Once on a TV show they showed a plant with flowers like an aster and leaves like a gladiolus. They said that the boiled roots of this plant were edible, moreover, the taste was similar to oysters. I would like to know the name of this miracle, is it possible to grow it in middle lane Russia? Is there planting material on sale?
The plant about which we're talking about, called oat root. It is popularly known as salsify or sweet (white) root. Europeans call it a vegetable oyster. The boiled root vegetable is indeed associated in taste with oysters, for which it is valued in many countries. In Russia this plant is little known, which is a pity. Oat root is unpretentious and winter-hardy. Its seeds are occasionally sold in specialized stores.
Oat root in the second year of life
Benefits and ways to use oat root
The taste of root vegetables is spicy and sweetish. IN fresh it is used as an ingredient in various salads. Boiled and fried, they are used as a side dish or an independent dish. Combined with mushrooms - an excellent filling for pies. Dried and crushed root vegetables can be brewed to create a coffee-type drink. In addition to root vegetables, you can also use bleached leaves as food.
Salsify roots contain proteins, mineral salts, inulin and trace elements. Their calorie content is low, and nutritional value high. That is why the vegetable is valued by weight watchers and diabetics. Regular consumption of these roots normalizes metabolism and improves digestion.
Bioportrait
Oat root is a biennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. In the year of sowing, a basal rosette of elongated lanceolate leaves and a root crop are formed. IN next year the plant forms an erect, branched stem up to 1.5 m high. The shoots end in flowers (more precisely, inflorescences-baskets) of blue or dark lilac color. The seeds are light brown and remain viable for up to 4 years, although fresh ones germinate better.
Oat root seeds
The root vegetable is grayish-white, fleshy, smooth. Its length is about 30 cm, diameter up to 4, average weight about 100 g. The core is white; if its integrity is broken, transparent white juice is released. At the bottom of the root crop, branches are formed, thanks to which the plant received the not very sonorous name - salsify.
Growing and care
Oat root can grow in any soil, except acidic. On fertile ones, the quality of root crops and yield are much higher. You must choose a sunny place for planting. If you plan to grow the plant in a two-year cycle, then it will look good in the background of the flower garden, creating a backdrop for low-growing specimens.
In the first year, the oat root forms a rosette of leaves and a root crop.
Seeds can be sown in spring (from late April) or late autumn. The soil must be prepared in advance: dig up to a depth of 30 cm, adding in the fall phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, and in the spring - complex. Acidic soils additional liming will be required.
At spring sowing the distance between the rows is about 25 cm. Seeds must be planted to a depth of 2.5 cm. After sowing, it is advisable to mulch the bed, for example, with humus or sawdust with a layer of 3 cm, so that a soil crust does not form. Shoots appear after 14-20 days. As they grow, they need to be thinned out. At first, 3 cm are left between plants, and after thinning again, about 7 cm should remain.
Oat root flowering
Until the leaves close together, you should regularly weed the plantings and loosen the rows. It is necessary to water only during the period active growth leaves and in drought. The rest of the time, plants can easily do without water. It is better to remove stemmed plants, because their root vegetables turn out lignified and unsuitable for food.
Oat root is responsive to fertilizing. They are especially needed on poor soils. The first feeding, for example, with nitrophoska (15 g/sq.m.) should be done after thinning. The second feeding should be carried out during the formation of the root crop, preferably with ash (1 cup/linear meter). On poor soils, it would not be a bad idea to add magnesium sulfate (5 g/sq.m.). 1.5 months before harvesting, a third feeding is needed - superphosphate (20 g/bucket) and potassium sulfate (15 g/bucket). With this care, the accumulation of nitrates in root crops will be minimal.
Harvest and storage
Roots that taste like oysters when boiled
The roots should be harvested late in the fall, in central Russia - in October. If desired, they can be left until spring, hilling them up for the winter. Digging is complicated by the fact that there is a branching in the lower part, due to which the plants are firmly held in the soil. It is convenient to dig a groove near the first row, pull out the root crops by the tops, digging from below with a pitchfork. Do the same with the next rows. Leaves should be cut at a height of 7 cm. Root vegetables should be dried and stored.
