Horseradish is a spicy vegetable used in cooking and traditional medicine. The agricultural technology of its cultivation is simple, it is important not to let the plant run wild, horseradish is able to fill the entire plot, depresses many garden crops, is unpretentious to soil, and light. For planting the culture, choose the empty empty corners of the garden.
Harvest the leaves and roots of a spicy plant in order to get a good crop with a high content of nutrients, it is necessary to adhere to several rules for growing crops. At the dacha, the bush looks very decorative: thick dark greenery, wavy erect wide leaves perfectly mask an unpretentious fence, a compost heap.
Horseradish Overview
Horseradish belongs to the species of perennial herbs, it is a plant of the cruciferous family with a long, dense, long, up to 2 m long rhizome, a lush deciduous rosette. Leaves grow to a height of 0.7 meters, peduncles - up to 1.5 meters. It blooms in the second year of life in May-June, forms pods up to 5 mm long with 3-4 round small seeds.
The plant propagates:
- seed method;
- apical kidneys;
- using cuttings.
The roots contain bitter allylisothiocyanate, it has antiseptic properties. The plant is valued for its high content:
- vitamins C, PP and group B, carotene;
- trace elements P, Ca, K, Fe, Cu, Mg, S;
- organic resins;
- essential oils;
- alkaloids.
The culture hibernates well in temperate latitudes, it normally adapts in a hot climate, and is drought tolerant. Traditional varieties of early selection:
- Suzdal late ripening, characterized by sharpness, stinginess;
- Valkovsky early ripe, forms a thick root, up to 3 cm in diameter per season;
- Latvian or ordinary, late ripe, blooms in the middle or end of June, distributed in the western and middle parts of Russia;
- Rostov mid-season, recognized by broad leaves with a high content of essential oils;
- Atlant of medium maturity, with a dry pulp of a cream-colored rhizome, is characterized by a small spreadability during growth, good keeping quality;
- Tolpukhovsky, seed ripens in 200-250 days, recommended for mechanical cultivation, the root system is compact, the flesh of the rhizomes is white, medium-sharp.
Horseradish can remain in one place for many years, but as a garden crop it is recommended to dig it out annually or 2 years after planting, until the rhizomes have deepened. Fighting horseradish like a weed is very difficult.
Features of horseradish cultivation
The density, elasticity and taste of the roots depend on the growth conditions and the harvesting period. As a leaf culture, rosettes are planted in pots, in the winter at home, horseradish is grown on the windowsill. A decoction of the leaves helps with angina, SARS, it is used to rinse the mucous membranes. This is an excellent antiseptic for the treatment of household cuts, burns.
Horseradish grows in any soil, does not require intense light. It grows well in tight spaces. It is often cultivated as an annual crop in order to prevent clogging of the site.
Landing time
The unpretentious culture survives in any conditions, is not afraid of frost on the soil. Planting horseradish is carried out throughout the spring-summer season, in the fall, depending on the timing when you need a crop of leaves or roots. In agricultural technology there are no restrictions on planting:
- in spring, cuttings are planted or seeds are planted in the soil when the soil is heated to a depth of 10 cm, the plant grows at a temperature of +5 ° C;
- for mechanical cultivation, the second half of April is considered the best planting time in Central Russia; in severe freezing conditions, the roots may not take root;
- horseradish is planted and transplanted in summer when there is no severe drought, air humidity is not lower than 70%, on sunny days the first 5-7 days, plantings require shading, intensive watering;
- in autumn, the last planting period is 2 weeks before the onset of regular morning performances (mid-October or early November), if the autumn is dry, it is necessary to moisten the soil well, the cuttings are deepened into the soil 3-4 cm deeper than in spring.
Landing methods
Horseradish is grown in open and protected ground; for summer root rooting, cuttings are planted in greenhouses when the first thawed patches appear (beginning and middle of March). Planting deepen by 3-4 cm, mulch, throw snow at 15-20 cm in height. The greenhouse is tightly closed, left for a month. The snow will melt, and gradually moisten the earth.
When heat occurs, the roots are planted in isolation:
- On a high ridge (at least 30 cm). This method of planting is suitable for areas with a high occurrence of groundwater, the ridge will serve as a drainage. The roots quickly gain weight, easily digged in the spring.
- In the "sleeve" of dense or reinforced polyethylene, a thin film of rhizomes is broken through. For more than 3 years, culture has not been cultivated in such a “screen”, rhizomes sprout to a depth of 2.5-3 meters, the plant runs wild, turns into a hard to destroy weed.
- In a large container, it is dug at a level of 5 cm from the edge of the edge. There should be holes at the bottom so that water does not stagnate.
In the fall, the containers are removed, it is easy to get rhizomes from them. New cuttings or superficial buds are embedded in the ground. With limited cultivation, the use of fertile soils, it is possible to obtain a large crop of horses with valuable pulp. The agrotechnology of horseradish cultivation in an isolated space is no different from conventional care.
