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Lentils belong to annual plants of the legume family. Mentions of it have been found since Neolithic times. She was raised in Ancient Greece And Ancient Rome. Lentil fruits have been repeatedly found in the ancient pyramids of Egypt and during excavations of civilizations with thousand-year history. There is a mention of lentil soup in the Old Testament.

Cultural history

Lentils are native to Southern Europe And West Side Asia. The largest areas allocated for growing this crop are in Turkey, India, Canada and Iran. Other countries do not plant this plant on an industrial scale. In Asia, being one of the most important sources of protein and having good nutritional value, lentils can replace cereals, bread, and sometimes even meat.

What do lentils look like? In appearance, some of its varieties do not resemble a crop, but rather a weed.

The stem curls and reaches 70 cm in length; the leaf of the lentil has a pair-pinnate regular leaf, with a curl at the end. She is blooming small flowers up to 0.5 cm in diameter at the end of June or beginning of July. After which pods with 2-3 seeds are formed. The shape of the most common seed varieties is similar to “plates” with a sharp edge.

On a note! Depending on which variety is cultivated, the color of the ripe lentil pod will differ.

However, what are lentils? This is quite a pretty annual plant. Even if it is grown in the area environmental pollution, tends to always remain “clean” because it does not accumulate radionuclides and nitrates. The main varieties are divided into: Green, Red, Brown and Black. These names come from the color of the plant's beans themselves.

Lentils

Beneficial features

Lentils are a storehouse of vegetable protein. It is very easily absorbed by the body and does not cause gas formation, unlike peas or beans. An additional benefit is that lentils replenish iron and folic acid. It is this acid that is involved in the formation of immunity, preserves the integrity of DNA and is responsible for cell growth. One serving of the crop contains up to 90% of the daily dose, necessary for a person. No other product can boast of such a composition. Lentils are also high in fiber and carbohydrates. They perfectly improve digestion and make it impossible to develop colorectal cancer.

Important! Lentil porridge improves metabolism, improves immunity and restores normal functioning of the genitourinary system. And pre-soak this type no legumes necessary. They boil perfectly, as stated in any recipe, within 35-45 minutes.

The composition of lentils is rich, like all legumes, in microelements. Primarily these are magnesium, calcium, iron and phosphorus. Their action strengthens nervous system and improves heart function. In order for the iron found in this culture to enter the body and begin to act, you need to know what you eat lentils with. Use red peppers or fresh tomatoes with it. Fresh greens will also be a conductor of iron into the body. For example, in India, a world supplier of lentils, lentil dishes are generously sprinkled with parsley or cilantro.

The amino acid tryptophan contained in lentils is converted in the human body into serotonin - the hormone of joy. And since everyone knows that the lack of serotonin leads to sadness and depression, this problem It’s easy to decide by tasting some lentil porridge.

Those suffering from urolithiasis are recommended to systematically use lentil decoction as a preventive measure. The isoflavones it contains help suppress breast cancer. And the plate-shaped type of lentils helps diabetics lower blood sugar.

In Chinese medicine, it is believed that eating lentil soup, and even with spices, has an excellent warming effect, which becomes especially important in the cold season. So to achieve the desired result, it is extremely important to know what to eat lentils with.

Important! Despite great amount advantages, this culture may cause harm. It should not be used in the diet of gout sufferers. This type of legume is also contraindicated for people with diseases of the stomach, intestines, pancreas and skin.

Characterizing lentils, experts noted that this crop does not accumulate harmful substances during growth. And possessing medicinal properties, and also good nutritional value is a unique plant.

What does it look like

Lentils are a low-growing plant, and their fruits in the form of pods have seeds - beans, the size of which, depending on the variety, can range from 2 to 9 mm.

There are 4 main varieties of lentils on sale:

All of the listed types of lentils are available for free sale: both in supermarkets and in small stores. The most inexpensive of them is the brown variety, and the most expensive and elite is the Beluga variety.

