Or to Americans Rutabaga, which I think I almost prefer!
There's not many things we can sow this late and get a good crop but I always sow my swedes in June to hopefully follow on from something else.
The trouble with them is they come from that ultra high maintenance group - Brassicas. The footballers wives of the vegetable world.
You can't do enough for them! They need plenty of well rotted manure, careful sowing away from pests, slug protection, netting from birds, netting from cabbage white butterfly, collars to stop the root fly, the list goes on.
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| Cabbages and purple sprouting in the ground |
Your winter plot looks pretty bare without brassicas though! And I do love the humble old swede. Mashed with butter on the side of your roast or mixed in with your stew after you've been working outside in the cold all day it takes some beating! The girls seem to love it as well so I'm planning on putting plenty in this year.
Does everyone else have this love hate relationship with all the brassicas (not just swedes?)?
I never knew what Rutabaga was, you learn something new everyday. I sowed some seed a couple of weeks ago and nothing, nada, zilch. Will have another go when the weather improves x
ReplyDeleteBrassicas do have lots of problems, Kev. Especially if you take over an old allotment and inherit the club-root ("finger and toe") and goodness knows what else in the soil. I like to pick my swedes when they are the size of a snowball. Today we are picking the leaves of a young cabbage. You don't have to wait for them to mature to eat them.
ReplyDeleteI do like swede, what you call swede is what we call Turnip, across the border in Scotland, were I orginate from. Never realised the Americans called them something else.
ReplyDeleteNot growing them this year but perhaps next year.
I grew them for the first time last year and have been buying them in the store. They are a cross between a turnip and cabbage but if one doesn't like turnips, no worry as they are better tasting in my opinion. Good in stew as well.
ReplyDeleteCanadians call them rutabaga OR turnip..we throw swede into the conversation to stir things up!
ReplyDeleteJane x
This is my first year growing a really serious amount of brassicas and I'll freely admit I'm a bit worried.
ReplyDeleteBut to be honest the slugs have been so bad this year that everything is suffering almost equally. Sigh!
Keep on trying to grow brassicas but not had much luck. Good luck with yours, and hope you do well. Good luck to us as well, but already the kale and cabbage are being got at by that little beatly thing!
ReplyDeleteI definitely have a love hate relationship with all Brassicas, both the growing and the eating come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteI usually end up throwing in the towel and leaving them to the chickens by the end of the season.
I must try harder in future.