Seed cultivation
New breeding varieties of horseradish are constantly appearing with distinctive taste and ripening dates. The roots are grown from purchased seeds in early spring, when the soil warms up to + 5 ° C or in late autumn, “before winter”, 12-14 days before stable frosts. The seed is planted into the soil to a depth of 2.5-3 cm. A distance of 90 cm is left between the rows, the seeds are laid out in a row with an interval of 7-10 cm. The seed is not afraid of frost. Shoots appear on the first warm days 4-7 days after planting.
Planting by cuttings
Horseradish is preferred to propagate by cuttings, the seed material is stored well in the cellar, in the refrigerator, the main thing is to moisten the substrate in time, where the cuttings are buried. It should not dry out much. Sometimes the buds at the roots wake up during storage, in which case they are brought to light. They give a good germination. After pecking, they are “blinded” - the extra kidneys are removed with a dense tissue, they appear in all root internodes. Leaves sprouts bottom and top: for leaf rosettes and small roots.
Horseradish easily transfers transplant. The cuttings are placed at a distance of 40 cm, in the first year a large leaf rosette grows. The next year, the plant develops rapidly, in the autumn rhizomes are ready for digging, reach technological maturation.
As cuttings use:
- thin lateral roots;
- uneven root areas inconvenient for processing.
The recommended length of the cuttings is 20 cm, but any fragments of the rhizome will be able to take root. They are usually planted immediately after harvesting. It is necessary to keep cuttings at home when buying them in the cold season. When at home there is a free pot, it’s better to put horseradish; young herbs are used in soups and salads. In the spring, a dug stalk is enough to “blind”, then plant again.
Horseradish Care
Taste qualities and productivity of a crop depend on the chemical composition of the soil. In cities, waste sites are selected for the plant; it is placed away from shrubs and fruit trees. It does not require special care, but the soil must be filled with organic matter and minerals before planting. When growing crops on sparse, acidic soils, the root yield is halved, they contain a lot of bitterness, coarse fibers. For tender sauces, tomato seasoning (horseradish), soft rhizomes with lots of starch are preferable.
Wood ash and lime are added to acidic soil, up to 0.3-0.5 kg / m2 of the mixture is necessary. The source of trace elements are mineral fertilizers. Potassium, ammonium nitrate, superphosphate are mixed 1: 1, up to 30 g of the mixture are added per m2. In clay soils add to a bucket of peat and sand. Sparse soil is seasoned with rotted or fresh manure, up to 2 buckets per m2. Organics are necessary for the formation of aromatic components in the leaves and rhizomes of horseradish.
Culture is not afraid of wetlands, finely rocky soil. In the front gardens, they don’t grow it on the road - leaves and roots are able to accumulate heavy metals, harmful organic compounds.
Watering and fertilizing
Although horseradish belongs to drought-tolerant crops, in dry years, the taste qualities of the roots deteriorate: the severity, piquancy decreases. During a period of severe drought, the plant is moistened so that the central part of the rhizome grows. With insufficient watering, the yield will be less, many lateral thin roots are formed, coarse fibers grow. An excess of water leads to decay of the center of the rhizome, it acquires an unpleasant aftertaste of fresh hay.
You do not need to water horseradish regularly; you need to shed enough bush once a week. The roots will absorb moisture from a great depth. The method of osmosis is used: the soil is covered with a film, then moisture from the lower layers of the soil rises. The method is effective for close occurrence of groundwater.
Top dressing improves the chemical composition of horseradish. Complex mixtures are embedded in the soil every spring in the amount of ½ indicated on the package. During rains, after morning dew, they gradually dissolve. If desired, you can water the plant with fertilizers prepared for vegetables, open or closed ground.
Weeding and loosening the soil
Horseradish does not need special weeding; large leaves obscure weeds and prevent them from developing. Weeding is necessary for young plants on heavy soils, where a crust forms, preventing air from reaching the roots. It accelerates the growth of a leaf outlet, improves productivity. Loosening is carried out to the maximum possible depth. To increase the mass and rhizome, young shoots spud, but this is not necessary.
Harvesting and storage
For conservation, leaves are torn off at any time; sunny days are chosen for harvesting for drying. Leaves are well stored in the vegetable container of the refrigerator. The roots are used in pickled, canned form. The roots are stored for a long time if the peel is not removed from them. They are cleaned in wet sand, removed as necessary.
Mr. Summer resident informs: what to do if the horseradish has filled the site
A healthy vegetable often turns into a malicious weed. When harvesting, the root is crushed, then all pieces sprout.
The main preventive measures for the uncontrolled propagation of horseradish:
- it can not be placed next to perennial crops, shrubs, trees, root removal is difficult;
- soil with the remains of small roots, seeds cannot be used for adding other crops, it is enriched and again used for horseradish cultivation or put in compost;
- young unnecessary shoots are “salted”: they are cut off, covered with fine salt, isolated from water, so that sodium chloride is absorbed into the rhizome;
- annual shoots die after treatment with Roundup, but the root will sprout again, thinning will require repeated use of the decomposing chemical;
- flower stalks break, do not allow seeds to form.
There are no problems with isolated crop plantings in large tanks, horseradish cultivation as a two-year-old culture.