Important! Yellow lentils do not exist in nature. Her yellow obtained through heat treatment, and initially these lentils are orange (other names are red or pink). It is obtained by peeling, that is, by removing the top layer of grain.

Answering the question whether lentils are legumes or not, scientists say the following. Agricultural crops eaten in the form of grains or beans are leguminous plants. These include peas, beans, lentils and soybeans.

By the way, nutritionists have proven that by constantly using legumes in your diet, you can get rid of excess weight. To do this, you need to eat 130 g of legumes (peas, chickpeas, beans or lentils) daily for 6 weeks.

How do lentils grow? It can withstand light and short-term frosts down to -5°C during the plant growth period. It also tolerates drought quite well. For this she deserves special thanks to her highly fibrous root system. We can conclude that lentils are an unpretentious plant.

For your information! At the end of the 19th century, ordinary lentils saved residents from starvation Tsarist Russia. For some period there was a terrible drought in the country and nothing but this crop was produced.

Lentils, depending on the length of the stem, can grow upward or spread along the ground. Edible lentils look especially beautiful at the time of their flowering.

How to plant

The description of the culture says that lentils have self-pollinating and cross-pollinated varieties. It is in the cross that bees participate. Of course, the varieties of the first type are more popular in terms of yield. Because poor pollination with the help of bees can reduce the yield of lentils significantly. Science has proven that the harvest collected after pollination of a legume plant by bees is several times greater than the cost of the honey and wax they collected.

It should be noted that lentils by their nature are not a honey crop. And therefore it is very important that pollinating bees flock to cross-pollination. Therefore, when planting cultivated agricultural plants, one should take into account the level of their honey production. Because not all cross-pollinated crops can be pollinated by honey bees. Accordingly, instead of established pods, it will be quite possible to get barren flowers.

Bees pollinators

• Popular varieties of lentils for lentil lovers are the Anfia variety, suitable for all growing zones. The period from sowing to ripening is on average 90 days. It is resistant to drought, rarely falls off and tolerates diseases well. Smooth beans have green color. The vegetable protein content reaches 31%.
• The Octava variety is also suitable for all growing zones, but is an earlier ripening variety. The beans ripen from 60 to 80 days and grow up to 50 cm. They also do not lie down, do not crumble, and are resistant to dry times.
• The Bride variety is mid-season. Ripens in 86-96 days from the moment of sowing. It is short-growing, reaching a maximum length of 35 cm. Resistant to pests, drought and shedding.

This agricultural crop loves loose soil or soil mixed with clay or sand. It happens that it survives in more difficult soils, but in this case it does not produce a harvest. Lentils also do not like acidic soil. Before sowing it on the site, you need to treat it with lime.

In order to increase the yield, this legume crop is best sown in open areas. sunlight. In shaded areas it grows extremely poorly and produces little yield.

Important! Lentils are very fond of those places where previous season corn, potatoes or winter crops grew.

To achieve good yields, it is not enough to decide on the planting location. It is worth thinking about fertilizing the soil. Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers will be extremely relevant here. They need to be added either before winter, by digging up the ground, or in the fall before planting. Here, as they say, the master is the master. Fertilizers need 50 g per 1 m² of soil.

The crop can be sown in early spring, after the soil has warmed to a depth of 20 cm.

When starting sowing, you need to make small furrows up to 5 cm deep. The distance between them is maintained at a maximum of 15 cm.

Sowing lentils

Further care

After germination, weeding is required, preferably at lunchtime of the day. Otherwise, the tender lentil sprouts may “clog” the weeds.

In the first 6 weeks of growth, the slow-growing crop gains strength for the upcoming flowering. And only after that it grows and begins to branch, turning into fluffy bushes. And already in early autumn, harvesting is possible.

One should take into account the fact that lentils, like all legumes, ripen unevenly. First you need to harvest from the lower level, and only later will the pods of the upper shoots ripen.

For all its survival, lentils require periodic watering in the first 6-8 weeks of their growth. You should definitely make sure that the soil does not dry out and is moistened as needed. And after the specified time has elapsed, watering the plants twice a day will be sufficient.

