Jerusalem artichoke: care features

Jerusalem artichoke is a root crop, which is also called ground pear. Vegetables can be cooked in place of potatoes, especially suitable for those who want to lose weight. However, the taste of fruits may not be everyone's liking. Without fear, you should include in your diet root vegetables to people with diabetes, since there is no starch in the fruit.

Cultivation of Jerusalem artichoke begins with the selection of seed material. For planting, small (with chicken egg) rhizomes are best suited. From the introduction of seeds into the soil before the first shoots passes from 2 weeks to a month, and before harvesting - 45-50 weeks. One plant can dig about two kilograms of root vegetables.

Jerusalem artichoke is undemanding to the quality of the soil, but still the plant develops worse in lowland areas and enriched soils, where water stands in the spring. Growing Jerusalem artichoke, in addition to harvesting, allows to improve the composition of the soil. Before planting, it is necessary to dig a site from autumn, and compost on poor soils.

The Jerusalem artichoke is grown in trenches, which, after closing the tubers, are gently covered with earth, making a small comb in the middle of the row. The depth of planting can be 15 centimeters, the interval between tubers should not exceed half a meter, and between the rows it is necessary to observe a distance of 1 meter. Planting dates coincide with potato cultivation: the end of April - the middle of May. But you can harvest the harvest in the spring of next year, and in the fall.

Growing Jerusalem artichoke is not difficult. After the stems rise to a height of 30 cm from the ground, you should make hilling. Watering natural, only during drought, additional moistening is necessary.

When the stems reach a meter height, they will need support. To do this, at the ends of the beds set the pegs to which the wire is attached - it will rely on Jerusalem artichoke. Cultivation is best done along the fence.

During bud formation, the plant needs to be fertilized with liquid fertilizer, and the inflorescences are removed as they form. After the fading of the leaves in autumn, the stems are trimmed at a height of 30 cm from the ground. If the plant is left for the winter, it must be sprinkled or covered with straw.

In spring, all the tubers of culture should be excavated, selecting the ones necessary for planting. If this is not done, then the plant will spread to other parts of the garden.

Growing Jerusalem artichoke can be associated with certain problems. The plant can be attacked by slugs that eat tubers. For the control of pests near the stems, special anti-slide granules are laid out. In addition, larvae of different insects can damage the tubers. To prevent this, when planting it is necessary to add preparations "Diazonon" or "Foksim" to the ground.

Jerusalem artichoke can get sick. Sclerotynyosis or white rot damage the base of the plant, creating on the stems a white moldy coating. And in the middle of the diseased stems there are black outgrowths. Such plants must be burned immediately.