Content
Many people eat edible tubers from various plants. The Chinese artichoke is especially popular among residents of Asia, China, Japan and some European countries. But Russians are still little familiar with this unusual plant. These unusually shaped tubers are boiled, fried, and pickled. Description, characteristics, features of agricultural technology, beneficial properties of the plant will be presented below.
What is a Chinese artichoke
Chinese artichoke, stachis, chistets are the names of the same useful plant belonging to the Yamnotaceae family. This is a herbaceous plant or subshrub, whose spindle-shaped tubers are used for food and for the preparation of medicines.
You need to know the description of stachys so as not to confuse the plant with anything. Chinese artichoke is a perennial whose aerial part resembles mint or nettle. The bush is low - about 50 cm. The stem of the plant has a rectangular cross-section. There are hard hairs along its entire length.A feature of the Chinese artichoke is the primary development of the main stem, and then lateral shoots appear, so the bush turns out to be branched.
The dark green oblong leaf blades are similar to the leaves of nettles. They have teeth, pointed tips, and hairs all over the surface.
Stachys or Chinese artichoke is a flowering plant. The spike-shaped inflorescences consist of small pink or purple flowers.
The root system of Stachys is represented by long branching stolons. Their dimensions are 50-60 cm, they are located shallowly (5-15 cm), one might say, superficially. A large number of tubers are formed on them. They are the most valuable part of the plant.
Tuberization begins not in the area of the stems, but rather far from them. During harvesting, you need to look for tubers between the rows, at a distance of 50 cm.
Subject to compliance with agricultural technology standards, up to 400 g of useful root vegetables are harvested. They look like twisted shells, which have thickenings and constrictions. The color of ripe stachys is pearly white. The shells are 2-5 cm long, their diameter is about 15 mm. The weight of one tuber is up to 7 g.
Useful properties and uses of stachys
The benefits of stachys were first appreciated by the ancient Chinese. It was they who began to eat fresh green leaves. The tubers were fried, boiled and stewed. The finished fruits are somewhat similar in taste to cauliflower.
What are the benefits of Chinese artichoke:
- Tubers have a high selenium content. It is a powerful antioxidant and immunomodulator.
- In terms of the content of potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and other microelements, stachys is superior to many other tubers.
- The absence of sugar in Chinese artichoke allows people with diabetes to consume the product.
- The presence of stachyosis makes stachys useful for patients with increased blood clotting and patients with diabetes mellitus. This substance works in the same way as insulin. Eating tubers can reduce sugar by up to 50% and cholesterol by 25%. That is why doctors recommend including Chinese artichoke in the diet of patients with type I and II diabetes.
- It has been scientifically proven that eating tubers is beneficial for older people, as it has a beneficial effect on metabolism: it normalizes the content of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals.
- Scientists have proven that Chinese artichoke tubers contain substances that prevent the development of cancer.
- Stachys, or Chinese artichoke (its tubers are pictured below) is recommended for use for certain diseases of the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. It helps normalize blood pressure and strengthens the nervous system.
Optimal growing conditions
Chinese artichoke is a light-loving plant, so open areas are chosen for its cultivation. Although it does well in partial shade. Plants do not tolerate stagnant moisture and close proximity to groundwater.
Stachys can be planted after any garden crops. The only limitation is cabbage and its relatives. It's all about common diseases.
Planting and caring for Chinese artichoke
Stachys is a perennial plant, but it is grown as an annual. The plant can be left in one place for several years.After 4-5 years, the Chinese artichoke requires replanting to a site with fertile soil.
Stachys can be planted in early spring, by planting overwintered tubers, or before winter.
Preparation of planting site and material
The Chinese artichoke prefers nutritious and fertile soil that contains peat. If planting is planned in the spring, then the site is prepared in the fall. Before digging 1 sq. m contribute:
- superphosphate – 1 tbsp. l.;
- potassium sulfate – 1 tsp;
- compost - 5 liter bucket.
The soil is dug up onto the bayonet of a shovel and left until spring. In the spring, before loosening, it is advisable to add 1 tsp. ammonium nitrate per 1 sq. m.
If planting of stachys is done in the fall, then the site is prepared in July. Before digging, add 1 square meter to the soil. m:
- potassium sulfate – 20 g;
- superphosphate – 50 g;
- organics – 10 kg.
Landing rules
For planting, spindle-shaped tubers that have been stored since autumn are used. For 1 sq. m will require about 100 g of planting material.
Planting is carried out depending on the climatic characteristics of the region, the main condition is the absence of return frosts.
Stachys can be planted in rows at a distance of 70 cm. Between holes - at least 30 cm. The depth of planting tubers is 5-6 cm.
Drainage is poured into the bottom of each hole, then soil. Place 1-2 Chinese artichoke tubers in each hole. The soil is compacted well and watered to remove air pockets.
Further care comes down to:
- watering;
- loosening the soil;
- removal weed;
- hilling;
- pest and disease control.
Watering and fertilizing
The Chinese artichoke does not require watering, but in dry weather it is impossible to do without irrigation. Watering is carried out in the evening at the root. But when nodules begin to form, the artichoke plantings need to be watered regularly.
As for fertilizing, fertilizer is applied to vegetable crops before planting. You need to understand that a large amount of nutrients can provoke rapid development of green mass, not nodules.
During the growing season, plantings can be pollinated with dry wood ash.
Weeding and mulching
Chinese artichoke plantings must be cleared of weeds. At first, this can be done using a small hoe. During the formation of tubers, all work is done manually so as not to damage the root system.
As such, mulching is only necessary after planting the Chinese artichoke. When the height of the plants is within 20 cm, the plantings begin to be carefully loosened. The flowering of the Chinese artichoke is a signal for the first hilling. It is performed 3 times during the season.
Harvesting
There is no need to rush into harvesting Chinese artichokes (stachys), since unripe products are poorly stored and do not have time to collect the necessary nutrients. As a rule, the event is planned for early October, before frost sets in.
From one stachys bush you can collect from 120 to 140 tubers, in some cases more. For digging, use a fork with round tips. Root vegetables are selected from the turned-up soil. The soil should be shaken off, the nodules should be slightly dried in a dark room with good ventilation and stored in the cellar.
Place the harvest in boxes and cover with sand. Some of the fruits can be left in the soil until spring. They can be dug up after the snow has thawed.
Reproduction
Chinese artichokes are propagated by tubers or seeds. To obtain seedlings, seed material is sown in fertile soil in March, in the usual way. Grown plants are transplanted to a permanent place after the threat of return frosts has disappeared.
Diseases and pests
Most often, the plant is damaged by the wireworm, the cruciferous flea beetle. To destroy them, you can use wood ash, which is added to the soil and pollinated young shoots. To catch wireworms, you can prepare traps from old stachys tubers or potatoes.
The Chinese artichoke is resistant to diseases, but the plants may suffer from root and stem rot. To avoid problems, it is recommended to plant stachys on loose, water- and breathable soils.
Conclusion
The Chinese artichoke spreads very quickly across the site, since a certain number of tubers always remains in the soil. In the spring they germinate on their own in a completely different place. But this is not a reason to refuse stachys. If the area needs to be cleared of plants, it is enough to dig up the soil in the fall, selecting the nodules, and then again in the spring.