It is advisable to store the harvest in plastic bags with holes for air exchange, half filled and tied at the top with a rope. The optimal temperature is about 0 °C; changes are extremely undesirable.
Some of the root vegetables can be washed using a brush, side branches and roots can be removed. Dry, cut into rings and finish drying in the oven over low heat. It is preferable to store in glass jars, tightly closing the lids.
We hope that after our publication you have a desire to grow oat root on your site. The plant has no disadvantages, but has many advantages: tasty and healthy roots, decorative leaves, interesting flowers, and requires almost no maintenance.
Family Asteraceae or Asteraceae
Origin of culture
In Southern Europe, oat root (also called salsify, white root) How vegetable plant known since antiquity. In the wild, it is quite widespread in Russia (Siberia), southern Ukraine, and Crimea. Cultivated in countries Western Europe, in the Baltic states. Little is grown in Ukraine, since vegetable growers are poorly aware of its value.
Useful properties
Oat root is rich in the very valuable polysaccharide inulin and other substances that normalize metabolism, so it is recommended for people with diabetes to eat it. The most valuable are annual fleshy root vegetables, which are used to prepare soups, purees, and side dishes for main courses. They taste like fish or oysters. IN winter time young bleached leaves are removed from them, from which they are prepared delicious salads. They give the dish a unique spiciness and freshness. Roasted, dried root vegetables make a good coffee drink.
Biological features
Biennial plant. In the first year it forms a smooth root crop 20-25 cm long gray-white and a rosette of lanceolate leaves. Numerous branches are formed in the lower part of the root crop, which is where the name “goatbeard” comes from. When the pulp of the root crop is broken, it releases milky juice. In the second year of life, the plant forms an erect stem with a height of 60 to 150 cm. The flowers are collected in purple-violet or blue baskets.
The plant is cold-resistant and overwinters well in open ground even with light snow cover. Seeds germinate already at 3°C, but optimal temperature for growth and development 16*20°C. Grows on almost any soil, except acidic, but on cultivated soils with a deep arable horizon it gives highest yields root vegetables high quality.
The plant is drought-resistant, but responds well to watering. Does not tolerate waterlogged, swampy places. Does not respond well to application fresh manure: the root crop is made longer and tougher. Neutral to day length.
Growing conditions
Since seeds may have reduced germination energy, it is advisable to subject them to pre-sowing preparation: carry out bubbling for 15-18 hours or at least simple soaking. Good results gives soaking seeds in a solution of Rivermail or other recommended growth regulators.
Because oat root loves loose soil, the garden bed is being prepared in the fall. A ridge is formed and sowing is carried out at the end of March - beginning of April. The distance between the rows is 4045 cm, the seed placement depth is 2-3 cm. The seeding rate is 1.53 g/m2. The ridge must be mulched or covered with film so that the soil does not dry out.
Oat root can also be used for winter sowing, which is carried out after the onset of persistent cold weather. At the same time, the seeding rate is increased by 20-25%.
Care involves frequently loosening the soil between the rows. First, they loosen to a small (3-5 cm) depth, gradually increasing it to 12-14 cm as the root grows. Breakthrough is carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves, leaving the plants at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. During the dry season, regular watering is necessary. The need for moisture increases sharply during periods of root formation. At the same time, it is important that the soil is moistened to the entire depth of the roots, so it is better to water less often, but a lot.
Responds well to feeding.
Plants that have begun to shoot are removed. Removing oat root is not easy. It must not be damaged during cleaning, as if damaged, milky juice will leak out. It is firmly held in the soil by the branching root system. It is poorly stored, so in the south it is removed as needed, and in the Non-Black Earth Zone - in October, before the onset of frost. Near each row, a groove is dug to the depth of the root crop, and then the root crops are pulled out by the tops. Then the tops are cut at a height of 12 cm, the root crops are placed in boxes, sprinkled with moistened sand.
Root vegetables can be dried, cut into small pieces and dried in the oven. Dried root vegetables are placed in glass jars and close with a lid. They retain their aroma and taste.
