Content
- 1 Onion garlic Rocambole: everything about it
- 2 Description of Rocambole garlic
- 3 How does the onion garlic Rocambole propagate?
- 4 Planting and caring for Rocambole garlic
- 5 Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
- 6 The benefits and harms of Rockambol
- 7 Use of Rocambole garlic in cooking
- 8 Conclusion
- 9 Reviews
Onion garlic Rocambole is an unpretentious and high-yielding crop that is increasingly appearing in vegetable gardens. It is important not to make a mistake and purchase planting material of this particular natural hybrid of onion and garlic. Propagating a new plant is exciting, but you need to take into account the subtleties of care and storage.
Onion garlic Rocambole: everything about it
The crop, which is grown in Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean countries, and Western Europe, has many names: elephant or Egyptian onion, German or Spanish garlic, onion garlic. This is a wild plant of Central Asia, Spain, and Egypt.
In Russia, Rocambole has been grown by individual enthusiastic gardeners since the 19th century. The aboveground and underground parts of the plant both resemble onions and garlic in appearance and nutritional properties, but not with such a strong taste.Its main attraction is the large volume of the head, which easily gains weight in a favorable climate. The cloves store well and provide vitamins until the warm season.
Rocambole belongs to the lily family. Outwardly it resembles a leek; other gardeners claim that the stem and leaves look like huge garlic. The one-toothed bulb, which forms over a season from the small children of a mature plant, is identical to a round, flat bulb with white scales. Planted the following spring, it produces a large, half-pound head of onion garlic with several cloves.
According to reviews, Rocambole garlic is similar to onions in that it produces long flower stalks and barren flowers. The smell and taste are more garlicky, but softer and without strong bitterness.
Description of Rocambole garlic
Onion garlic is still unusual for Russia; it is worth studying the external data in detail.
What does the Rocambole onion look like?
In a garden bed, an adult plant 50-80 cm high stands out for its large size. On the thick stem of Rocambole there are 6-9 leaves 30-60 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, similar to the linear feathers of leeks. A flat leaf blade with longitudinal stripes is pointed towards the apex, slightly covered with a waxy coating, rough to the touch, light green in color. There is a slight fold in the center of the leaf.
In 2-year-old garlic, stolons are formed at the bottom with 10-15 baby bulbs, weighing 1.5-4 g, with a strong husk of a darker, yellow-brown color, compared to the white tint of the large head. If the stolons grow short, the babies lie closely to the cloves, covering themselves with the mother's husk.
There are also long shoots extending from the head up to 10 cm. Therefore, they dig out Rocambole carefully so as not to lose small bulbs.They are planted the following spring, producing large one-toothed bulbs weighing from 45 to 100 g. The heads resemble ordinary rounded, flat onions, covered with dry white scales.
Single cloves planted at the beginning of the next warm season form in 110 days large Rocambole garlic, as in the photo, with several juicy cloves, from 3 to 5-6. The size of the vegetable depends on sufficient warmth and nutrients in the soil. The diameter of the garlic heads is from 6 to 10 cm, weight is 100-500 g. One clove can be 15 cm long. From 1 sq. m collect 3 kg. New babies appear near the teeth. Everyone who has tried Rocambole notes the similarity of taste with onions and garlic at the same time.
How Rocambole blooms
In June, a 2-year-old plant forms a 1-1.5 m shoot with a bright spherical inflorescence of sterile bell-shaped purple flowers. At first the arrow grows in a spiral, like any winter garlic, then straightens. Removal shooter does not increase the weight of the cloves, but affects a larger number of children. If there is no goal of propagating the crop, the flower stalks of Rocambole garlic, as seen in the photo, are left to decorate the garden.
Difference between Suvorov bow and Rocambole
With the spread of onion garlic, confusion arose between this crop and Suvorov's onion, which is also called anzur. This is one of the types of mountain bow with an arrow with a total height of also more than a meter. And with large onions, which are eaten only after soaking or pickling. Rocambole onions can also be eaten raw. The plants are slightly similar in appearance - leaves and inflorescences. Although the feathers of the anzur are wider and have a bluish tint.Suvorov's onion is sometimes grown as a highly ornamental plant, decorating the garden for a long time with purple balls up to 12 cm in diameter.
