Scorcier - The Root Of Health

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Have you heard about the black root, still known from the time of Alexander the Great? Just do not confuse this cultivated plant with a blackroot weed, which is poisonous. Today we will tell you about an amazing dietary root vegetable revered for its medicinal qualities

In Central Europe, and later in the Caucasus, in Siberia, in Asia, the black root penetrated from the Mediterranean coast. Scorcier is popularly called sweet Spanish root, black root, black carrot, goat. Already in the Middle Ages, this vegetable plant was popular due to its distinctive nutritional qualities.

In the form of a cultivated plant, the scorchion is still little known in Russia; it occupies a small share in the crops. Gardeners are in no hurry to plant this vegetable in their backyard plots. But wild forms of black carrots can be found in the Caucasus, Crimea and Siberia.

Useful properties of black root

Skorzioner is a delicacy and rare guest in the garden of Russian summer residents. Kozelets has not yet been appreciated at its true worth, although it has powerful medicinal properties that are easily absorbed by the human body. Biochemical studies have shown that the black root contains vitamins, trace elements, inulin, asparagine, glutamine, calcium, phosphorus, and iron salts. The use of the scorcier as a food product has found successful application in diet therapy.

This root vegetable plays a great role in the treatment of rheumatism, radiculitis, diabetes mellitus, trophic ulcers. Scorcier root is used to treat heart and nervous diseases, the gastrointestinal tract, and the thyroid gland.

Milky juice of black carrots contains tannins, so the boiled root tastes good and resembles something intermediate between asparagus and cauliflower. Some argue that raw scorzoner has a mild, nutty flavor and is used in delicacies.

In food, both the root crop itself, fresh or dried, and young leaves are used. Scorcier root is added to soups, stewed as an independent dish, you can even make a drink that resembles coffee.

Botanical description

Scorcier belongs to the Asteraceae family, grown in culture as a biennial plant.

In the first year of cultivation, a rosette forms a rosette of lanceolate, elongated, whole-edged leaves. The root of the plant is rough, with a black or brown surface, with a diameter of 2 - 4 cm and a length of up to 40 cm. In shape, the root vegetable resembles the well-known carrot, the core is white edible. If you cut the pulp, then a milky, sweetish juice appears.

In the second year of plant development, a branched stem is thrown out, on which small yellow flowers bloom, and with the aroma of vanilla, collected in inflorescences - baskets. Scorcier has the peculiarity of flowering, flowers bloom in the morning, and close in the afternoon. Seeds are white, large, oblong, like a dandelion have a crest.

Growing and caring

The black root is not picky about the composition of the soil, but for a rich harvest, light, fertile soils would be ideal. The most suitable soils for growing a scorcier are processed loamy or sandy loamy soils, rich in humus. This vegetable does not like organic fertilizers, so it is advisable to abandon manure. Plant the scorchioner in the beds where cucumbers, head lettuce, beans, onions - turnips, leeks grew last year.

Seeds are sown in open ground in April - May, as soon as the earth dries out. And so that frosts do not damage the seedlings, cover the garden bed after planting for 10-14 days with a film. Do not tighten the sowing of the scorcher, otherwise the roots will grow thin. Seeds are planted to a maximum depth of 2 cm, leaving a distance of 30 cm between the rows.

If you cultivate black root as a perennial crop, then you can sow in early August. In this case, you will get an early harvest the next year.

Avoid soil crust formation in the garden bed. For the first week, the seeds sprout slowly and so that the weeds do not choke the young shoots, the soil should be weeded and loosened.

Watering regularly so that the soil does not tolerate sudden fluctuations in moisture. If the plant blooms in the first year, it is discarded, since after that the coarse roots are not edible. During the growing season, it is worth making 3 - 4 fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

In the fall, when the soil is already frozen, the roots are removed to the basement for storage, sprinkled with sand. You can leave the crop in the ground for the whole winter, the fruits are perfectly preserved under the snow, in freezing conditions. If a snowless winter is ahead, then a bed with a black root is mulched with leaves and covered with non-woven material.