If the gardener follows all the tips listed above regarding planting and care, and most importantly, choosing the right variety, then the long-awaited harvest of legumes will not take long to arrive!

Lentils are a relatively new crop on both an industrial and private scale. However, growing lentils is becoming more and more popular every year. Why not, because this plant is quite unpretentious. With proper agricultural technology and proper care, you can get a good harvest of tasty and healthy legumes. The small round fruits contain many nutrients, and in terms of protein content, lentils can replace meat. If you decide to try planting this crop, it doesn’t hurt to know what it needs.

Growing lentils: after what to plant and how to prepare the soil

The best predecessors for lentils:

• cereal grains;
• potato.

Since lentils are small in size, the area for sowing must be level. This way the bushes will develop and the crop will ripen evenly. It is especially important to level the soil in the fields, which will facilitate future harvesting.

For a high-quality and high yield, the site must also be fertilized by adding diammofoska (150 kg per 1 ha) during the main processing and before sowing. The best soils for lentils are loams, sandy loams and light chernozems. But the crop will not grow in heavy, acidic and waterlogged soil.

To increase soil fertility and improve the development of lentil crops, the seeds can be infected with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It is better to do this in a tank mixture with the drug Maxim.

Lentils are not particularly demanding of heat, so you can start planting in early spring. Seeds can germinate even at 3°C, and seedlings are not afraid of frosts down to -5°. Even if the seedlings freeze, they quickly recover, releasing new shoots from the underground part.

Features of caring for lentil plantings

One of the most common problems when growing lentils is that the crops quickly become overgrown with weeds. They choke crops, which affects yields. This can be prevented by treating the soil with special preparations. Agronomists involved in lentils often prefer the herbicide Pivot (consumption of 0.65 ml per 1 ha). It kills both annual and perennial weeds with just one application. In this case, the effect of the herbicide lasts throughout the season, and there is no need to re-treat the crops.

Another advantage of Pivot herbicide is that it can be applied before or after sowing lentils, during the growing season.

Also, do not forget that lentils are susceptible to diseases. To prevent wilting and various types spots, crops should be treated with fungicides in the budding phase.

Regarding harvesting, the lentils must be cut when 2/3 of the beans are ripe. The bushes are dried, and when the beans ripen, they are threshed.

Video about the technology of industrial cultivation of lentils

Which has been known for thousands of years, has been a source of livelihood for our ancestors since prehistoric times. Gourmets of old once considered lentils to be the food of the poor. They even refused to eat it because it was cheap. I would not say that in Russia this is a cheap product - some varieties of lentils are not cheap. More importantly, perhaps, this is the most delicious product of all legumes.

What are lentils

Lentils are mentioned many times in the Bible: Jacob buys Esau's birthright for lentil stew.

IN Jewish religion it is the main food during mourning for the deceased, since the round shape of the grains symbolizes life cycle from birth to death.

Lentils were main part diet of ancient Iranians, who consumed it daily.

In India, sprouted grains are still offered in many temples as food of the gods.

In Italy, lentils are still eaten on New Year's Eve as a symbol of prosperity, most likely due to the round, coin-like shape of the grains.

IN original version In the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm "Cinderella", the stepmother forces Cinderella to choose lentil grains from the ashes. If Cinderella fails, she will not go to the ball. These facts once again prove that lentils are a popular food in many countries.

In Russia, this legume plant began to be grown as an agricultural crop more than five centuries ago. There is mention of this in the Kyiv Chronicles of the 15th century. She was revered as bread.

The largest areas were allocated for it in the 19th century. Penza province. And lentils grown in the Saratov region, bred in the 30s of the 20th century at the Petrovskaya selection and experimental station, were demonstrated at International exhibition products (Brno) - its taste was recognized as the best.

Lentils - Health Benefits

What are the benefits of lentils? It contains 35% proteins (wheat, for comparison, only 13-18%). Lentil grains contain almost 60% starch, 2.5% oil, 2.9% sugar, as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B 1, B 2, PP, carotene, and others. Protein is well absorbed by the body and contains a sufficient amount of vital amino acids. Lentil dishes reduce cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and prevent constipation.