Differences between cultures:
- seeds are formed on the peduncles of anzur, similar to the usual nigella of other onions;
- an adult Suvorov onion plant creates a head with a diameter of up to 14 cm, most often from two large white segments;
- the children of the anzur, like the hair bow, are not formed;
- the cloves of 2-year-old Rocambole onions are each covered with a continuous husk, like garlic;
- Anzur lobes have only common involucral scales, and inside, between the cloves, there is no husk.
Suvorov onion is a valuable early spring vitamin plant, whose young greens are used only for 12-19 days.
What are the varieties of giant garlic Rocambole?
Now in the country there are 3 known cultivars of elephant garlic based on garlic and grape onions:
- Pearls were created by Russian breeders. Garlic heads are small, up to 50 g, but have a spicy taste. The variety is not afraid of cold weather and bolts. From 1 sq. m harvest 1.8 kg of onions.
- Janissary - also bred in Russia, entered into the State Register in 2016. The average weight of a head of winter-hardy garlic is 60-70 g.
- The Belarusian variety White Elephant is rich in segments - up to 7 pieces, the weight of the head is 150 g. The plant is cold-resistant and is not susceptible to infection with fusarium. The variety does not produce arrows.
How does the onion garlic Rocambole propagate?
Hair onion Rocambole, according to the description, reproduces by children, which are formed at the bottom of the cloves of an adult 2-year-old plant. They are planted in the spring and produce round, single-toothed heads. After a year, these bulbs grow into giant garlic with 4-6 cloves. A plant planted from a one-tooth plant produces an arrow with a peduncle, but produces seeds.A large head of garlic can take 2 years to form in the cool climate of the middle zone. Winter plantings must be covered.
Planting and caring for Rocambole garlic
It is not difficult to grow an exotic crop in the Russian climate.
When to plant onion garlic Rocambole
Small baby cloves are planted in April or early May, when the earth warms up to + 5 °C and still retains moisture after the snow melts. Domestic varieties of Rocambole are cold-resistant. It is better to purchase this planting material rather than slices brought from Spain or Cyprus. Such varieties will develop well only in the southern regions.
Site selection and soil preparation
In our conditions, onions or garlic Rocambole are planted only in an area that is lit all day. Shading can cause teeth to shrink and diseases to appear. Important Requirements:
- elephant garlic prefers neutral soils;
- acidic soils become alkalized when digging in October;
- In the fall, the area is fertilized with 5-6 kg of humus or compost, 150-200 g of bone meal and 500 g of wood ash are added per 1 square meter. m;
- the rows are oriented from north to south;
- the soil is deeply loosened to 20-25 cm.
Rockambole is demanding of its predecessors. It develops well after legumes and melons, cabbage, and cucumbers. You can’t plant its slices after garlic, onions, or potatoes. Possible pests of these plants, having overwintered, will begin to multiply again, causing damage to the expected harvest.
Planting garlic Rocambole
Having received the babies, slices from a large head or round single-claws of Egyptian onions are stored in winter in a dry, warm place with a temperature of 25 °C.Algorithm for preparing Rocambole for landing:
- from March or from the end of February, garlic is stratified in the refrigerator for a month;
- cleaned from integumentary scales;
- expose it to the sun for several days so that the cloves turn green;
- the day before planting, soak the onions in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for several hours or in another disinfectant, following the instructions;
- dried and placed on the garden bed.
The interval between the rows is 30-40 cm, the distance between the holes is 20 cm. If large single-toothed plants are planted, they retreat to 25-30 cm. Children are deepened by 4 cm, segments by 9-10 cm, bulbs by up to 12 cm.
