Applegater Spring 2016
9
DIRTY FINGERNAILS AND ALL
Underappreciated and unusually delicious root vegetables
BY SIOUX ROGERS
The root vegetables mentioned
below are but three of many underutilized
and extremely nutritious garden plants
that are easy to grow and very delicious.
Burdock
How would you like to have more
than 23,000 family members and still be
referred to as a weed? Yikes! That’s the
case with the Daisy family (also known
as Asteraceae or Compositae), of which
burdock is an outstanding representative.
Burdock is also known as gobo and by
at least a dozen other names. Sadly, it
is often referred to as a nasty thistle
weed, too. If you have cultivated or wild
burdock growing in your yard, you are
very lucky. If you don’t have it, plant it.
Here are a few precautions before
planting. The plant can grow anywhere
from six to eight feet tall. Since Burdock
is thought to come from Japan, I believe
when you plant it, it tries to go back
to Japan. I once planted burdock and
never did find the end after digging three
feet. Burdock looks like a long, skinny,
brown carrot. When cooked its texture
resembles a cooked carrot or parsnip, but
it has an earthy, nutty flavor. It is crisp
and crunchy when raw. Unlike a carrot,
however, it is not so yummy when raw.
Burdock is noted for its exceptional
medicinal qualities as well as its flavor.
Medicinally it is said to have excellent
blood purifying qualities, expelling
toxins via the kidneys and liver. All parts
of the plant can be used. The seeds have
been used as an effusion for throat and
chest ailments, and leaves and stems can
be used as an appetite stimulant and
remedy for indigestion. Burdock is very
low in calories and contains inulins,
which are polysaccharides that help
regulate blood sugar. This plant is an
excellent source of potassium and other
minerals, as well as small quantities of
folic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin,
and vitamins E and C (www.nutrition-
and-you.com/burdock-root).
Celeriac
Also called turnip-rooted celery,
knob celery, or celery root, celeriac is a
variety of celery that is cultivated for its
edible roots, hypocotyl, and shoots. If
you have never seen celeriac in the store,
it is white-beige, not green like celery. It
is not a smooth ball, but rather gnarly. It
has a wonderful crunch and snap when
eaten raw. It is actually easier to grow
than celery in that most of the “work” is
happening below ground, not above as
with its celery cousin.
Celeriac, another underused,
easy-to-grow vegetable, is said to be
one of 11 excellent foods for arthritis
(www.sharecare.com/health/bone-joint-
muscle-health/health-guide/manage-
joint-pain-arthritis/best-foods-joint-
pain-8#slide-11). If you are practicing
organic gardening and have healthy
soil full of fat earthworms, your root
vegetables like celeriac will be chock-full
of minerals. Like celery, celeriac can be
used raw and chopped up in salads. It
can also be sliced, grated, and cooked as
you would a potato.
Horseradish
The first rule about horseradish is
plant it in a container! If you don’t follow
Photo, left: Burdock (rosewoods.com/burdock).
Center: Celeriac (theknobblyplate.co.uk/celeriac).
Right: Horseradish (bakingwithzombies.com/2014/11/18/horseradish/).
this simple advice,
Sioux Rogers
you may become
the next horseradish farmer on planet
Applegate.
This underappreciated root is in
the same Brassicaceae family as mustard,
broccoli, and cabbage. The word “horse”
most likely refers to its strength.
Horseradish is easily grown in any
well-drained soil. A couple of old tires
piled up works quite well and keeps the
roots from going berserk around and
about the garden. Because of its kinship
to cabbage, horseradish attracts the same
pests. Handpicking the small cabbage
worms off the large leaves is the easiest
way to control them.
The extremely pungent and
distinctive odor of the horseradish is
due to its phytochemicals. One of the
best doctors I have ever known, Dr. J.
David Walters, advised me to grate the
horseradish and then take a very deep
breath. Wow! If nothing else, short of
falling on the floor, my sinuses were
dramatically cleared. Horseradish is
underused and underappreciated for its
high antioxidant qualities and immune
stimulating properties. It is also said to
inhibit the mutation of healthy cells into
cancerous cells (www.organicfacts.net/
health-benefits/vegetable/horseradish).
Take the time to look up more of
the highly beneficial properties of these
plants. If you have a garden, take care of
yourself by growing the most nutritious
plants you possibly can.
Sioux Rogers
dirtyfingernails@fastmail.fm