It contains a large number of fiber, dietary fiber. And fiber, dietary fiber is crucial for reducing hunger, that is, lentils are useful for those who want to lose weight.

Nutritionists' recommendations: add legumes and lentils to your diet three times a week. As it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, it forms gel-like substances, thereby helping to remove bile from the body.

Lentil dishes are prescribed for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and heart. It is believed that it makes a person patient and calm.

Sprouted lentils are beneficial. In order not to repeat myself, watch the video, everything is clear and understandable there:

Can lentils be harmful to health?

Of course yes. Any product consumed frequently or uncontrollably will not benefit anyone.

People suffering from urolithiasis, joint diseases, or gout should not consume lentil dishes, as they contain purines. Their excess can lead to the accumulation of uric acid. That is, purines are compounds that can be harmful to people prone to gout or kidney stones. In addition, lentils contain substances that can contribute to... ahem, flatulence.

In terms of taste and nutritional value, it is ahead of all grain legumes.

How to cook lentils? It cooks faster, cooks better than other legumes, and has a more subtle, pleasant taste. It is used to prepare soups, porridges, side dishes, and filling for pies. Lentil flour is added to wheat flour to increase the amount of protein when baking bread. It is added to sausages.

Growing lentils in the country

Lentils are grown as an annual herbaceous plant of the legume family. The stem is 20-35 cm high, it depends on the variety, soil moisture, and air. The leaves are paired, light, gray, or dark green with 4-7 pairs of narrow leaflets with a curled tip and long tendrils at the ends. The flowers are white, pink, violet-blue, located 1-3 on a peduncle in the leaf axils. Each flower produces one short, flat pod containing one or two seeds.

This is a spring, fairly cold-resistant plant. The seedlings can withstand frosts down to -3°C and below. Lentils love sunny places, moist but not swampy soil. The growing season - 75-115 days - depends on the variety and growing region.

The plant is self-pollinating. Lentils do well in all types of soil, from sand to loam. But does not tolerate wetlands or soils with high groundwater levels. Sandy loam soils with a high content of phosphorus and potassium are best for it.

Comfortable temperature for germination is +3-5°C. Lentil - plant have a long day. That is, it grows well where the days are longer (for example, the non-chernozem zone). Like any legumes, it ripens quickly, but later than peas.

The seeding depth is 3-5 cm. The distance between the rows is 30 cm. Seeds are placed along the row every 10 cm. Lentil seeds germinate 10-12 days after sowing.

At first it grows slowly, but as soon as it blooms, a period of active growth begins. This happens 40-45 days after it has emerged. The first flowers appear at the bottom. The flowering period lasts 40-50 days.

Of all the legumes, lentils are a more heat-loving, heat-tolerant, and drought-resistant crop than, for example, peas. But our Kuban heat, which begins in June, and sometimes earlier, as well as eastern dry winds, is poorly tolerated. Therefore, lentils must be sown early.

I sow in early or mid-March (it depends on the weather), when the soil warms up to 5-6 °C. Before flowering, lentils require a lot of moisture, so you should not be late with sowing.

The suitable air temperature for the formation of stems and fruits is 17-22 degrees. And in the Krasnodar Territory, the temperature in summer is twice as high. Therefore, plant earlier so that it ripens before the heat starts and you can harvest.

Due to the uneven ripening of lentil fruits, harvesting begins when the beans ripen in the lower and middle parts plants. If you are a little late, the lower ripened beans will split open on their own - the entire crop will end up on the ground.

Lentil grains are consumed either fully ripe or unripe: unripe ones are even tastier.

After harvesting, the seeds are immediately dried so that they do not rot as a result of self-heating. But here it is also very important not to overdo it. In case of high humidity or prolonged exposure sun rays the seeds quickly darken and lose their taste.

