A vegetable that a couple of centuries ago was perhaps the most popular on the tables of Europeans, today is almost forgotten by Russians. Black carrots in Russia are not grown commercially and are not selected for selection. And the blame for everything is its orange counterparts, which are widespread due to their sweet taste.
Black carrots, which are also popularly called black or sweet roots, and officially called in science goat or scorzonera, are a perennial plant of the Cruciferous family. In Russia today, she is rarely found anywhere, but she is a frequent visitor on the shelves of European stores.
Even 200 years ago in Europe, it was eaten and used for medicinal purposes to counteract measles, snake bites and even during the plague, thanks to the abundance of inulin in the composition and many trace elements such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium. Until now, squeezed out of scorcers is used in the fight against diabetes.
Unpopular vegetable
Nowadays, black carrots are grown in many countries, they are especially popular in Spain and Latvia, but in Russia they are not widely known and are not popular among gardeners, you rarely find this plant in someone's garden. The reason is that black carrots are easily crowded by a varied and pest-resistant orange carrot, and that, growing, black carrots become "wild", turning into a barren weed.
The plant is perennial and in the first year of growth it is a root crop with a large number of leaves, in the second year black carrots bloom, a stem with a peduncle appears, up to 120 cm high. The flowers of this plant have a pleasant smell, they are small yellow and are collected in baskets. There are up to 40 flowers per stem, they close by night and bloom again early in the morning.
The leaves of black carrots are long, up to 50 cm and up to 10 cm wide, dark green in color. The root crop is large, grows more than 30 cm in length and 5 in width, has a cylindrical shape, rough to the touch, very dark, almost black in color.
Black carrots are very juicy, the pulp is milky in color and has a high density
Persistent root vegetable
The plant is unpretentious, in frosts does not need shelter, after planting. Self-pollinating. It has no special requirements for soil quality and lighting, moreover, it is quite resistant to droughts. In order for the root crop to have the correct shape, it is necessary to loosen the soil, or initially plant it in loose soil. In dense soil, the root can bifurcate, deform. Before planting, you need to dig up the soil at least 35 cm so that the root crop turns out to be good.
Black carrots are very healthy, they contain potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron, as well as a number of vitamins necessary to maintain immunity.
Black carrots are not susceptible to disease or any pests, making it even easier to grow them. In addition, it ripens in the early stages and in the spring it can delight gardeners.
