Is purslane a "trigger food"? A detailed guide to common cultivated varieties and growing techniques

In rural fields and roadsides there is a weed with thick fleshy leaves——purslane (Portulaca oleracea); many rural friends have surely seen it. But this thing that is a weed in the countryside becomes a tender fresh vegetable once it enters the city.So, is purslane a trigger food? What are the common cultivated varieties? What are the growing techniques?

1. Is purslane a trigger food?

1. What is commonly called a trigger food refers to something rich in nutrients or irritating that can cause the outbreak and worsening of certain diseases, and purslane does not belong to the trigger foods; moreover, it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping dysentery.

2. Purslane can be eaten raw or stir-fried; if friends are not quite used to its taste, they can eat it pickled in vinegar.

3. Note that pregnant women eating purslane can cause miscarriage, so it must absolutely not be eaten. In addition, turtle shell (biejia) and purslane should not be eaten together, and those with cold in the abdomen and diarrhea should also not eat purslane.

2. What are the common cultivated varieties of purslane?

1. Large-flowered purslane (Portulaca grandiflora): about 3 cm long, flowers can reach 5 cm in diameter, with diverse colors including red, light purple, orange-yellow, white, pink and many others. Some flowers are single-petaled, some double-petaled; as long as the climate is warm, it can bloom all year round. In northern regions, if cultivated outdoors, the flowering period is in summer and autumn; if grown indoors, pay attention to temperature and it can also bloom all year round!

2. Ban Zhi Lian (Portulaca grandiflora, also known as moss rose): Ban Zhi Lian, also called sun flower or pine-leaf peony, gets this name because it blooms when there is plenty of sunlight and its flower shape closely resembles a peony. The stems and leaves of Ban Zhi Lian are fleshy, and the flowers bloom at the very top of the branches. It likewise has two flower forms, single-petaled and double-petaled. There are many flower colors, white, pink, purple-red, orange-yellow and so on, bright and beautiful.

3. Purple Rice Grain (Portulaca cv.): a perennial herbaceous plant that looks like a miniature version of Ban Zhi Lian. The leaves are rice-grain shaped; because in cooler seasons under strong light the leaves turn purple-red, or take on a purple halo, it is named Purple Rice Grain. The flower color is rose red, with five petals, and the flowering period is summer and autumn.

4. Hairy purslane (Portulaca pilosa): the branches and stems of hairy purslane are numerous, the leaves are alternate, and the leaves are roughly cylindrical with narrower tips, somewhat needle-like. There is down in the leaf axils, the stems are dense, and the flower color is red-purple.

3. What are the growing techniques for purslane?

1. The seeds used for seed propagation of purslane are all seeds saved from wild collection or cultivation in the previous year. Its seeds are extremely small, so the land must be prepared finely; after sowing, keep the soil moist, and seedlings will emerge in 7-10 days.

2. Cuttings for purslane are collected from seedlings sown that year or from wild seedlings, preferably from strong plants that branch a lot and grow vigorously, and each section should retain 3-5 nodes. Before cutting, prepare the soil finely; along with land preparation, apply enough fully decomposed farmyard manure. Cutting density (plant and row spacing) is 3 cm×5 cm, the cutting depth into the soil is about 3 cm, and after cutting maintain a certain humidity and appropriate shade; they will survive after one week.

3. After sowing or cutting, they can be transplanted into field cultivation in 15-20 days; when the cultivation area is small, they can also be cut directly into the field. Before transplanting, plow the field soil, and along with land preparation apply 1500 kg of fully decomposed human manure or 15-20 kg of ternary compound fertilizer per mu, then open beds 1.2 m wide, and set plants at a plant and row spacing of 12 cm×20 cm, and after planting water thoroughly to settle the roots. To ensure the survival rate, transplanting is best done on cloudy days; if transplanting on sunny days, shade measures should be taken within 2 days after planting, and water once each evening. When transplanting, apply enough base fertilizer as required, then no topdressing is needed in the early stage; afterward, apply a thin human and livestock manure water once every 1-2 harvests. Flower buds that form should be removed promptly to promote the sprouting of vegetative branches. In drought, water appropriately to resist drought. During the entire growth period, purslane suffers very few pests and diseases, and generally no spraying is needed.

4. The harvest standard for commercial purslane is tender shoots 10-15 cm long before flowering. If harvested too late, not only do the tender shoots become old and poor in edible value, but it also affects the sprouting of the next branching and the annual yield. After one harvest, it can be harvested again 15-20 days later. In this way, it can continue until mid-to-late October. In production, staged and batch-by-batch rotational harvesting is generally used.