Winter forcing
For plants left in the soil, leaves are cut 13 cm from the surface in the fall and sprinkled with loose soil to 15 cm. As a result, bleached, tender leaves grow in the spring. Root vegetables with bleached leaves early spring can be used for food. They have a particularly delicate taste. Green shoots lose these qualities.
How to get seeds
Oat root seeds remain viable for 2-3 years, so it is always better to sow fresh seeds. To obtain seeds, they are selected in the fall best root vegetables, they are stored, like commercial ones, sprinkled with sand, and in the spring they are planted as early as possible according to the 60×30 cm pattern.
The plant is self-pollinating and cross-pollinates only with wild plants salsify. The seeds ripen unevenly, after 110-130 days. As the inflorescences turn brown, the plants are cut off and ripened in the shade, because the seeds easily fall off. The seeds are rod-shaped with small edges, light brown, with a thin pointed beak and a dirty white tuft in the shape of a parachute.
Diseases and pests
Oat root is a more disease-resistant plant than carrots, beets and other root vegetables, but is sometimes affected by white and gray rot during storage, false powdery mildew, viruses during cultivation. It is harmed by lettuce aphids, leafmining flies, meadow moths, etc. Measures to combat these diseases and pests are similar to those used for carrots.
Note to the housewife: recipes from oat root
Oat root coffee
Cut the peeled root vegetables into 23 cm pieces, air dry, then fry in the oven until brown. Grind in a coffee grinder, brew in boiling water (1 teaspoon per glass of water), bring to a boil again and strain. Can be drunk with milk or cream.
Oat root salad
150 g of white root, 200 g of boiled potatoes, 100 g of pickled cucumber, 50 g of mayonnaise, several sprigs of parsley, salt to taste.
Wash the root vegetables, remove the skin and side roots. To prevent the root tissue from darkening, immediately put it in cold water, acidified with vinegar, for 20 minutes. Then boil the root vegetables in water and cut into strips. At the same time, boil the potatoes in another bowl and cut into small cubes. Pickled cucumber cut into pieces. Place everything in a salad bowl, mix, season with mayonnaise and garnish with parsley sprigs.
Cabbage soup with oat root and mushrooms
750 g beef, 750 g sauerkraut, 20 g dried porcini mushrooms, 100 g salted mushrooms, 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 turnip, 2 onions, 4 parsley and white root vegetables, 10 g dill.
Place the beef with onion and roots (half the norm) in cold water and cook for 2 hours. Half an hour before the end of cooking, add salt to the broth, then strain and remove the roots.
IN clay pot put sauerkraut, pour boiling water (0.5 l). Add butter, close the lid and place in a moderately heated oven. After softening the cabbage, combine it with strained broth and beef. Place dried mushrooms and sliced potatoes in an enamel saucepan, pour cold water(2 cups), put on fire and bring to a boil.
Then remove the mushrooms, cut into strips and put them back into the broth. When the mushrooms and potatoes are cooked, add meat broth with cabbage and beef, finely chopped onions, remaining roots, cut into strips, and spices. Add salt and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cabbage soup from the heat, season with dill and garlic and leave for 15 minutes, wrapping the dishes in warm clothes. Before serving, place coarsely chopped salted mushrooms and sour cream on each plate.
Also on the site you can read articles about such little-known plants as Okra, Chicory, etc. About their characteristics when grown on garden plot, useful properties.
Attention! Seeds of Chicory coffee and Oat root appeared in our CC on Vasilkovskaya, 30
Subscribe to receive articles
Subscribe
Oat root in Russia is better known as meadow plant salsify. In Europe, it has long been cultivated and is called oyster or white root. The revival of interest in oat root is caused by the widespread prevalence of such diseases as diabetes. This plant contains inulin, so it is recommended for dietary nutrition, and a coffee substitute is made from the dry ground root.
The root is used in food, which is either fried or boiled in salted water for no more than 10 minutes. By the way, the root is boiled in its peel, which is then removed. This is an excellent side dish for fish and meat dishes, it is also good in soups, especially mushroom ones. Boiled oat root is flavored with the same sauces as asparagus.