The area for planting lentils is prepared as follows: dig up the soil to a depth of 25-30 cm, and in the fall apply fertilizer per 1 square meter. meter of potassium - 25-30 g (1 heaped tablespoon), superphosphate 30-4 g (1 heaped tablespoon). Apply nitrogen fertilizer before sowing in the spring. Manure and organic fertilizers are not applied to lentils, as this makes them “fat” - there are a lot of leaves, but few beans. The yield of beans is reduced. This also applies to other legumes.

Caring for lentil crops is the same as caring for peas.

Pests and diseases of lentils

Lentils are quite disease resistant when compared to other legumes. But nevertheless, they exist.

Anthracnose

This disease is expressed in the form of gray spots on leaves, stems, and pods. The disease is caused by the fungus Ascochyta. It mainly affects peas, but can also affect other legumes. The infection starts from the bottom of the stem and rises to the top, causing leaves to fall and spots to appear on the pods. This fungus appears on legumes when there is excess moisture or very hot weather. Treatment of anthracnose requires the use of fungicides.

Ascochyta blight

The disease is caused by the fungus Ascochyta fabae. Legume plants develop white or purple spots on the leaves, which then turn black as the disease progresses. This fungus weakens the plant, causes flowers to fall off, seeds and pods darken. To avoid this, you must use good seeds. Among the existing methods for eliminating this disease without the use of fungicides, it is possible to recommend the use of crop rotation every four years.

Gray rot

This disease is caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, which can infect pods and leaves. They turn gray and then fall off. The stems are covered with a gray coating. This leads to the death of the plant. Seeds on plants infected with gray mold become wrinkled. The spores of the fungus are spread by the wind, so they can infect large areas. This disease is very difficult to eradicate because the fungal spores are always found in the soil. And they can develop at high humidity or, conversely, at elevated air temperatures. This disease affects plants such as peas, lentils, sunflowers, beans, etc. The best way To combat it, use seeds for planting whose varieties are resistant to gray rot.

Pea aphid

The disease (lat. Acyrthosiphum pisum) is a major pest of legumes, including lentils. Pea aphids damage the leaves of the plant by feeding on the upper tender leaves. This weakens the plant and can lead to its death. Protection against pea aphids - treatment of legumes with insecticides, preferably before setting the pods.

Snails and slugs

These molluscs can also cause great damage to legume crops, especially if rainy, humid weather persists while the plants are emerging. If there are a lot of pests, then in one night they can significantly “thin out” the lentil seedlings, leaving the plants without tops, and sometimes even without stems. Snails and slugs can be controlled using natural and chemical means. As a natural remedy for these pests, you can use sand or crushed eggshells. They don't like rough surfaces. And they won’t climb where the rows are sprinkled with sand or something else rough. You can use traps - containers with beer or sweet carbonated water. Among the chemical repellents for snails and slugs in garden plots, the drug “Thunderstorm” works well.

Certain crops are used by gardeners not only to produce a harvest and provide the family with nutritious vegetables, but also to saturate the soil with nitrogen, as well as to obtain looser soil in the garden plot. Lentils are one of these crops. Further on the features of its cultivation in open ground: planting, care, the best varieties (photo instructions are attached).

Lentils: description, features, best varieties and varieties

Lentils are an annual herbaceous plant, the height of which varies between 20-70 cm. Lentils, as we all know, are an edible plant. More precisely, its fruits are edible and can be painted in various colors: black, red, brown. The stem of the plant is thin, densely covered with pinnate small light green leaves. During the active plant period, lentils rather resemble a small erect/semi-cresting shrub, which during the flowering period has a rather attractive appearance thanks to the small but lush flowers that completely cover the stems of the plant.

Attention! Lentils are considered an extremely environmentally friendly product, as they have an amazing ability to “repel” any nitrates and pollutants. Therefore, even grown in the most environmentally unfavorable regions, lentils are quite suitable for consumption.

The lentil plant is distinguished by its amazing vitality: it can survive both slight frost and severe drought.

