March and April each year is the season with the largest variety of wild vegetables in rural areas. In the past two years, the enthusiasm of urban people for rural wild vegetables has gradually warmed up. In addition to spending high prices, many friends went to the countryside to dig wild vegetables around Tomb-Sweeping Day, such as shepherd's purse, dandelion and so on. However, in addition to land, there are many popular vegetables growing in rural water, and water shield is one of them.
Speaking of water shield, many friends in the north may not be familiar with it, or even have never seen it. It used to be a kind of wild vegetable growing in ponds, which is very common in southern rural areas, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. Water shield is a perennial aquatic plant with oval leaves that look like water lilies floating on the water from a distance. The special feature of water shield is that there are many transparent mucus on the back of leaves and stems, which is often dubbed as "snot" by farmers, but to some extent, these mucus can protect plants.
Although the appearance of water shield is not very good-looking, it is actually a kind of vegetable with very rich nutritional value. The tender leaves of water shield are edible, and the leaves are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Compared with other vegetables, the water shield is especially rich in zinc, so it is also called the "king of zinc" in plants.
As a good food, there are many ways to use water shield. Besides cold salad, making soup is also a good choice. Common water shield egg flower and water shield shredded pork soup all take it as the main raw material, which is rich in nutrition and delicious.
In the ponds in southern rural areas, water shield was originally just a wild vegetable, but in recent years, water shield has been welcomed by more and more people and has been specially planted. The cultivation of water shield is not too difficult, and it is generally suitable for growing in ponds with a water depth of about one meter. However, because the growth of water shield has a great relationship with soil and water, it is best to choose areas with fertile soil and convenient irrigation and drainage. Another feature of water shield is that it can be harvested from late April to 10, and it can be preserved for a long time as it is treated in time.
Although it is easy to grow, the yield of water shield is not high. As the saying goes, scarcity is precious, and the demand for water shield in the market is not small, so the price of water shield is not low. Water shield, which went on the market in April, can probably sell for a catty in 20 yuan. It's already April, so friends in the south can just eat water shield. Have you ever eaten water shield? What else do you know? Please leave us a message.