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Many people eat edible tubers of various plants. The Chinese artichoke is especially popular among the inhabitants of Asia, China, Japan and some European countries. But the s are still little familiar with this unusual plant. These tubers of an unusual shape are boiled, fried, pickled. Description, characteristics, features of agricultural technology, useful properties of the plant will be presented below.
What is a Chinese artichoke
Chinese artichoke, stakhis, chistets are the names of the same useful plant belonging to the Yasnotkovy family. This is a herbaceous plant or shrub, in which spindle-shaped tubers are used for food and for the preparation of medicines.
The description of the stakhis must be known so as not to confuse the plant with anything. The Chinese artichoke is a perennial, the aerial part of which looks like mint or nettle. The bush is low – about 50 cm. The stem of the plant in cross section has a rectangular shape. Rigid hairs are located along its entire length. A feature of the Chinese artichoke is the primary development of the main stem, and then lateral shoots appear, so the bush turns out to be branched.
Dark green leafy oblong plates resemble the leaves of a deaf nettle. They have teeth, pointed tops, hairs over the entire surface.
Stachys or Chinese artichoke is a flowering plant. Spike-shaped inflorescences consist of small pink or purple flowers.
The root system of stakhis is represented by long branching stolons. Their dimensions are 50-60 cm, they are located shallowly (5-15 cm), one might say, superficially. They form a large number of tubers. They are the most valuable part of the plant.
Tuberization does not begin in the area of the stems, but rather far from them. During harvesting, you need to look for tubers in the aisles, at a distance of 50 cm.
Subject to the norms of agricultural technology, up to 400 g of useful root crops are harvested. They look like twisted shells, on which there are thickenings and constrictions. The color of ripe stakhis is pearly white. Shells are 2-5 cm long, their diameter is about 15 mm. The mass of one tuber is up to 7 g.
Useful properties and application of stakhis
The benefits of stakhis were first appreciated by the ancient Chinese. It was they who began to eat fresh green leaves. The tubers were fried, boiled and stewed. Ready fruits are somewhat similar in taste to cauliflower.
What is useful Chinese artichoke:
- The tubers are high in selenium. It is a powerful antioxidant and immunomodulator.
- In terms of the content of potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and other trace elements, stachys surpasses many other tubers.
- The absence of sugar in the composition of the Chinese artichoke allows people with diabetes to use the product.
- The presence of stachyose makes stachys useful for patients with increased blood clotting and patients with diabetes. This substance works in the same way as insulin. The use of tubers can reduce sugar up to 50%, cholesterol – by 25%. That is why doctors recommend including the Chinese artichoke in the diet of patients with type I and type II diabetes.
- It has been scientifically proven that the use of tubers is useful for the elderly, as it has a beneficial effect on metabolism: it normalizes the content of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals.
- Scientists have proven that Chinese artichoke tubers contain substances that prevent the development of oncology.
- Stachys, or Chinese artichoke (its tubers in the photo below) are recommended for use in certain diseases of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract. It contributes to the normalization of pressure, strengthens the nervous system.
Optimal Growing Conditions
The Chinese artichoke is a light-loving plant, so open places are chosen for its cultivation. Although in partial shade, he feels good. Plants do not tolerate stagnant moisture and the proximity of groundwater.
You can plant stakhis after any garden crops. The only limitation is cabbage and its relatives. It’s all about common diseases.
Planting and caring for the Chinese artichoke
Stachys is a perennial plant, but it is grown as an annual. In one place, the plant can be left for several years. After 4-5 years, the Chinese artichoke needs to be transplanted to a site with fertile soil.
Planting stakhis can be done in early spring, planting overwintered tubers, or before winter.
Landing site and material preparation
The Chinese artichoke prefers nutritious and fertile soil that contains peat. If planting is planned in the spring, then the site is prepared in the fall. Before digging for 1 sq. m contribute:
- superphosphate – 1 tbsp .;
- potassium sulfate – 1 tsp;
- compost – 5 l bucket.
The soil is dug up on a shovel bayonet and left until spring. In the spring, before loosening, it is advisable to add 1 tsp. ammonium nitrate per 1 sq. m.
If stakhis is planted in the fall, then the site is prepared in July. Before digging, add to the soil per 1 sq. m:
- potassium sulfate – 20 g;
- superphosphate – 50 g;
- organics – 10 kg.
Rules of landing
For planting, use spindle-shaped tubers that have been stored since autumn. For 1 sq. m will need about 100 g of planting material.
Landing is carried out depending on the climatic features of the region, the main condition is the absence of return frosts.
Stachys can be planted in rows at a distance of 70 cm. Between the holes – at least 30 cm. The depth of planting tubers – 5-6 cm.
Drainage is poured at the bottom of each hole, then soil. 1-2 Chinese artichoke tubers are placed in each well. The soil is well compacted and watered to remove air pockets.
Further care comes down to:
- irrigation;
- loosening the soil;
- weed removal;
- hilling;
- pest and disease control.
Watering and top dressing
The Chinese artichoke is undemanding to watering, but in dry weather irrigation is indispensable. Watering is carried out in the evening under the root. But when the formation of nodules begins, you need to water the artichoke plantings regularly.
With regards to top dressing, fertilizer for vegetable crops is applied before planting. It must be understood that a large amount of nutrients can provoke the rapid development of green mass, and not nodules.
During the growing season, plantings can be pollinated with dry wood ash.
Weeding and mulching
Planting Chinese artichoke must be cleared of weeds. At first, this can be done with a small hoe. During the formation of tubers, all work is done manually so as not to damage the root system.
As such, mulching is necessary only after planting the Chinese artichoke. When the height of the plants is within 20 cm, the plantings begin to loosen gently. The flowering of the Chinese artichoke is a signal for the first hilling. During the season it is performed 3 times.
Harvesting
You should not hurry with the collection of Chinese artichoke (stakhis), because unripe products are poorly stored and do not have time to collect the necessary nutrients. As a rule, the event is planned for early October, before the frosts start.
From one stakhis bush, you can collect from 120 to 140 tubers, in some cases more. For digging use a pitchfork with round tips. Root crops are selected from the inverted earth. The earth needs to be shaken off, the nodules are slightly dried in a dark room with good ventilation and stored in the cellar.
Clean the harvest in boxes, sprinkle with sand. Some fruits can be left in the soil until spring. They can be dug up after the snow has thawed.
Reproduction
The Chinese artichoke is propagated by tubers or seeds. To obtain seedlings, the seed is sown in fertile land in March, in the usual way. The grown plants are transplanted to a permanent place after the threat of return frosts disappears.
Diseases and pests
Most often damages the plant wireworm, cruciferous flea. To destroy them, you can use wood ash, which is added to the soil and pollinated young shoots. To catch the wireworm, you can prepare traps from old tubers of stakhis or potatoes.
The Chinese artichoke is resistant to diseases, but plants can suffer from root and stem rot. To avoid problems, stakhis is recommended to be planted on loose, water- and breathable soils.
Conclusion
The Chinese artichoke spreads very quickly over the site, since a certain number of tubers always remain in the soil. In the spring they germinate on their own in a completely different place. But this is not the reason for the rejection of stakhis. If the site needs to be freed from the plant, it is enough to dig up the soil in the fall, choosing nodules, and then again in the spring.
