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Growing Oat Root
Growing Oat Root

Video: Growing Oat Root

Video: Growing Oat Root
Video: Root Growth Timelapse | Soil Cross Section 2024, March
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Oat root (Tragopogon Porrifolium L.)

Oat root (Tragopogon Porrifolium L.)
Oat root (Tragopogon Porrifolium L.)

Its other names are: white root, sweet root, common goat, tragopogon. The British call this plant Vegetable oyster, Salsify. With him, we will begin a series of publications about rare, unknown, or well-known, but less common vegetable crops.

In the world there are about 150 species of oat root, and in the CIS - 50. In Russia, it can be found in the wild in the European part, the Lower Volga region; in the Ukraine - in the Crimea. It is practically unknown to our gardeners due to the lack of information and seeds. And those lucky ones who bought the seeds of the oat root, even grew it, do not know: what to do with it next, in other words, what is it eaten with? Whereas in the Baltic States, Western Europe, Canada, the USA this crop is widely cultivated.

In the North-West and North of the Russian Federation, oat root can be successfully cultivated in Karelia and the Vologda region, the Arkhangelsk region, in the Komi Republic, the Northern Urals and, naturally, to the south. In Russia, and in the CIS, there are no varieties of oat root - foreign varieties, local populations and collection samples from scientific institutions are grown. Mammoth, Blanc Ameliore, Mamonth Sandwich Island are known from foreign varieties.

Oat root is a biennial root vegetable plant of the Aster family (Asteraceae). In the first year of life, the plant forms a rosette of narrow gray-green leaves up to 30 cm long and fleshy elongated-conical 30 cm long, 3-4 cm in diameter, weighing 100-110 g smooth, yellowish, with many roots in the lower part and white pulp. … In the second year of life, a peduncle of up to 150 cm grows from the root crop. Plants bloom in June-July and are a good honey plant.

Given the shortage of oat root seeds, gardeners will have to take care of growing them themselves. Since the plants are winter hardy, the roots overwinter easily. In early spring, they are carefully dug up, large, even are selected and planted in well-processed, moist, fertilized soil. Given that the oat root is capable of cross-pollination, there should not be more than one variety of this crop on the site.

The flowers are purple-red. Seed, i.e. the fruit is a brown achene with a pointed beak, a grayish-white tuft up to 1.5 cm long, fully ripens. The mass of 1000 seeds is about 12-15 g, in 1 g - 55-60 seeds. Germination is maintained for two years.

Growing oat root

Oat root gives good yields on humus-rich, loose, deep, 30-40 cm deep, treated and fertilized soils with a slightly alkaline reaction (pH 7 and slightly higher). On heavy clayey, compacted soils and when fresh manure is introduced under the culture, root crops branch strongly, and then a full harvest cannot be obtained.

In the Leningrad region, oat root is usually sown on May 15-20, germinated for 5-6 days at a temperature of 25 ° C with seeds. The seeding depth is 2.0-2.5 cm, the sowing pattern is 5-15x20 cm. Seedlings appear amicable, on days 10-12, but then they grow back slowly. Care consists in weeding, loosening, top dressing, regular watering, removal of shot plants.

When harvesting in September-October, the roots are carefully dug in, freed from the soil with their hands, without injuring them, and placed in storage in boxes with sand. Roots left to winter are harvested before they start shooting. To obtain off-season products, sowing is carried out in the second half of September. In this case, the cleaning period is shifted. For spring consumption, oat root is best sown in July. For the winter, the root crops are hilled, and in the spring they are hilled again. After 10-15 days, the bleached leaves and roots are used for food, for harvesting and for seed purposes.

Also Read: Oat Root Properties and Recipes →

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