2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
There are many wonderful and unusual specimens in the plant world, one of which is the chayote vegetable plant. This is a very ancient culture, which was known to the Aztecs and many Indian tribes. Originally from Central America, this plant is currently cultivated in many countries with tropical and subtropical climates. At the beginning of the 20th century, edible chayote was brought to Russia; now it can be found in the southern regions of the country in amateur gardens
Botanical description
Chayote or Mexican cucumber belongs to the pumpkin family, the appearance resembles a liana. The plant is perennial, the shoots are poorly set, have longitudinal grooves and grow up to 20 m in length. Chayote leaves are covered with stiff hairs, similar in shape to a wide heart with 3 or 7 obtuse lobes, the size of the leaf and petiole can reach 20-25 cm in length. This amazing plant blooms with light unisexual flowers. Usually male flowers form inflorescences, female flowers are solitary. Chayote fruits have a pear-shaped or round shape, no more than 20 cm in length. Depending on the variety, the color of the fruit can be different, from green to purple. The rind is thin, strong, strongly grooved, with outgrowths and longitudinal grooves. The soft white flesh contains one large bone, is sweet in taste and is very rich in starch. Root tubers are also edible, so chayote is classified as both a vegetable and a root vegetable. Young fruits taste like zucchini, and tubers like potatoes.
Cultivation
It is possible to grow chayote outdoors only in the southern regions of Russia; in the middle lane, this plant is best cultivated in a greenhouse. Chayote is a perennial plant, but usually it is grown in an annual culture, while the first 60 ovaries have time to ripen on one copy. When cultivating a Mexican cucumber as a perennial plant, the yield increases to 200 fruits per plant and tubers are formed on the roots in the amount of 6 - 10 pieces.
You can plant chayote seedlings or ripe fruits. To grow chayote, you need a temperature of at least 25 ° C, therefore, it is preferable to use seedlings in the temperate zone. Even with slight frosts, the leaves of the plant are damaged and the ovaries die. Chayote hibernates in places where the soil freezes to a depth of no more than 5 cm. When the air is well warmed up, seedlings can be planted in open ground. Keep in mind that the plant grows strongly, the distance between young seedlings should be at least a meter. Install a trellis for the chayote to cling to with its antennae. When the plant reaches 50 cm in length, pin the shoot.
Chayote is a moisture-loving plant; with a lack of moisture, yield decreases. Choose loams, chernozems, and drained peatlands as soil. Watch the pH of the soil solution, the plant does not like acidic soils. During development, the Mexican cucumber is watered, weeded, loosened, hilled once, some of the shoots are cut out and organic fertilizers are applied.
Properties and application
All parts of chayote can be used for food, from the tops of young shoots to tubers. The fruits are rich in vitamins C, B1, B2, PP, amino acids, carotene, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium. Tuber preparations have anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. Decoctions of chayote leaves are used for hypertension, edema, urolithiasis, in the treatment of arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure.
All parts of chayote are used for food. Unripe fruits and tubers taste like potatoes to some people, so chayote fruit can be peeled, boiled and served with butter. In addition, it is baked, stewed, stuffed. The pureed chayote pulp can be used as a base for a soup or as an addition to baked goods.
Only the stalk of chayote is not eaten; it is used after processing for weaving straw hats, caskets or other products.
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