When is the best time to sow shepherd's purse?

Shepherd's purse belongs to the genus Capsella in the family Cruciferae. It is an annual or biennial herb commonly found in fields, roadsides and home gardens. As a wild vegetable, shepherd's purse is also known as ground rice vegetable or ground vegetable. It can be eaten in a variety of ways. It can be used as a filling for dumplings, added to hot pot as a vegetable, and can also be used to cook dishes such as tofu . Due to its natural growth characteristics, shepherd's purse is regarded by consumers as a natural and healthy ingredient. Let’s learn together when is the best time to sow shepherd’s purse?

When is the best time to sow shepherd's purse?

In the south, shepherd's purse can be grown at any time of the year, but autumn is the main cultivation season. Spring planting is usually sown from late February to late April. When the temperature is low in early spring, you can keep warm by covering with plastic film, and then remove the film after the seedlings emerge, or use a small arch shed to maintain the temperature. When planting in spring, it is recommended to choose late-bolting variegated wild shepherd's purse varieties. The harvest period is generally from early April to mid-June.

Summer planting takes place between June and August, when shade sheds and plastic shade nets are needed to reduce temperatures and prevent erosion by heavy rain. Summer is suitable for planting wild shepherd's purse varieties with flat leaves.

As for late autumn planting, it can be carried out between September and October. At this time, both variegated and flat-leaf wild shepherd's purse varieties are suitable choices.

Cultivation method of shepherd's purse

1. Seed collection

Shepherd's purse can be divided into flat leaf type and variegated leaf type according to the shape of its leaves. When planting, appropriate varieties should be selected according to the season. For first-time plantings, collect seeds from wild shepherd's purse. In summer and autumn, when wild shepherd's purse seeds mature, they should be picked in time to avoid the seeds from cracking naturally. When picking, the seeds should be dried together with the pods and properly stored, making sure to choose healthy plants without diseases and pests as the seed source.

2. Land preparation

Choose fertile, loose, weed-free and moist land to plant shepherd's purse. After land preparation, make high ridges 1.3 meters wide and apply 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms of decomposed organic fertilizer as base fertilizer to promote the vigorous growth of shepherd's purse, making it more tender and high-yielding.

3. Field management

After sowing and during the growth period, irrigation should be carried out using fine water spray. When shepherd's purse grows two true leaves, apply human and animal manure water. Then, depending on the growth condition of shepherd's purse, decide whether to continue applying manure or urea. Apply concentrated manure water 7 to 10 days before harvest, and topdressing should be done after each harvest. At the same time, pay attention to the prevention and control of downy mildew and aphids. Because shepherd's purse plants are small and are sown by broadcasting, weeds and shepherd's purse grow together, making weeding difficult. Herbicides can be used before sowing and combined with weeding at harvest.

4. Harvesting and seed storage

When the shepherd's purse plant has 10 to 13 true leaves or the flower stem is less than 1 cm in height, it can be harvested with a knife, giving priority to larger plants. Shepherd's purse sown in autumn can usually be harvested after 35 to 50 days, and can be harvested 3 to 5 times, with a yield of 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms per mu. Shepherd's purse sown in spring can generally only be harvested 1 to 2 times, with a yield of about 1,000 kilograms. Seed cultivation should be sown in October, and the seeds will bloom and produce pods in the spring of the following year. When the seed pods turn yellow, they should be harvested, dried and threshed.

The above is an introduction to the planting time and key points of shepherd's purse. Shepherd's purse is actually a very common wild vegetable in rural areas, but now many people also cultivate it artificially.