How to grow Agretti in a biological way
How to grow Agretti in a biological way
The agretti (Salsola soda L.) (also known as rediscover, beard of friar, beard of the Negus) are a species of plants belonging to the Chenopodiaceae family; in this sheet we see how to grow Agretti in a biological way.
The agretti is an olive tree cultivated since ancient times, for many centuries one of the top varieties of Italian cuisine but like many other vegetables fallen into “sordina” in recent times, so they are not easy to find.
The leaves and stems of S. soda are edible and mainly the young seedlings and the sprouts, widely used in the kitchen. The plant is used above all in the Mediterranean diet.
This plant prefers warm climates, with excellent exposure to soil and can grow even in brackish soils (in fact we can also find them near the sea), but must be well drained, preferably loose and also not particularly nutritious. Clearly, in organic crops the contribution of organic and mineral substances can only improve the productivity of this plant. for this reason it is advisable to make modest amounts of organic substance, and if the soil is not salty, vegetable ash.
Being a succulent plant, it does not particularly need irrigation, which we advise with a weekly or greater frequency in the summer (depending on the type of soil).
For the plantation we recommend starting from seed with sowing between late winter and early spring. We advise you to spread, following the thinning to the appearance of the buds leaving 15-20 cm between one specimen and another.
The harvest of the agretti takes place after 30-40 days, when the seedlings will have reached a height of 15-20 centimeters. It is advisable to collect the agretti no later than this period as they tend to ramify and strengthen the stems, for which it will then be difficult and discouraged consumption.
Being rustic plants need a few agronomic measures if not to prepare a mulch with straw (or leaves) that allows you not to make continuous weeding and to reduce the number of irrigations.
An interesting curiosity is linked to the fact that this plant, native to the Mediterranean basin, has been cultivated not only for its intense flavor but in the past but also as a source of soda, extracted from their ashes after combustion.