THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 751, 23 July 1886, Page 15

THE GARDEN.

SOMETHING ABOUT SALSIFY.

Salsify, or oyster plant, which is hardy, and may remain in the ground all the winter, is, says Farm and Field, one of the nicest and best vegetables we have, and should become better known. If they are left in the ground, they will be good next spring, or at aD v time through the winter. The difficulty with them is that everybody does not know how to prepare them. There are several methods. When first exppsed to the atmosphere they are milky, the juice changing to a brown color, and they should, therefore, be quickly scraped, removing the skin, and dropped into water. Now boil them in water to which a little salt has been added, first slicing them into little round slices, by cutting across them When tender pour off the water, and add sufficient milk to cover the pieces, a lump of butter, and enough flour to thicken them seasoning with pepper. They are done when the butter is melted, the milk boils and mass sufficiently thickened to serve. To use them in imitation of fried oysters, cut them crosswise as before, and boil them until tender. Drain and mix with batter and fry in hot lard. Do them the same way, except mash the pieces fine and mix with eggs and flour to a paste, and fry them as fritters, or add flour enough to fry them as balls. Excellent imitation oyster soup may be made by slicing them crosswise, cooking as before, and then boiling them m milk. It is always best to first cook them in salt and water before preparing them for other purposes. ~ ~ . 0 , ~ To the above we may add that falsity {Tragopogon porrifolioi) is a native of England, being a hardy biennial plant. It is grown for its long and tapering fleshy root, The stalks are sometimes cut when 4 or 5 inches long, and used as asparagus, in which way many people declare them to be excel* 16 This plant delights in a free rich soil which should not be newly manured. The beat crops are grown when the ground has been trenched in autumn 2 feet deep or at least ■dug two spades deep to allow the long roots to strike downwards freely. Salsify is raised from seed sown in drills one inch deep and one foot apart. The first crop may be sown in North New Zealand in the beginning of September, and the main crop at the end of the month. In the South the end of September will be soon enough to sow, and a sowing may be made as late as the beginning of November to produce roots to come in later if the first sown should run to seed the first season. When the young plants are 2 or 3 inches high, thin them out to leave them 8 inches apart in the rows. In dry weather copious watering should be given to the seed bed to induce germination.