Skorzonera began to be cultivated on a larger scale around 300 years ago, almost completely displacing the then popular salsify from the fields. Over time, however, and the new vegetable began to fall out of favor. Fortunately, scorzonera is again starting to appear in our vegetable gardens, gaining the honorable name of winter asparagus.
Growing scorzonera, like salsify, is easy, but time-consuming.Skorzonera only develops long, strong roots when sown early, preferably at the end of February or mid-March at the latest.The best-known varieties include, among others 'Lange Jan'. Salsify is sown into the ground by early April at the latest.The beds are being prepared in autumn.
The soil is loosened with American rakes to a depth of about 20 cm, mixing the top layer of soil with mature compost. In heavy, wet and compacted soils, cultivation in row mounds is recommended. Potatoes and deeply rooted plants for green manure, such as lupins, are ideal forecrops.In places previously populated with cabbage or sweetcorn, scorzonera and salsify produce a lot of lateral roots that make cleaning vegetables difficult.
Scorzonera seeds are stick-shaped, they are sown in rows at about 30 cm intervals. Let's be careful not to break them. After the seedlings have germinated, we cut them off to obtain a 6-10 cm row spacing. In the early stages of development, regular weeding is important to accelerate plant growth. Later, from about July to the end of September, the crops do not require care.The exceptions are periods of drought, when the plants must be watered abundantly, otherwise the roots will not mature. We water it once a week so that the soil is moist to a depth of several centimeters.
Harvesting scorzonera begins in late October, when its leaves wither, and may last until April. The roots are not affected by severe winter frosts. Anyway, at low temperatures, they cannot be harvested without damage (they are very delicate and prone to breakage), unless we protect the beds with straw or leaf bedding, which will insulate the substrate.Precautionary part of the harvest can be dug up earlier and the stockpiled in the inspection.It is difficult to collect scorzonera also when the ground is very dry. Then it is good to irrigate the soil abundantly.
A few plants should be left in the flowering bed (in June / July). It is worth noting that the scorzonera blooms nicely and its flowers give off a very pleasant aroma reminiscent of vanilla and milk chocolate. Ripe seeds are similar to dandelions.If we want to collect seeds from them, the baskets must be removed as soon as the first white hairs in the form of feathers appear on the seed heads.
Before cooking, boil the roots in s alted water, just a few minutes, thicker pieces not longer than 10 minutes. The skin will peel more easily if you boil the washed and scrubbed roots and pour it with cold water immediately after removing it.
