Kitchen Garden Forum

i bought black salsify duplex in lidl.i don't know how to grow them or when to sow them.can i treat them like parsnips and pre germinate them then put them into loo roll inners and eventually plant them out under a cold frame.what is the best way to treat these seeds.are they even worth growing.what do you think all replies welcome
regards nemo

Evening Nemo,
Both salsify and scorzonera are well worth growing.Treat them like carrots,plant 1/2 inch deep in warm,moist soil in rows 15/18 inches apart and thin to 9 inches on germination.Crops in about 26 weeks.
Cook in skins,stripping off skins just before serving.If peeled before cooking put in water with a squeeze of lemon in it otherwise they will discolour.
Sow in April/May.

Hi Snooky,
If you grow Scorzonera for a second year you will get a crop of flower heads. These heads, picked just as they swell to open, (but not when they have opened) make very very tasty eating. Pick with about four inches of stalk and tie in bunches and cook like Asparagus and eat with lashings of melted butter.
JB.

Thanks for the tip,Johnboy,I"ll certainly give them a go.

thanks for your replies i will clean down the cold frame
regards
nemo

I've never tried that, JB, but I will. I mean to dig a lot up tomorrow, wp. and so I'll certainly leave some for your idea. Trouble is that they are right in the middle of where I want to put spuds, but I dare say we'll manage the timing right.

Nemo, the rcommended time for sowing is April / May. i tend to put on one lot of Salsify and Scorzonera seeds at the very beginning of April and another on May Day. I don't think there's much difference in when they sprout or mature; the soil is somewhat warmer ion May than 1 April.

mike

Hi Mike,
You only need a handful of plants as they send up many flowers.
One thing is that you will never have to buy any seed again if you let a couple bloom!
The flowers are really scrumptious and in my humble opinion a far better eat than the root.
JB.

I love the slightly lemony taste of the roots. And yes; I have managed to save lots of salsify and scorzonera seeds, but last year the scorzonera didn't germinate for some reason, so iI got a supply before it was too late. I had put a lot of leafmold on the bed the previous winter, and I have just dug up about 6 roots at least a foot long.

Best wishes
mike