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Black carrots, also called scorzonera, kozelec or blackroot is a little-known vegetable crop in Russia. There is only one reason for such low popularity - the lack of information about this plant. Things are different in the countries of Europe, Asia and the East. There, this black root is not only actively grown, but also used for medicinal purposes.
Benefits of black carrots
The homeland of black carrots was the southwest of Europe, where they later began to be cultivated as a vegetable crop.
The benefits of black root have been known since the time of Alexander the Great. It was this that was served to his table as a delicacy. In addition, scorzonera was actively used as an antidote for snake bites.
Its composition is rich in various beneficial substances, such as:
- saccharides;
- vitamins C, B1, B2, E;
- iron;
- phosphorus;
- calcium, etc.
Scorzonera is perfectly absorbed and helps in the fight against diseases such as:
- avitaminosis;
- obesity;
- anemia;
- diabetes mellitus and others.
It will be especially useful for older people and those who require dietary nutrition.
This variety of carrots is consumed raw, after being soaked in salt water. Black carrots can be grated and used for salads. It can be boiled, fried and stewed, frozen and canned. In addition to the root vegetables themselves, you can also eat young scorzonera greens.
Characteristics of varieties
There are very few varieties of black carrots or scorzonera and it is quite difficult to see them on sale. Only three varieties are included in the State Register of the Russian Federation: Overseas Delicacy, Medicinal and Solar Premiere. But it is extremely rare for a gardener to come across varieties such as Russian Giant and Gypsy.
Overseas delicacy
This mid-season variety of black carrots has a semi-raised rosette 17 cm high and up to 12 cm in diameter. It is formed by medium-sized green leaves.
The root vegetable of the Overseas delicacy is cylindrical in shape and dark brown in color. Its length will not exceed 35 cm, its diameter will be from 2.2 to 3.2 cm, and its weight will range from 100 to 130 grams. The flesh of these black carrots is white. The yield of the variety per square meter will be no more than 2 kg.
Medicinal
The harvest of this variety of black carrots will have to wait up to 120 days. The leaves of the plant have an ovate-elongated shape and long petioles. A semi-raised rosette of these leaves hides a long, dark brown root. It has a conical shape and weighs no more than 80 grams. The white tender pulp of the Medicinal variety is perfect for cooking. It is very juicy, sweetish and has an astringent taste.
Russian giant
The stem of the Russian giant grows up to 75 cm in height. It has ovate, oblong leaves that form spreading branches. In the second year of the growing season, the plant is covered with yellow inflorescences from several baskets. The root crop of this variety has a cylindrical shape and a rich vitamin composition.
Sunny premiere
This variety of black carrots will mature in 110 days. It has a vertical rosette of ovate-elongated leaves on a long petiole. The cylindrical root crop has a length of 31 cm and a weight of up to 80 grams. Its diameter in cross section will be 3 cm. The dark brown surface of the carrot hides the white tender flesh. The yield of the variety will be about 1.8 kg per square meter.
Gypsy
An excellent dietary variety for people with diabetes. In the first year of its two-year growing season, the plant grows a rosette of leaves, under which there is a root crop. Its cylindrical shape is painted black. Gypsy carrots grow up to 30 cm in length. Its white pulp contains a lot of milky juice and has a sweetish astringent taste. In the second year of growing season, the plant grows up to 1.5 meters and begins to branch. During the flowering period, the plant forms baskets of large yellow flowers.
The video shows scorzonera plants:
Recommendations for cultivation
It is difficult to find a more unpretentious crop than scorzonera. To grow it, you can choose an area that is not suitable for other crops or place it in the same bed with other perennial crops. Excellent results are shown by planting black carrots after plants such as:
- cucumber;
- tomato;
- onion;
- potato.
In addition, it does not hurt to fertilize the soil before planting with any mineral fertilizers or wood ash.
Scorzonera is grown through seeds that are planted in open ground. Moreover, it can be planted in spring, summer and even autumn:
- When sowing in spring, the harvest of root crops is obtained already in the first year of the growing season. To do this, you should first soak the seeds. They are planted at the end of April, immediately after the soil dries. For better germination, they should be covered with film.If you delay sowing a little, the black carrots will grow thin and tasteless.
- When sown in summer, blackroot is grown as a biennial plant. Even freshly harvested seeds from plants in the second year of growing season are suitable for this. Summer planting allows plants to take root better before autumn and safely overwinter. With such planting, roots and seeds are formed in the second year after planting.
- Autumn planting allows you to get a harvest earlier than with spring planting.
The first shoots of black carrots will appear quite quickly: with spring or summer sowing after 14 days, with autumn sowing - after 7. When the young black carrot plants grow 7 cm in height, you can mulch the soil under them. Before this, it is first loosened and watered well. You don’t have to mulch the soil, but then you will have to loosen it often.
When the first 2-3 pairs of leaves appear, the rows of young plants are thinned out. They must be removed so that there is a distance of at least 15 cm between them.If you leave less space between neighboring plants, they may begin to form flowering stems. To ensure a good harvest, they should be removed without regret.
Further care of plants is quite simple:
- regular watering;
- loosening the soil - only if mulching was not carried out;
- fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.
The harvest must be harvested on average 110-120 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Black carrots must be dug up very carefully, as they are quite brittle.
It is important to do it before the onset of cold weather. If the soil is frozen, it will be very difficult to dig out scorzonera. If the gardener did not have time to dig up black carrots before the onset of cold weather, then he can do this in the spring. The root crop will overwinter well in the soil.
Black carrots are an incredibly vitamin-rich vegetable crop that will still compete for a place in our plots. It does not require care and is very useful both for the treatment of many diseases and for their prevention.
