Has anyone any experience growing this plant? I got some seed for it and in my climate, I need to plant it in late summer. It's said that it tastes like oyster and that intrigued me !! So, if anyone has grown it and can give me some tips, I would greatly appreciate it.!!
I've grown the white variety, at the time didn't realise that it goes brown when pealing it. Don't know what oysters taste like but i wasn't very impressed with the flavour, but it did grow well for my garden and the slugs didn't eat it.
I read a lot about it and they did say that it is a pretty easy crop to grow. For the black salsify, when you peel it they say to wear gloves as it stains and to put it immediately into lemon juice to keep it from turning brown. I am wondering if carrot fly is a problem with it ???
I didn't have problems with carrot fly, i think that if you thin them out it might attract them, but i didn't do that.
Afraid I'm not as adventurous as Logan - or you Annie, but Zigs mentioned that he liked this stuff. I wonder if he saw this post?? I'll give him a nudge
I've grown both Salsify and Scorzonera, can't remember which is which but one's got black roots that you peel. Both taste lovely, not quite like Parsnips, not very thick but worth a try. They both have lovely flowers, closely related to Goatsbeard, one is yellow and the other is purple. Daisy family so not related to carrots so shouldn't be of any interest to carrot fly. Aphids love them and I once watched a Ladybird hiding on one of the stems picking off the aphids one at a time, then running away and hiding again because the ants were tending the flock of aphids. An hour later all the aphids were gone and the ants were running around trying to work out where their flock had gone Apart from that, I don't know much about them
Thanks Zigs, that was a big help !! The Scorzonera is the black salsify and I bet it has the purple flowers. I have parsnip seed in the ground now but never have (I say "never" but I've only tried twice) gotten them to germinate. I love, love, LOVE parsnips but can't find any at the stores. I guess they don't sell well in the South, so maybe I can get a crop of these to "Salsify" my taste buds !!
Good luck with the parsnip seeds, and the salsify. I didn't manage to get much germination from my parsnips last time I tried them, but now I will leave it to Zigs, and hopefully I will be able to get some joy from the flower beds this year. It's turned cold here again, so our veggie seeds are all over the window sills indoors for warmth. So much for 'global warming' I am trying to get some celery under way though, and want to try the method I posted with a video. Have to make sure I have the Mirepoix at hand. I do have some left I made up earlier, but it won't last forever. Some frozen, and some dehydrated.
No worries Annie It probably is, seeds freely around the garden, I meant to look up a pic of the flower but forgot After not getting many Parsnips last year, I've been germinating them on damp tissue paper this year. When they've put out a little root I've used tweezers to pot them up.
Oh, great idea @Zigs !! I'm going to try that. At least I'll know if the seed is viable that way. If not, I can get new seed.
Indeed I used some old seed and most of them germinated (better than direct sowing) Think there's only about 3 seeds that didn't, which is good for Parsnips. We had a lot of trouble with slugs last year so I'm planting them into deep pots, it'll keep them above the slugs and give the roots a chance to grow longer. We were just given 3 oil barrels for fire containers, don't tell Tetters but I've seen growers fill them full of sieved compost just to grow exhibition Parsnips in
Black salsify flowers Common wild salsify This one regularly pops up all over our back garden. It seeds like fury!
It grows in the pastures and is a weed . The seeds tend to arrive on wind currents during winters and settle in lower areas protected from winds , just long enough to set up house keeping germinate and send up foliage. They drive me crazy.
