ORGANIC GREEN LENTILS 5 KG

Dettagli

The lentil (Lens Culinaris) is poor and rich at the same time. Poor as it is content with soil that is not too fertile: consider that until recently it was widely cultivated in the poorest and most marginal soil of the Alps and the Apennines. And it has always been considered the 'meat of the poor', but precisely because it is very rich in mineral salts, vitamins and fibre. A plate of lentils can be afforded by everyone, princes and beggars alike, and it represents a complete low-cost meal. But the curiosities about lentils are not over: it seems that they are the oldest legume cultivated by man and the first traces of their existence date back to 7000 BC Now is it possible that in the 2000s they were not grown in our garden?

Soil and fertilization : Better if loose and sandy, but if we really don't have anything better, clayey soil will also suit, but try to avoid water stagnation. The ideal is to carry out a good fertilization with manure before the previous crop, but if we want to make the cultivation of lentils more productive, we add phosphorus and potassium, minerals that the plant is 'greedy' of.

Rotation and intercropping : generally lentil, which is a legume, is used to open a rotation cycle, so that almost all vegetables can subsequently be grown on that land with the exception perhaps of other legumes. However, it is usually not accompanied by other vegetables, with the exception of barley, broad bean, peas and rye. If we have an olive grove, an orchard or a vineyard, we can sow lentils under the trees or near them: they will benefit each other!

Sowing : takes place in autumn in the Centre/South and in spring in the North. We will leave 6-8 cm between one seed and another and 30-40 cm between one row and another. The sowing depth must not be more than 2 cm. The germination time is around 8-10 days. There are lentils of every color and size: from green to yellow, from red to orange, while their diameter can vary from 2 mm (tiny!!!) to 9 mm. We will be spoiled for choice!

Harvesting : we will uproot the plant when the aerial part is almost completely dried and we will leave it to dry well in a warm, dry place. Please don't delay the harvest too long because the seeds could start to lose color or be attacked by the weevil! I did the math and by cultivating 10 m2 of land we will be able to harvest around 5-6 kg of lentils. What is certain is that if we have a very small vegetable garden it is better to leave lentils alone!