As mentioned earlier, lentils come in several types:

1. Brown. Most often used for preparing first courses, cereals and snacks.
2. Black. Canadian variety. The seeds are quite large in size - about 3 cm. Readiness occurs within 20 minutes after the start of cooking. A well-prepared product has an excellent taste.
3. Red (Egyptian). Very quick to prepare. An excellent option for first courses.
4. Green. These are unripe brown lentils, which are perfect for people suffering from diabetes and gastrointestinal diseases. It will take at least an hour to prepare, but the result will be worth it.

Among the wide variety of lentil varieties, the following can be highlighted (photo below):

• Puy (French). Lentil beans of this mid-season variety have an unusual marbled color and a piquant, slightly spicy taste. Lentils do not boil over and completely retain their shape even after prolonged heat treatment, so they are perfect for making salads.

Lentil dishes are popular in different countries

• Laird. Mid-season high-yielding variety. The beans are quite large and round in shape. They have a pleasant rich taste and are suitable for preparing complex dishes that require long-term heat treatment.
• Anthia. A mid-season variety whose seeds remain green even when fully ripe. The fruits of the plant have a rich, very pleasant taste. The variety is incredibly resistant to disease and drought.
• Stepnaya. The seeds of this variety are distinguished by their rich yellow and excellent taste.

Planting in open ground

Although lentils are considered a plant that is unpretentious to growing conditions, choosing a suitable site should be taken very seriously. The place should be sunny and warm. It is better to give preference to light, loose, neutral soil: the best option would be light sandstone or loam.

Lentils do not tolerate acidic soils very well, so if this is the only soil on your site, be sure to carry out procedures that will help reduce the acidity of the soil: for example, standard liming will do.

In spring or autumn (at your discretion), when digging the soil, be sure to apply mineral fertilizers with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium (about 50 g per square meter).

Planting a plant in open ground carried out in early spring, when the soil warms up/thaws sufficiently (15-20 cm deep).

Advice. Before sowing, it is advisable to soak the seed material for 20-24 hours in a nutrient solution - a growth stimulator (this way you can increase seed germination by 15-20%).

Immediately before sowing, dry the seeds thoroughly. Prepare small furrows about 5 cm deep in the soil. Place the prepared seeds there. Gently sprinkle them a small layer soil and lightly compact it.

After 10-14 days, full-fledged sprouts should appear. Be sure to thin them out to prevent the possibility of weeds appearing in the area. Please note that in the first 30-40 days, lentils grow extremely slowly, so if the sprouts do not gain strength and growth very quickly, do not rush to abandon the plant: after flowering begins, it will begin to grow intensively.

Lentil bushes

Plant propagation

The process of propagation of lentils is carried out mainly by seeds. Because they have enough large size, there is no special need to prepare the soil before planting the crop. Sowing seeds can be done in the ground by mid-spring, when the snow has completely melted. For lentils to germinate well, the air temperature must be consistently above +5 degrees.

In particularly harsh climates, lentils are grown exclusively for seedlings. Seeds are sown in separate containers a month before planting on the site. Immediately before planting already strong sprouts, they should be hardened off. Planting in the ground should be carried out approximately at the end of May.

Plant care rules

Lentils are a unique plant, the care of which is not only simple, but also pleasant, so even a novice gardener will be able to cope with the task of growing lentils.

Lentils do not need much watering, because, as mentioned earlier, they are not at all afraid of drought. However, in the first 1.5 months it is better to fully provide the plant with water so that it can gain strength and grow as quickly as possible.

After the lentils have flowered, the frequency of watering can be reduced to 2-3 times a week. In addition, if weeds are quite common on your site, you should regularly thin out the growing lentil bushes and loosen the soil on the site.

As for fertilizing, phosphorus-potassium fertilizer is considered the best for lentils. As already mentioned, it is best to apply them before starting to cultivate the plant: either in the fall when digging, or in the spring before starting sowing. It is better to avoid using organic matter altogether, since in this case all the strength of the plant will be spent on the formation of lush green mass, and not fruits.

Neighbors in the garden are very important for lentils.

