How to plant edible lilies and what season is suitable for planting?

Edible lily is a medicinal material and an emerging vegetable . Its bulb is rich in starch, protein and multiple vitamins, and is very popular. So how to grow edible lily and what season is suitable for planting it? Let’s learn more about it below.

When is the best season to plant edible lilies?

Edible lilies are usually planted in the autumn or spring of the year they are harvested. The autumn planting time is from mid-to-late October to early November, that is, before the soil freezes. Spring planting usually takes place in March and April.

How to grow edible lilies?

1. Site selection

The land for planting edible lilies should be rotated with crops such as beans, wheat , and potatoes for more than 3 years. For dryland planting, choose land with a slope of less than 5°. For waterland planting, choose land with flat terrain, deep soil, and sufficient organic matter.

2. Seed selection

Choose first or second grade bulbs. Selection criteria: Single bulb weighs 20~30 grams, is 3.5~4.5 cm high, and has a horizontal diameter of 3.0~4.0 cm.

3. Land preparation and fertilization

After the previous crop is harvested, the land should be deeply plowed in time and sufficient base fertilizer should be applied before plowing . It is recommended to apply 3-4 tons of farmyard manure, 100 kg of decomposed oil residue, and 25-30 kg of superphosphate per acre of land. The fertilizers should be mixed evenly and spread, then plowed into the soil. After plowing the land, fertilize it, plow it shallowly, harrow it and level it, and then wait for sowing.

4. Planting method

For cultivation on flat beds with equal row spacing, use manual or mechanical methods to dig trenches with a row spacing of 25 to 30 cm, a trench depth of 10 to 12 cm, plant bulbs with a spacing of 15 cm between plants, and cover with 6 to 7 cm of soil. The seed amount per mu is 300~400 kg, and the number of seedlings per mu is 16,000~17,000.

5. Check and replenish seedlings

Be careful during field operations to prevent damage to the seedlings. If the stems are found to be damaged or the bulbs are rotten, they should be replanted to increase the seedling rate.

6. Field management

In places where irrigation conditions are available, after the lily seedlings have grown, you can lightly water them once depending on the soil moisture conditions. After watering, wait until the soil is slightly dry before tilling. Generally, tillage is carried out 2-3 times from sowing to emergence, and the soil is loosened 2-3 times in the middle of the growth period to remove weeds and add soil to prevent the bulbs from being exposed. Lilies are afraid of waterlogging, so the ditches need to be cleared and the water needs to be drained. In the early stage, the main fertilizer is decomposed farmyard manure, and in the later stage, the main fertilizer is nitrogen fertilizer, supplemented by phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. The specific amount of fertilizer should be increased or decreased according to soil fertility and plant growth.

7. Remove the flower buds

Removing flower buds can inhibit reproductive growth, promote growth, and reduce nutrient consumption. When the flower stand extends 2 to 3 cm from the top, remove the flower buds. Picking should be done in the morning on a sunny day to facilitate wound healing. The buds appear on the plants at different times, so picking the buds cannot be completed in one go. Check the field once every 2 to 3 days and pick the buds multiple times and in a timely manner.

That’s it