Oat root: properties and cultivation

To people of ancient times, the oat root, or, as it is also called, the goat kidney beetle, was better known than modern. They knew the sense not only in its taste qualities, but also in the medicinal properties that it possesses.

Today it is cultivated in the Mediterranean countries, the USA, Russia and Europe. In restaurants it is served as a delicacy, and homeopaths and nutritionists recommend for the treatment and prevention of many diseases.

Description of the plant

This biennial plant in the first year gives an edible and useful root, and in the second - blossoms and sows the seeds. Oatmeal root perfectly tolerates frosts and sprouts already at a temperature of +3 degrees. The stalk of the plant is smooth or slightly pubescent, growing to 60 cm in height. Leaves wavy, linear, beautiful bluish-green hue.

Oat root (the photo shows it) blooms with single baskets with large petals of purple, sometimes blue hue. To see this beautiful ornamental plant in all its glory, you should watch it in the morning, as only at this time of day its flowers open.

The root crop grows to 40 cm, has a light shade, and in its lower part small thin roots are formed, due to which it got its name kozloborodnik.

Ogorodnikam, watching their health, oat root is well known, but only its foreign hybrid varieties. In domestic selection, he is not given due attention. In the wild, it grows in Siberia, in the south of Ukraine and the Crimea. Hybrid varieties are self-pollinated and excellent melliferous.

Chemical composition

Salsythi belongs to the genus Kozloborodnik of the Astrope family. In the world about 150 kinds of oatmeal are known, but only 40 varieties are used for food and medicinal purposes. The leaves and roots of this plant are:

• Nitrogenous substances;
• Vitamins РР, В2, В3, В1, В6, В9, Е;
• Mineral substances: phosphorus, potassium, selenium, manganese, zinc, calcium, sodium, iron;
• Fiber - up to 3.3 g;
• Proteins - up to 3.4 g;
• Carbohydrates - up to 15.4 g;
• Inulin - 8 g;
• Water - 77%;
• Sugar - up to 15%.

This product is recommended for people with obesity problems, since its caloric value is 82 kcal, as well as diabetics, due to its low glycemic index of 30 and the presence of inulin.

Influence on the body

Unfortunately, domestic gardeners are poorly informed about what the oat root is.

The healing properties of this plant and its taste qualities can not be overestimated. Kozloborodnik apply as:

• Anti-inflammatory agent;
• Antiseptic;
• Immunomodulating;
• Wound-healing agent;
• Tonic;
• Diuretic;
• Cholagogue.

In addition to these qualities, it has the ability to regulate the heart rate, stabilize the pressure, normalize the metabolism and activate the digestive system. Also, his merit in long-term use is improved blood composition, liver, kidney, pancreas and urogenital system.

Oat root is recommended for diabetics to relieve the symptoms of diabetes and people with gastrointestinal problems. It removes puffiness, relieves inflammation and infectious problems in the liver and lungs, blocks the development and spread of cancerous tumors, is effective in ulcer and skin diseases.

Oat root on taste

In addition to a set of useful substances, this plant has excellent taste qualities. You can eat it raw, rubbing it in a salad. It has a delicate slightly sweet taste and is combined with legumes, milk, cheese, sour cream, lentils and radish, Bulgarian pepper, rice and spinach.

It can be baked, used as a filling for pies, eat raw, like carrots, add to sauces, vegetable purees and soups. In cooked and baked form, the root acquires oyster taste, for which it is often called "vegetable oyster".

In many countries, dried and ground oats root is used as a substitute for coffee or spice. The leaves of this plant are also edible, but before use they should be wrung from the milky juice. Some varieties of goatbreeder have bitterness, but if it is cooked in salt water, it will go away.

Cultivation

To plant and grow in the garden this useful root crop, special efforts will not be required. It is quite unpretentious, but if the soil on the site is poor, it is better to pre-fertilize it with ammonium nitrate and potassium salt.

To get a strong oat root, growing from seeds should be done early, when the soil has not even warmed up yet. For this purpose, a sowing material of a year old is suitable. If the seeds lay longer, they can not give seedlings, since they have a short shelf life.

In order for the crop to be uniform, it is recommended that the seeds be mixed with peat and thrown often to a depth of 2 cm, with a row spacing of at least 20 cm. When 2-3 leaves appear on the stalk, the plants need to be thinned, leaving a distance of 10-12 cm between them.

Sowing can be carried out in the same way in the middle of summer, then by the winter the goatbreeder will get stronger, will perfectly winter and will give a strong and delicious root in the spring.

Caring for the oat root

How useful, so simple and unpretentious oat root. Growing and caring for it in the garden consists of 2-3 fertilizing per season with mineral fertilizers at the rate of 30 g per 1 m2. It should be ensured that there is less nitrogen in them, and more phosphorus and potassium, then the harvest will be greater.

This plant loves water, so watering should be done twice a week at a rate of 5-7 liters per 1 m2. If the summer is arid, then during the formation and growth of the root water should be abundant, otherwise it will become hard and inedible. It helps in mild soil mulching.

Also, do not forget to weed the weeds as they appear.