Disease and pest control

Unfortunately, lentils are sometimes attacked by pests and can become diseased in some cases. The following are the main lentil pests and diseases:

When planting a plant, it is extremely important to take into account its predecessors, as well as its “neighbors” in the area, because not every crop has a good combination with lentils. In no case should lentils be grown in places where crops belonging to the same family previously grew: peas,

Many of you have probably heard about lentil soup at least once in your life. A very popular old parable is about how Esau sold Jacob his birthright precisely for this simple food.

Several years ago, in our supermarkets, buyers paid little attention to lentils; the price for them remained low. Today, along with the growing popularity of veganism and healthy image life, lentils are becoming more and more in demand, the price tag is also gradually climbing up.

Description

By nature, lentils are an annual herbaceous plant of the Legume family. The straight or semi-branching stem can reach a length of 60 cm. The root system is located in the top layer of soil, no deeper than 40 cm. The fruits are diamond-shaped beans with one to three seeds.

Lentils are the leader among legumes in terms of the percentage of protein in their composition. It is also rich in iron, phosphorus and valuable amino acids.

People who survived the second world war, remember lentils from that terrible period. Then she was a real savior from hunger (and not everyone had one). This culture was also extremely popular in pre-revolutionary Russia, where it was called “poor man’s cereal.” However, with Khrushchev coming to power, they began to gradually forget about lentils.

The grains that we see today in our stores are grown in India and Pakistan (Russian packers and other intermediaries are indicated on the packaging). In our supermarket, an 800 g package costs more than $1. And there it is a product for the poorest segments of the population.

Meanwhile, lentils are also popular in developed capitalist countries - France, USA, Germany, Great Britain, where they often serve as a side dish for luxurious dishes in expensive restaurants.

Sowing lentils

Lentils are sown in Russia in the spring, as soon as the soil temperature warms up to +5...+6 C. They are planted in rows, row spacing is 20 cm, the distance in the row is 5 cm. Planting depth is 4 cm. This crop is not afraid of frosts down to -6 C at any stage of its development.

To increase the density of seedlings, it is advisable to roll the surface after planting. Sprouts appear from the ground about a week and a half after sowing the seeds.

The best predecessors for lentils are potatoes and corn. It itself enriches the soil with nitrogen, which is beneficial for most plants. After lentils, all crops except legumes can be grown on the plot.

The soil at the planting site should be loamy or sandy loam, and in no case acidic.

Top dressing

In the fall, when digging the site, you need to add phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to the ground. It is not recommended to add manure, since in this case the lentils will more actively grow green mass to the detriment of the harvest.

During spring digging, nitrogen fertilizers are added to the soil. On acidic soils, dolomite flour or wood ash is also added.

Lentil varieties

Currently, 9 varieties are zoned in the Russian Federation:

• Rauza.
• Petrovskaya anniversary.
• Petrovskaya 4/105.
• Vehovskaya.
• Vekhovskaya 1.
• Penzenskaya 14.
• Petrovskaya 6.
• Niva 95.
• Petrovskaya anniversary.
• Petrovskaya green grain.

Each of them belongs to large-seeded and plate (most valuable qualities for lentils).

Care

Depending on the specific variety and region of cultivation, the growing season can range from 80 to 110 days. Until the beginning of flowering, lentils develop extremely slowly, but later they begin to grow and branch quickly. The optimal temperature for growth and development is from +17 to +20 C.

As noted above, lentils are a cold-resistant and unpretentious plant. The most important thing for her is the length of daylight hours. Also, do not forget about timely moderate watering, shallow loosening and piercing weeds as they appear. The first loosening can be done when the seedlings reach a height of 7 cm. By this time they will have taken root quite well.

The fruits ripen gradually (not simultaneously), they are located very low on the plant, so it is difficult to collect them en masse. Harvesting begins after the seeds in the lower and middle parts have ripened. The plants are pulled out directly by the roots and placed in open areas under a canopy for natural drying, where the seeds from the top of the bushes will ripen. Upon completion of this stage, the plants are threshed.

Both fully ripened and not fully formed grains can be eaten.