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Kokabu - A Hybrid Of Far Eastern And Lettuce Turnips, Varieties And Agricultural Technology
Kokabu - A Hybrid Of Far Eastern And Lettuce Turnips, Varieties And Agricultural Technology

Video: Kokabu - A Hybrid Of Far Eastern And Lettuce Turnips, Varieties And Agricultural Technology

Video: Kokabu - A Hybrid Of Far Eastern And Lettuce Turnips, Varieties And Agricultural Technology
Video: Drift and JDM culture in Vladivostok (Russian Far East) 2024, March
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The path of the white turnip - through Japan to our beds

We have forgotten our primordially Russian vegetable culture - turnip. Only the expression "Simpler than a steamed turnip" remained from her. Do not plant it in gardens. And they don't eat. But sweet, aromatic. Perhaps the reason lies in the mustard oils that are found in root vegetables. It is not recommended for people who have thyroid problems.

turnip
turnip

The Japanese solved this problem long ago. They crossed Far Eastern turnips and salad. And we got a new variety of turnips for salad purposes called "kabu", in which these very mustard oils are practically absent. In fact, it is a relative of our turnip.

To the name of this turnip, they added the prefix "ko", which means "small." It turned out turnip "kokabu", ie kaboo with small roots. In early ripening varieties, the size of the root crop does not exceed 8 cm.

Kabu is a very early crop: the root crop is formed in 40–45 days! The value of this turnip is that not only roots, but also leaves are edible in it. They are tender, juicy, without pubescence, characteristic of the leaves of our Petrovskaya turnip variety. The Japanese eat these leaves all year round, which are packed with nutrients. They are eaten both fresh and salted. Root vegetables are also good in raw, boiled, salted forms.

Relatively recently, our scientists - breeders from VNIISSOK - created the first domestic salad grade turnip, it is called Geisha. The Geisha variety has successfully passed the variety trials. It is a cold-resistant variety with a friendly yield formation. It is distinguished by excellent early maturity (the period from germination to harvesting - 45-60 days) and resistance to stalking. His root crops are the same juicy and tender as those of Japanese varieties. The diameter of the root crop is 4–5 cm, weight is 50–60 g. The skin is thin, smooth. The pulp is white, firm, very juicy. It contains a lot of vitamins, trace elements, minerals, they are sweet, without coarse fibers and mustard oils. The leaves contain a lot of iron, a lot of vitamin C. Since the variety was bred specifically with edible leaves, the leaves of the plants are very large, there are many of them.

This variety has one more advantage: great shade tolerance. This allows you to grow it in low light conditions, for example, on a windowsill. True, on the windowsill you can grow not a root crop, but only leaves. Lettuce turnip leaves contain increased amounts of vitamin C - 70–80 mg% per 100 g of raw material, ie they may well rival bell peppers in this vitamin. There is a lot of carotene in the leaves. Thus, not only the roots, but also the tops are used for the Geisha turnip. However, the roots are in the summer. And in winter we will try to grow leaves.

Turnip on the ridge
Turnip on the ridge

In late January - early February, you can sow seeds into the ground to a depth of 0.5 cm. The sowing pattern is 5x5 cm. The soil can be used exactly the same as for peppers or tomatoes, i.e. non-acidic and fertile. The crops must be covered with glass or foil. Seeds sprout quickly at room temperature. After that, the shelter must be removed immediately. The seedlings grow very quickly, much faster than regular lettuce. To do this, they need additional lighting, for example, a 40-watt fluorescent lamp. Care is the simplest: water so that the earth does not dry out. After 25-30 days, rosettes of the most delicate leaves are formed. You can harvest.

Turnip leaves go well with other vegetables in salads. If there are too many of them, then you can make a salad only from them: chop, lightly salt and season with garlic dressing or mayonnaise, sour cream, vegetable oil.

White turnip varieties of later ripening periods and excellent taste for outdoor cultivation appeared. They eat root vegetables.

Variety White Night - gives leveled root crops with a diameter of 10-12 cm, weighing 500-800 g. Like all turnips, they are shallowly immersed in the soil. Ripen 70–72 days after germination.

Orbita variety - for winter storage. Root crops 400-500 g, ripen in 110-120 days.

Growing white turnips requires the same conditions as for our regular turnip. The most suitable are sandy loam and loamy soils, rich in humus, with a groundwater level of no closer than 0.9 m. On acidic soils, like all cruciferous soils, it can get sick with keel. Turnip fails in freshly fertilized areas: root crops of an ugly shape are obtained. Grows well after cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, herbs. There is a great way to grow this turnip: sow it between potato bushes after hilling. She easily tolerates the shade from potato bushes, so in the fall, when we dig potatoes, we will find, to our great joy, amazingly beautiful turnip roots.

For summer consumption, seeds are sown in early spring, for winter storage - in summer, after Petrov's day (July 12). Since turnip is a long-day plant, with a cold, lingering spring and a too long day, it can go to the arrow and not give a root crop. Therefore, in the spring it must be sown as early as possible. Her seeds begin to germinate at 2 … 3 ° C. At 18 … 20 ° С, they emerge on the fifth day.

The soil is prepared in advance. Under the digging, a small amount of well-rotted organic matter is introduced - half a bucket per square meter of area, as well as mineral fertilizers - according to the instructions for them.

Seeds are planted to a depth of 1.5–2 cm. After 3-4 true leaves appear, the plants are thinned out so that a distance of 15 cm remains between them.

Plant care is usual: watering in dry weather, loosening the soil, removing weeds. Turnip is very responsive to fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. With a lack of nutrition, poor quality roots grow: skinny, tough and tasteless.

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