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Black carrot, also called scorzoner, goat, or black root Is a vegetable culture little known in Russia. There is only one reason for such low popularity - the lack of information about this plant. The situation is different in the countries of Europe, Asia and the East. There, this black root is not only actively cultivated, but also used for medicinal purposes.
The benefits of black carrots
The homeland of black carrots was the south-west of Europe, where they later began to cultivate them as a vegetable crop.
The benefits of the black root have been known since the time of Alexander the Great. It was she who was served to his table as a delicacy. In addition, scorzonera was actively used as part of an antidote for snake bites.
Its composition is rich in various useful substances, such as:
- saccharides;
- vitamins C, B1, B2, E;
- iron;
- phosphorus;
- calcium, etc.
Scorzonera is well absorbed and helps in the fight against diseases such as:
- avitaminosis;
- obesity;
- anemia;
- diabetes mellitus and others.
It will be especially useful for the elderly and those who require dietary food.
This variety of carrots is consumed raw after soaking in salt water. Black carrots can be grated and used for salads. It can be boiled, fried and stewed, frozen and canned. In addition to the root crops themselves, you can also use young scorzonera greens.
Characteristics of varieties
There are very few varieties of black carrots or scorzonera and it is quite difficult to see them on sale. Only three varieties are entered in the State Register of the Russian Federation: Overseas delicacy, Healing and Solar premiere. But it is extremely rare for a gardener to stumble upon varieties such as the Russian giant and the Gypsy.
Overseas delicacy
This mid-season black carrot variety has a semi-raised rosette 17 cm high and up to 12 cm in diameter. It is formed by medium-sized green leaves.
The root vegetable of the Overseas delicacy is cylindrical and dark brown in color. Its length will not exceed 35 cm, its diameter will be from 2.2 to 3.2 cm, and its weight will be in the range from 100 to 130 grams. The flesh of this black carrot is white. The yield of the variety from one square meter will not exceed 2 kg.
Curative
The harvest of this variety of black carrots will have to wait up to 120 days. The leaves of the plant have an ovoid-elongated shape and long petioles. The half-raised rosette of these leaves conceals a long, dark brown root crop. It has a conical shape and a weight of no more than 80 grams. The white tender pulp of the Healing variety is perfect for cooking. It is very juicy, sweetish and has an astringent taste.
Russian giant
The stem of the Russian giant grows up to 75 cm in height. It has ovoid oblong leaves that form spreading branches. In the second year of the growing season, the plant is covered with yellow inflorescences from several baskets. The root crop of this variety has a cylinder shape and a rich vitamin composition.
Sunny Premiere
This black carrot variety will mature in 110 days. It has a vertical rosette of ovate-elongated leaves on a long petiole.The cylindrical root crop has a length of 31 cm and a weight of up to 80 grams. Its cross-sectional diameter will be 3 cm. The dark brown surface of the carrot hides white tender pulp. The yield of the variety will be about 1.8 kg per square meter.
Gypsy
An excellent dietary grade for people with diabetes. In the first year of its two-year growing season, the plant grows a rosette of leaves, under which the root crop is located. Its cylindrical shape is painted black. Gypsy carrots grow up to 30 cm in length. Its white flesh contains a lot of milky juice and has a sweet, astringent taste. In the second year of the growing season, the plant grows up to 1.5 meters and begins to branch. During the flowering period, the plant forms baskets of large yellow flowers.
The video shows scorzonera plants:
Growing recommendations
It is difficult to find a more unpretentious culture than scorzonera. For its cultivation, you can choose an area that is not suitable for other crops or placed on the same bed with other perennial crops. Planting black carrots after plants such as:
- cucumber;
- tomato;
- bow;
- potatoes.
In addition, it does not hurt to fertilize the ground before planting with any mineral fertilizers or wood ash.
Scorzonera is grown through seeds that are planted outdoors. Moreover, it can be planted in spring, summer and even autumn:
- With spring sowing, root crops are harvested already in the first year of the growing season. To do this, pre-soak the seeds. They are planted at the end of April, immediately after the soil dries out. For better germination, they should be covered with foil.If you tighten up the sowing a little, then black carrots will grow thin and tasteless.
- When sown in summer, the black root is grown as a biennial plant. For this, even freshly harvested seeds of plants of the second growing season are suitable. Summer planting allows plants to root better until autumn and winter safely. With this planting, roots and seeds are formed in the second year after planting.
- Autumn planting allows you to harvest earlier than with spring planting.
The first shoots of black carrots will appear quite quickly: in spring or summer sowing in 14 days, in autumn - in 7. When young black root plants grow 7 cm in height, you can mulch the soil under them. Before that, it is first loosened and watered well. You do not need to mulch the soil, but then it will often have to be loosened.
When the first 2-3 pairs of leaves appear, the rows of young plants are thinned out. They must be removed so that a distance of at least 15 cm remains between them. If less space is left between neighboring plants, they can begin to form flowering stems. To ensure a good harvest, they should be removed without regret.
Further care of the plants is not difficult at all:
- regular watering;
- loosening the soil - only if mulching has not been carried out;
- fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.
It is necessary to harvest on average 110-120 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Dig up black carrots very carefully, as they are quite brittle.
In this case, it is important to produce it before the onset of cold weather. When the soil is frozen, it will be very difficult to dig up the scorzonera. If the gardener did not manage to dig up the black carrots before the onset of cold weather, then he can do it in the spring. The root crop overwinters well in the soil.
Black carrots are incredibly vitamin-rich vegetable crops that will still compete for a place on our plots.It is undemanding to care and is very useful both for the treatment of many diseases and for their prevention.
