While leafing 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, also known as oyster root, is widespread in Western Europe, in the USA, but in our own gardens this 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.
Beneficial features
Huge beneficial properties It can also boast of its root vegetables, which contain just about everything.
They have great 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 finest 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 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 planting maintenance 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 this 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!
The white oat root plant goes by many names. It is called: salsify, sweet and white root, trapogon. There are 50 species of this plant in the CIS, and about 150 throughout the world.
In Russia, it grows wild in the Lower Volga region and the European part. In Ukraine it grows in Crimea. Russian vegetable growers know little about it. But in the USA, Canada, Western Europe, and the Baltics, it is widespread. Oat root can be grown in the North-Western regions of Russia. We and the CIS do not have our own varieties. If vegetable growers sometimes grow, they grow foreign varieties. Among them are: Mammoth, Mamonth Sandwich Island, Blanc Ameliore.
Oat root is a vegetable root vegetable biennial plant from the Asteraceae family. Its grayish-green leaves in the first year of life are formed in the form of a rosette, up to 30 cm long. The root crop is elongated, up to 30 cm, with smooth yellowish skin. Gains 100 – 110 g weight. Pulp white. In the second year of life, the root crop produces a peduncle up to one and a half meters high. Flowering occurs in June – July. The flowers are red-violet and well visited by bees. Due to the lack of seeds, vegetable growers can grow them themselves. Root crops tolerate winters well. In early spring They are dug up, selected even and large, and planted in moist, sufficiently fertilized soil. It is impossible to grow several varieties at the same time in one area, since the plant cross-pollinates. The seed fruit is brown and up to 1.5 cm long. Oat root seeds can remain viable for two years.
How to Grow Oat Root
A good harvest of oat root is harvested from loose soils fertilized with humus (with a slight alkaline reaction). Dense clay soils or freshly manured soils do not produce a rich harvest. On May 15 - 20, you can sow oat root in Leningrad region. To do this, it is necessary to germinate the seeds for 5-6 days when the temperature is +25°C. They are sown to a depth of 2 - 2.5 cm. After 10 - 12 days, sprouts already sprout, but grow slowly.
It is imperative to loosen, weed the beds, constantly water and remove arrows on the shoots. The harvest is harvested in September–October. Root crops need to be carefully dug up, freed from the ground by hand and placed in boxes with sand for further storage. To harvest in the spring, the plant must be sown in July. Hill up root crops for wintering, and hill up a second time in the spring. After 10 - 15 days, you can eat ripened root vegetables.
Useful qualities and applications
Both the “tops” and “roots” of the oat root are edible. Eating this plant stimulates normal metabolism in the human body. The fact is that oat root is saturated with vitamins, mineral salts, nutrients and pectin, and especially sugars: their content in fruits is 13–15%, in foliage – 2.5–3%. The leaves contain icarotene. The polysaccharide inulin is present in the foliage (1%) and root vegetables (6%).
It is very important for diabetic patients. To improve appetite and digestion, a decoction of the roots is used as a choleretic agent. Medicinal and nutritional value plants are the cause wide application it for food in various types. If it is not possible to store fresh root vegetables, peeled and chopped oat root is dried or frozen. It is used as a seasoning for soups and adds a piquant taste to canned foods. Young spring leaves used in salads. Add lemon juice, vegetable oil and garlic.
Oat root recipes
Oat root leaf sandwich
spread butter black or bran bread, cover with leaves (bleached), put half on top chicken egg, hard-boiled. Add salt and spices to taste.
Oat root salads
Wash the root vegetables, peel them, grate them on a grater (large). Then add the same amount of grated carrots and 1/5 of this vegetable mixture parsley You can replace parsley with celery. A matter of taste. Mix everything and season with sour cream, mayonnaise or vegetable oil. Season the salad lemon juice, garnish with herbs: cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, celery or any other you like.
Wash the root vegetables, peel them, and boil them in water with the addition of vinegar. Then cut the cooked root vegetable into circles. Sprinkle with coriander and parsley. Season the salad with mayonnaise.
Wash the root vegetable, peel it, grate it raw on a coarse grater, but it is better to cut it into strips. Also cucumbers, cut into strips or borage add to the oat root in a 1:1 ratio. Instead of cucumbers, you can take apples or carrots. Salt the salad and season with lemon juice and vegetable oil, mayonnaise, or sour cream. You can use yogurt, fermented baked milk or kefir for dressing.
