Free Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner Page B
Authors: Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
long—with a mild peppery taste. They are a staple in Japanese cuisine, served fresh, pickled, cooked, and carved into elaborate garnishes. Sow seed 1 inch deep in late summer for a crisp harvest throughout the fall and into winter.
Sakurajima is a large plant that needs as much room to grow as a tomato plant; its root can reach weights of 10, 20, or even 50 pounds. Extremely spicy, this variety is not eaten raw; cook as for turnips. Plant seeds 2 feet apart.
Lobak , a Korean radish, is white with pale green shading at the base, wide as a potato, and 6 to 8 inches long. Its spicy flavor is good fresh or cooked and is a part of the Korean relish called kimchi.
Chinese black radishes are long and slender like a daikon, with a black skin and white flesh; black Spanish radishes are globe-shaped. Both have a pungent flavor and may be prepared as for turnips or eaten fresh. Plant like daikon.
Rat-tail radish is grown for its long seed pods—wide at one end, dwindling to a tip at the other, thus “rat-tailed”—which develop late in the season. Harvest the bean-like pods when they are young and tender. Moderately spicy, they can be prepared like snap peas or pickled.
Wasabi is a very hot, green Japanese radish that is dried and powdered once harvested. Mix the powder with enough water to get a smooth paste and use sparingly.
Turnips and rutabagas
Turnips ( Brassica rapa ) are easy to grow and a good crop for high altitudes and chilly climates. In the South, turnips are an excellent cool-season vegetable, good for both the root and the nutritious greens.
The rutabaga ( Brassica napobrassica ), called Swede or Swedish turnip in England, is a cross between a turnip and a wild cabbage, first grown in the Middle Ages. Rutabagas thrive in cool climates and do well across the northern United States and even into the cooler parts of Canada. Grow them as you would turnips, although they get bigger and take about a month longer to mature.
PLANTING: Like any root vegetable, turnips and rutabagas like a well-tilled, fertile soil. Both dislike hot weather. Turnips may be sown 1 month before the last spring frost date for an early crop or planted in July or August for a late crop. Turnips that are grown through a hot summer will be stringy and strong tasting. In the Deep South, plant in the fall for a winter harvest. 35 to 70 days to maturity depending on variety.
In mild climates rutabagas may be planted in early spring to mature in late summer. In hot summer areas plant in June to mid-July to mature in cool fall weather; hot weather during the later part of their growth causes big tops but small, tough roots. 90 days to maturity.
Sow turnip and rutabaga seed ¼ to ½ inch deep, with 1-inch spacing in all directions. Thin turnips as they start to crowd, harvesting the thinnings for “baby” turnips, and work toward an eventual spacing of about 6 inches. Rutabagas will stunt if they are crowded; they should be thinned to 8 inches apart. Maintain soil moisture during the growing season for tender roots.
HARVESTING: Scratch the soil away from the tops of the roots to gauge size. Dig turnips beginning when they are about the size of a golf ball but no more than 3 inches in diameter. Rutabagas can get much larger without losing their quality. In mild winter areas both may be left in the ground in the fall and dug as needed. They will tolerate light frost, but repeated freezing and thawing will spoil the root.
Other Nonstarchy Roots
Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus ) is a hardy perennial in the sunflower family; it has a characteristic golden blossom with a dark eye. Alternative common names are crosne du Japon , girasole, Japanese artichoke, sunchoke, sunroot, winter artichoke, or just plain choke—even though it’s not a relative of the globe artichoke at all. Chokes are prolific growers whose tall plants can reach 8 to 10 feet. They do not suffer from insects or disease and can hold their own against any weed, but
Sakurajima is a large plant that needs as much room to grow as a tomato plant; its root can reach weights of 10, 20, or even 50 pounds. Extremely spicy, this variety is not eaten raw; cook as for turnips. Plant seeds 2 feet apart.
Lobak , a Korean radish, is white with pale green shading at the base, wide as a potato, and 6 to 8 inches long. Its spicy flavor is good fresh or cooked and is a part of the Korean relish called kimchi.
Chinese black radishes are long and slender like a daikon, with a black skin and white flesh; black Spanish radishes are globe-shaped. Both have a pungent flavor and may be prepared as for turnips or eaten fresh. Plant like daikon.
Rat-tail radish is grown for its long seed pods—wide at one end, dwindling to a tip at the other, thus “rat-tailed”—which develop late in the season. Harvest the bean-like pods when they are young and tender. Moderately spicy, they can be prepared like snap peas or pickled.
Wasabi is a very hot, green Japanese radish that is dried and powdered once harvested. Mix the powder with enough water to get a smooth paste and use sparingly.
Turnips and rutabagas
Turnips ( Brassica rapa ) are easy to grow and a good crop for high altitudes and chilly climates. In the South, turnips are an excellent cool-season vegetable, good for both the root and the nutritious greens.
The rutabaga ( Brassica napobrassica ), called Swede or Swedish turnip in England, is a cross between a turnip and a wild cabbage, first grown in the Middle Ages. Rutabagas thrive in cool climates and do well across the northern United States and even into the cooler parts of Canada. Grow them as you would turnips, although they get bigger and take about a month longer to mature.
PLANTING: Like any root vegetable, turnips and rutabagas like a well-tilled, fertile soil. Both dislike hot weather. Turnips may be sown 1 month before the last spring frost date for an early crop or planted in July or August for a late crop. Turnips that are grown through a hot summer will be stringy and strong tasting. In the Deep South, plant in the fall for a winter harvest. 35 to 70 days to maturity depending on variety.
In mild climates rutabagas may be planted in early spring to mature in late summer. In hot summer areas plant in June to mid-July to mature in cool fall weather; hot weather during the later part of their growth causes big tops but small, tough roots. 90 days to maturity.
Sow turnip and rutabaga seed ¼ to ½ inch deep, with 1-inch spacing in all directions. Thin turnips as they start to crowd, harvesting the thinnings for “baby” turnips, and work toward an eventual spacing of about 6 inches. Rutabagas will stunt if they are crowded; they should be thinned to 8 inches apart. Maintain soil moisture during the growing season for tender roots.
HARVESTING: Scratch the soil away from the tops of the roots to gauge size. Dig turnips beginning when they are about the size of a golf ball but no more than 3 inches in diameter. Rutabagas can get much larger without losing their quality. In mild winter areas both may be left in the ground in the fall and dug as needed. They will tolerate light frost, but repeated freezing and thawing will spoil the root.
Other Nonstarchy Roots
Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus ) is a hardy perennial in the sunflower family; it has a characteristic golden blossom with a dark eye. Alternative common names are crosne du Japon , girasole, Japanese artichoke, sunchoke, sunroot, winter artichoke, or just plain choke—even though it’s not a relative of the globe artichoke at all. Chokes are prolific growers whose tall plants can reach 8 to 10 feet. They do not suffer from insects or disease and can hold their own against any weed, but
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