To cultivate oat root you need neutral lungs fertile soils. Manure and humus are added only for predecessors. If you want to harvest in the fall, then you need to sow in mid-April directly into the garden bed. For spring use, sow in mid-July. In the garden bed, it is better to make 3 lines with row spacing of 15-20 cm. Old books and magazines recommend breaking through seedlings at a distance of 25 cm from each other. However, more delicate root vegetables grow in dense plantings when the distance between plants is 7-9 cm, as when planting carrots.
Caring for oyster root is simple: weeding, loosening, thinning, watering in hot weather. You shouldn’t bother with fertilizing, although if the soil is thin, then fertilize a couple of times. green fertilizer It would be necessary - the root crops will be large and even. Pests and diseases have so far avoided it.
Cold-resistant, seedlings appear already at +3˚С. Winters well even in the absence of snow cover.
Only one of the secrets. Oat root seeds have weak germination energy, so be sure to soak them in an epin solution before sowing.
Although there are no oat root varieties in the State Register of Breeding Achievements yet, seeds under the names Mammoth and Oyster Root have already appeared on sale. Mammoth has more uniform root vegetables, juicy, with a pulp of delicate consistency, reminiscent of fish or oyster in taste.
Oat root is harvested from late summer until frost. You have to be very careful, because the root is large and fragile, and when damaged, it releases milky juice. Damaged root vegetables do not store well. Part of the harvest can be left over winter to use fresh roots in the spring. Store the white root in the basement, sprinkled with slightly damp sand.
By the way, oat root is very decorative in the second year of cultivation: it has beautiful linear leaves and spectacular red-pink flowers. But it is better to remove the flower stalks, otherwise, when the seeds ripen, a lot of self-sowing will appear in your garden. Moreover, it is very difficult to weed out. Because the root is a long taproot, and the seeds prefer to germinate in the center of the bush with phlox or peonies, in general, where it is most difficult to remove weeds.
Leave a few flower stalks for seed purposes, but do not let the seeds fall off. Although the plant is biennial, for food purposes it is better to sow it every year, because flowering plants The root vegetable is rough.
I have the flu. I am writing about oat root. But they asked me to write about the black root - scorzonera!!! I assure you, even with a bright mind, it is very easy to confuse these two rare root vegetables in our gardens. Both belong to the Aster family. Both are biennials, until you dig up the root crop, the plants can only be distinguished by the color of the flower - the oatmeal is purple-red, bluish, the scorzonera is yellow. Well, the oatmeal root looks more like a white carrot, and the scorzonera root looks more like a black, juicy and very long pencil. By the way, both root vegetables are the most valuable food product for diabetics.
But I will definitely write about scorzonera.
While flipping through the new catalog of my favorite online seed store, I came across a new product -.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know about him yet. And since I really like to plant everything new, I decided to find out more about this “curiosity.”
oat root, also known as salsify, or oyster root, is widespread in Western Europe and the USA, but in our gardens it is a very rare guest.
And this is a big omission on our part, dear gardeners. After all, this vegetable is simply unique, and soups and all kinds of salads with it are incredibly tasty.
Useful properties
Huge beneficial properties It can also boast of its root vegetables, which contain just about everything.
They have huge amount vitamins of group B, PP, as well as quite a lot of substances such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, selenium, calcium, zinc.
Oat root has a wonderful oyster flavor. In many countries it is considered one of the most exquisite delicacies and is served in the most expensive restaurants. Oyster root is very useful for coughs, liver and kidney stones, stomach ulcers, jaundice, diabetes, gastritis, and also for skin diseases.
Isn't it just an amazing plant!
Once you know how useful this root is, you will definitely want to plant it in your garden. After all, growing oyster root is not at all difficult.
We grow a delicacy
Our delicacy gives preference nutritious soil, but its type is not so important.
The most important thing is that the soil is not too wet and not too acidic.
It is also necessary to take into account that the germination of oat root seeds lasts only 2-3 years and, therefore, it is recommended to use only last year’s seeds for sowing. In this case, they will certainly rise.
Oat root is a cold-resistant crop, so preparing seeds for planting can begin in the last ten days of April.
First of all, they should be soaked for 3 hours in a growth stimulator. Then, in order for the seeds to dry, we place them on a cloth.