The nuances of planting Rocambole in the fall
For winter planting, the rules are the same, except for stratification, but the beds are prepared more carefully, making deep furrows:
- lay a 6-8 cm layer of humus or compost down;
- the material may not be disinfected;
- deepen by 10 cm;
- pour mulch up to 4-6 cm.
It is important to choose a time when there is still a month left before frost. Garlic takes root, but does not germinate.
How to grow garlic Rocambole
After germination, lightly loosen the soil near the Rocambole sprouts. Planting and caring for exotics in open ground is not difficult. Regularly deleted weeds. In May and June, the moisture-loving crop is watered every 3-7 days, depending on the weather. A bucket of warm water is enough for 1 square. m.
Feeding:
- For seedlings 3-5 cm high, add 15 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 sq.m.
- After creating 4 leaves, prepare a solution from a glass of chicken manure in a bucket of water and 20 g of urea, using 3 liters per 1 sq.m.
- At the end of June, when the heads are set, they are fertilized with phosphorus-potassium preparations. Or, dissolving a glass of wood ash in 10 liters of water, pour 5 liters per 1 sq.m.
When to Harvest Rocambole Garlic
The signal for harvesting the garlic-onion hybrid Rocambole is wilting of the lower leaves and yellowing of the upper ones. Pre-winter plantings are dug in July, spring plantings in September. Being late with cleaning will cause the heads to deepen and the babies to separate and get lost. The heads are dug up and freed from the ground by hand. Do not knock tender onions into the ground. The texture is damaged and rotting will begin. Vegetables are tied 1-2 to the top in a dry room. After 15-20 days, the roots and leaves are cut off, keeping 10-15 cm of the stem. The bunches are left hanging until it gets colder.
Rules for storing Rocambole onions
Vegetables for eating are stored at a temperature of + 1-10 °C, for planting – 20 °C. Place in boxes with loose walls or hang. Onions retain their properties until spring.
Diseases and pests: methods of control and prevention
Egyptian garlic suffers from powdery mildew and leaf rust. The Donets is affected by fusarium and bacterial rot. Pests: nematode, root mite, thrips and onion fly. Growing a crop begins with prevention:
- use of crop rotation;
- replanting any garlic or onion in the same place is allowed after 4 years;
- disinfection of planting material;
- autumn soil cleaning and burning of residues;
- drying of Rocambole after collection;
- Before planting, the cloves are kept in the sun for 3-5 days.
To combat diseases and pests, pesticides and folk remedies are used:
- previously contaminated soil is treated with Fitosporin, copper oxychloride, Bordeaux mixture;
- The onion fly is repelled by pollinating the plants weekly in May with a mixture of 1 tsp. red pepper, 1 tbsp. l. tobacco dust, 1 can of 0.5 liters of wood ash.
Stop treating with insecticides and fungicides for the time before harvesting as indicated in the instructions.
The benefits and harms of Rockambol
Rocambole greens and onion slices are beneficial due to their rich vitamin and mineral composition. Its calorie content is up to 150 kcal/100 g. The vegetable has a positive effect on the body, like a natural antibiotic, and also tones blood vessels. The portion should be moderate. Garlic should not be included in the diet of children, pregnant women, or those with kidney, gallbladder, or stomach diseases.
Use of Rocambole garlic in cooking
Part of the fresh clove or Rocambole greens is chopped into salads. Garlic is stewed and baked as a side dish, used in marinades and canning. Greens are frozen or salted for the winter. Various hot sauces are prepared from finely chopped onions; they are added when cooking fish to remove the smell or add flavor to meat.
Conclusion
Onion garlic Rocambole is a valuable vitamin vegetable. Having received high-quality slices for planting, they are disinfected, and the plants are regularly watered and fed. Particular attention is paid to drying the heads for long-term storage.
I planted my babies before winter, the purchased ones were dry by spring... I figured I’d throw them out anyway... The experiment was a success. They hatched in the spring like winter garlic.. they look like a hero.. I’m sure they will overtake the winter one.. Kemerovo region..