But, if pests nevertheless appeared, they need to be fought.
On a culture usually settles:
- Aphid. It is easy to spot by looking at the bottom of the sheet. Since it feeds on the juice of the plant, the leaves begin to turn yellow, wither, the plant weakens and with a large invasion of the pest it dies. To combat it, plants are sprayed with infusion of tomato or potato tops, onions or garlic, or the leaves are treated with infusion of wood ash with laundry soap.
- Sorrel leaf beetle. One can guess the appearance of the leaf beetle from the "riddled" leaves in the spring, by the summer it lays up to two or three clutches. A new generation of beetles manages to grow over the season. Leaf beetle does not tolerate the proximity of a flower - feverfew. If you plant it near the sorrel, then the insects are unlikely to look at guests. Or they treat sorrel with infusion of this flower, it also scares away the bugs.
- Caterpillars of a sawfly. Sawlog actively grows its voracious offspring on sorrel beds. Its larvae cause noticeable damage to the crop of greens, they completely eat leaf plates, leaving only their "skeleton". Timely destruction of weeds and grass in the aisle helps to avoid the appearance of a pest. From the sawfly, leaf treatment with the infusion of pharmacy chamomile with the addition of laundry soap helps a lot.
With a large number of pests, it will be necessary to apply suitable insecticides.
Of the diseases, sorrel often affects:
- Peronosporosis - the lower side of the leaves is covered with a bluish coating, they themselves become wrinkled, brittle, their edges curl down. Sick leaf blades are removed, weed is removed on time.
- Rust - yellow or orange “bubbles” appear on leaf blades; upon ripening, they burst and spores spill out of them. Sick leaves are cut off from the infected plant, the ground must be dug up in the fall. A good preventive measure is to mulch the soil in the spring with peat, sawdust or humus.
- Various spotting - All of them are characterized by the appearance of spots on leaves of various sizes, shapes and colors. Prevention is also important here - it is necessary to remove and destroy infected leaves in time, carefully remove plant debris on the site, and sprinkle the soil with mulch in the autumn.
- Gray rot - the disease begins with the appearance of burgundy spots on the leaves, over time, the leaf blade acquires wateriness, withers and rots. The largest common cause of the onset of the disease is a thickened planting and stagnation of air in the greenhouse. For prevention, the soil surface is mulched with peat and weeds are regularly destroyed.
Treatment of plants has proven itself well with the treatment of plants with a solution of Bordeaux fluid, which is stopped 15 days before the harvest or “Fitosporin” - a biological preparation.
Harvesting
Sorrel is cut when the leaves reach 10 cm in length. When grown in a greenhouse, the first crop is removed 3 weeks after sowing. During the season, the greens are cut up to 3-4 times. Cutting is carried out in the spring and in the first half of summer, since at a later time of collection, a large amount of oxalic acid accumulates in the leaves, which negatively affects human health.
Growing sorrel in greenhouse conditions is a simple matter, but you must know and adhere to the basic rules for care and planting, comply with the deadlines, choose the right variety. When performing all these points, greens will delight with a juicy taste and a rich harvest.