"Oysters" from oat root
Washed and peeled root vegetables are immersed for 10 - 15 minutes in water acidified with vinegar or lemon juice. After this they are placed in enamel pan with boiling water, salt, season with a pinch of sugar and cook with closed lid until ready. When the root vegetables are cooked, place them chopped in a salad bowl and season with vegetable oil. The side dish is sprinkled with breadcrumbs and served with the main meat or fish dish.
Side dish with egg
Chop the boiled root vegetables, place in a frying pan with oil, beat the eggs with salt and pour this mixture over the vegetables. Onion chop and sprinkle on top. Add spices to taste and bake in the oven. Decorate the dish with finely chopped herbs.
Root vegetable soup
Ingredients:
Water or broth – 1.5 liters, oat root – 300 g, potatoes – 2 pcs. (medium), carrots – 1 pc., celery – 1 stalk, butter – 1 tablespoon, parsley, salt (to taste).
Wash the oat root and boil it. Divide into two unequal parts. Rub through a sieve or grind most of it in a blender. Cut the peeled potatoes into strips and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Add the sautéed chopped carrots to the pan. After 10 minutes, add the pureed mass of root vegetables and chopped celery. Season with salt. Before the end of cooking, add chopped parsley and the remaining part of the oat root, cut into circles.
Root vegetable soup
Rub peeled and boiled oat root vegetables through a sieve and dilute the puree with broth. Add to the mixture: parsley, basil, dill, coriander, celery - finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and spices.
Artificial coffee
Cut the peeled oat roots into circles. First dry and fry until golden brown. Then put it in a coffee grinder and grind. Brew like regular coffee, add cream and sugar to taste.
Regular consumption of root and leaf products oat root promotes normal functioning human body, because they are rich nutrients, vitamins, mineral salts, especially sugars - 2.5-3.0% in leaves and 13-15% in root vegetables, pectin substances, carotene (leaves).
Of particular value for diabetic patients is the polysaccharide inulin - about 1% in leaves and up to 6% in root vegetables.
The root is used in the form of decoctions to improve digestion, appetite, and as a choleretic. Considering the high nutritional and medicinal value of the leaves and roots of oat root, in developed countries it is widely used as food in raw and processed form.
For preparations, peeled and chopped root vegetables are stored dried or frozen if there is no cellar and nowhere to store fresh root vegetables.
Oat root recipes
Oat root adds piquancy to canned food and is used as a seasoning for soups. Salads are prepared from young or bleached leaves in spring, adding vegetable oil, lemon juice, and garlic.
Oat root leaf sandwich
Spread bread (preferably black or with bran) with butter, put leaves (preferably bleached), and top with half a hard-boiled egg. Salt, spices - to taste.
Root vegetable salads
1. Peeled root vegetables are grated on a coarse grater, add the same amount of grated carrots, about 1/5 of this amount of grated parsley or celery. Mix everything, season with vegetable oil, sour cream, mayonnaise to taste. Season the salad with lemon juice, garnish with dill, parsley, celery, basil, cilantro, etc.
2. Boil washed root vegetables in water acidified with vinegar, cut into slices, season with mayonnaise, sprinkle with parsley and coriander.
3. Peel the raw root vegetable, cut into strips or chop on a coarse grater, add cucumbers or borage cut into strips (1:1), which can be replaced with carrots or apples. Season the salad with vegetable oil, lemon juice, salt, sour cream, mayonnaise, kefir or yogurt.
Vegetable "oysters"
Peeled root vegetables are placed in acidified water for 10-15 minutes, and then transferred to an enamel pan, pour boiling water, add a pinch of sugar, salt to taste and cook until tender in a sealed container. The cooked root vegetables are chopped, placed in a salad bowl, poured with vegetable oil and sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Serve with fish or meat.
Root vegetable side dish with egg
Boiled and chopped root vegetables are placed in a frying pan, poured with beaten eggs, sprinkled with chopped onions and baked in the oven. Salt, spices to taste. Garnish the side dish with finely chopped herbs.
