Brassica napus var. napobrassica
Rutabaga
Common names: Swede, Swedish turnip
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 25 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Biennial
- Sowing
- May–Jun
- Harvest
- Oct–Nov
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −6 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
The turnip is a hardy, yellow‑fleshed root with a mild sweet cabbage flavor and a classic winter vegetable from northern German cuisine. It has long been considered a food for the poor, but now enjoys a renaissance as a fine braised vegetable and puree. Frost makes it milder and sweeter.
Care instructions
Sow it from May to June directly into the bed; as a late‑planted crop it does not interfere with the preceding crop and is ready for harvest in autumn. Keep a spacing of about a handbreadth, water evenly during dry periods, and prune regularly. Harvest from October before severe frosts; it can be stored in a sand pit or cool cellar for the whole winter.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMay–Jun
HarvestOct–Nov
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 5 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 10 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, moist, nutrient-rich, well-drained
Give the swede a deep, humus-rich, slightly loamy soil that stays evenly moist but does not become waterlogged. Loosen it deeply before sowing. Keep the pH at 6.5 or above: on acidic, compacted soil clubroot threatens, so lime carefully if needed; above pH 7.0 the boron supply gets worse.
Brassicas are heavy feeders and susceptible to clubroot. Keep a 4-year break from growing them, and do not follow directly on from other brassicas such as radishes or mustard.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Apr, May, Jul
In autumn of the previous year or in spring before sowing, work in mature compost or well-rotted farmyard manure shallowly. As a moderate feeder, that usually covers its needs already. Only if the foliage turns pale in summer, add some more mature compost or horn shavings at the surface at root formation (around July). Avoid fresh manure and too much nitrogen; they drive the foliage and make the root bland.
Overwintering
Harvest the swedes before lasting severe frost, by Christmas at the latest. Light frost beforehand does no harm and even makes them more aromatic. Free the roots from soil, sort out damaged ones and heel the healthy ones in layers into slightly damp sand in a box in a cool, frost-free cellar, and they will stay fresh until spring.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate swedes by direct sowing only. Sow the seeds from the end of May to mid-July directly outdoors in drills 1 to 2 cm deep with about 40 cm between rows; June is ideal for the winter storage harvest. After emergence, thin to 30 to 40 cm between plants, so that the roots have enough room to develop. Take care to keep the soil evenly moist before and during germination; optimal germination temperatures are 15 to 18 °C. If you want to raise young plants in advance, sow in a seedbed from mid-May and transplant the seedlings at their final spacing about six weeks later. Note: the swede is a biennial and only bolts in its second year in place. To collect seed, you therefore have to overwinter individual roots. Plan a growing break of at least four years on the same site, also in relation to other brassicas, to avoid clubroot and soil fatigue.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example Bush beanPole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled peaRunner bean and 35 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
You can pair celery and dill with all Brassicaceae because they repel the cabbage whitefly with their scent, a proven companion.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: Bio-Gärtnerei Mixed-culture Practice
mint family (Lamiaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
nasturtium family (Tropaeolaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example NasturtiumMashua
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Rather not
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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