The best height for our bed is 15-20 cm. We sow the seeds in grooves 2-3 cm deep, and make the distance between the grooves about 20 cm.
After sowing, cover the bed with film and do not remove it until shoots appear.
Further care of the plantings consists of regular loosening, weeding, fertilizing and watering.
It is recommended to water our miracle root not often, but generously. As the root grows, loosening must be carried out more deeply.
We fertilize three times a season and it is best to use an ash solution for this. Prepare the solution as follows: dissolve 1 glass of ash in 8 liters of water.
Oat root vegetables are very fragile and therefore you need to dig out the ripe vegetable very carefully so as not to damage it.
If the root is damaged, valuable milky sap may leak out and the plant will lose its healing properties. It is recommended to harvest the oat root as it grows, and not all at once, since it is stored rather poorly.
That's probably all I learned at at the moment about this plant. Of course, I bought the seeds and will try to grow this most useful root. Dear readers of the site, if any of you have already grown oat root, then be so kind as to share your experience.
See you soon, dear readers!
Biennial plant of the Asteraceae (Asteraceae) family. In the 1st year of life, it forms a grayish-white cylindrical root crop with a diameter of 3-4 cm with thin but quite numerous lateral roots and a rosette of large quantity(more than 30) leaves, in the 2nd year - stems, inflorescences and seeds.
The leaves are directed upward, linear-lanceolate, widened at the base and pointed at the apex. Stems 100-150 cm high, erect. The flowers are purple or violet-red, collected in inflorescences - single baskets on long peduncles.
The fruit is a brown achene with a tuft. Oat root has been known in culture for a long time, initially mainly as a medicinal plant, and later as a vegetable plant.
Currently, it is cultivated in a number of Western European countries, as well as in the USA and Canada. In Russia it is very rare. Wild forms of oat root are found in a number of central regions of the European part of Russia, in the Crimea, and the Lower Volga region and are sometimes used as food by the local population. There are very few selected varieties of oat root; the most famous of them is Mammoth (Mamut).
Oat root is grown by sowing seeds in open ground. It grows well on light, rich organic substances, neutral or slightly alkaline soils with a deep topsoil. Acidic soils must be limed. It is not recommended to apply unrotted manure during the sowing year, as this can cause unwanted branching of root crops and reduce their marketable quality.
Seeds are sown in early spring, as well as before winter, in rows with row spacing of 45-50 cm or 2-line ribbons (between lines - 20 cm, ribbons - 50 cm). The seedlings are thinned out when the plants reach a height of 7-8 cm, leaving them in the row after 10-15 cm. Then the row spacing is loosened and, if the soil is not fertile enough, fertilizing is carried out with mineral fertilizers.
Further care includes periodic loosening of the soil, weeding, and removal of plants that were killed during the year of sowing. Root crops are harvested late in the fall, but before the soil freezes. Sprinkled with wet sand, they are well preserved during the winter in storage. For spring use, they can be left in the soil over the winter.
Oat root is valuable for its dietary properties. When boiled, it has a very pleasant delicate taste, reminiscent of the taste of oysters. It is often called the "plant oyster" and the plant itself is called an oyster.
Root vegetables are eaten in salads, as a seasoning for soups, as an independent dish (boiled and fried) and as side dishes for fish and meat. A coffee surrogate is prepared from the oat root, and a salad is made from its young leaves.
Boiled oat root
Peel the root vegetables, put them in water with vinegar, remove them, pour boiling water over them, add salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook until tender in a sealed container over high heat, then drain in a colander and, when the water has drained, place in a salad bowl. Serve with melted water butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, as an independent dish or a side dish for meat.
Oat root baked with egg
Peel the root vegetables, boil in salted water, drain in a colander, then place in a deep frying pan greased with butter, pour in eggs beaten with milk, and bake in the oven.
500 g of root vegetables, 4 eggs, 7o glasses of milk, 50 g of butter or fat, salt to taste.
Soup
Root vegetables (300 g), peel, boil, rub 2/3 of them through a sieve, dilute hot water or broth (1 l), season with parsley, celery, then add the remaining root vegetables cut into pieces.