Oat root soup
Wash the root vegetables, boil them, rub more than half through a sieve. Cut the peeled potatoes into strips, place in a boiling broth, and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the sauteed chopped carrots, and after another 10 minutes. - oat root mass, chopped celery. Add salt. At the end of cooking, add parsley and the remaining root vegetables cut into slices. 1.5 liters of water or broth, 300 g of oat root, 2 medium potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 stalk of celery, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of butter, chopped parsley and salt - to taste.
Oat root soup
Boiled root vegetables are rubbed through a sieve, the mass is diluted with broth, seasoned with finely chopped dill, parsley, celery, basil, and coriander. Salt, spices to taste.
Coffee surrogate
Peeled root vegetables are cut into slices, dried and fried until light brown, and ground in a coffee grinder. Brewed like coffee. Sugar and cream - to taste.
Bon appetit!
V. Alekseev, CEO LLC "Poisk-Petersburg",
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences
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? Whether there is a 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 their nutritional value is 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.
You can sow seeds 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 fertilizing, for example, with nitrophoska (15 g/sq.m.) should be carried out 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. Optimal temperature 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. Preferably stored 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.
Oat root ( Tragopogon porrifolius L.) is a biennial plant from the family Asteraceae, or Asteraceae. Two forms of oat root are known in cultivation.
Features of agricultural technology
Agricultural technology for oat root is simple. On mineral, poor soils, complete fertilizer is applied before sowing - 3 quintals of ammonium nitrate, 3-4 quintals of superphosphate and 2-3 quintals of potassium salt per 1 ha.
Due to its cold resistance, oat root can be sown very early. The earlier the sowing is done, the faster the seedlings appear. On large areas sowing is carried out with row spacing of 15-30 cm.
Our advice:
To achieve uniform sowing, the seeds are mixed with fine compost or peat (in a ratio of 1:10) and sown to a depth of 2 cm. Only proven seeds should be sown, as they do not retain germination well.
It is better to use fresh seeds obtained in the previous year for sowing. When the first 2-3 leaves are formed, the plants are thinned by 10-15 cm in the row.
In the first year, the plant produces long, cone-shaped, fleshy roots with a rosette of long, wheatgrass-like leaves.
In the second year, a stem 80-120 cm high appears. The stems branch and end in heads with purple-violet flowers. Flowering at the oat root is extended and lasts about two months. The flowers are self-pollinating, but cross-pollination of the oat root with wild salsify is possible.
On rich soils good root vegetables can be obtained by thinning the plants to a distance of 8-10 cm. Further care of the plants consists mainly of weeding and loosening the soil.
Summer sowing of oat root
Oat root can also be sown in the summer with freshly harvested seeds, in the middle zone - in July, in the south - in August. By autumn, young plants grow, they overwinter and begin to grow early.
With a two-year culture, you can get large roots.
At summer terms After sowing, and especially in spring, a certain number of flowering plants appear that need to be removed.
When should oat roots be harvested?
Harvesting begins late in the fall, and part of the crop is left undug for spring use.
The ripening of seeds is very extended, so they are collected in several stages as they ripen. Seeds remain viable for 2-3 years. Weight of 1000 seeds - 10 g.
Oat root can overwinter in open ground.
Medicinal properties
The plant is grown to obtain fleshy roots, which contain inulin, which is extremely necessary for people with diabetes.
As you know, diabetes mellitus is caused by an absolute or relative deficiency in the human body of the hormone insulin, produced by the beta cells of the pancreas.
The treatment of diabetes mellitus is based on normalizing impaired carbohydrate metabolism, eliminating sugar in the urine, and reducing its level in the blood.
The main methods of treatment are insulin administration, the use of hypoglycemic drugs, and diet.
It is herbal medicines and diet that can be used by patients with mild and latent forms of diabetes mellitus and people with prediabetes.
Use of oat root in cooking
Delicious dishes are prepared from oat root vegetables:
- Before cooking, the roots are cleaned and immediately placed in cold water, acidified with vinegar so that they do not darken.
- Boil root vegetables in salted boiling water for 20-30 minutes until softened.
- After cooking, the water is allowed to drain and the root vegetables are seasoned with various sauces or fried.
Our advice:
Boiled roots can also be seasoned with butter and parsley and onion.
Lyubov Dudchenko, Candidate of Biological Sciences
© Ogorodnik magazine
Photo: depositphotos.com