We planted horseradish for the first time this year, despite what everyone said about how invasive it could get. This particular plant had 3' long leaves towards the end, and started from a mere 6-8" long root that was about 1" in diameter.
Here's a pic of what was dug up this afternoon.
I planted horseradish for the first time this year as well. However, I'm not going to dig it up until next fall (following the directions on the package). I'm actually trying to get it to grow as a perennial :)
Good luck to you on that, spectrum! It's fun to push zones, so you'll have to let us know how it all works out. :)
I wonder how it would do in a wine barrel?
Richard
A similar wonder of ours, Richard. If it's really invasive, then a large container would solve that prob immediately by keeping the roots bound while still allowing the plant to grow furiously. We're actually considering using old washer tubs next year to confine the roots... that is, if we find we want/need to start more next year. Time will tell. ;)
Just down the block from me one of the houses has a huge raised bed beside the garage - about 10x15 feet. There was a horseradish plant in one corner. and some other perennials in the rest of the bed plus weeds. The current owner(1 yr) and previous owners (several years) never paid much attention to the bed (it is outside the yard fence) Now I have just seen the whole bed is full of horseradish!
Dont think I will ever put it in my garden!
Plant it in cheap drain pipe about two feet long . Two things happen when you do this . The first is you stop its spread the second you force it to grow straight without all the bumps and uglies it gets from growing part way out of the ground. Ernie
I live in an area known in Sweden as the first place horseradish was planted.it was imported from Russia 1640 and we had big growings here until 1950. it was a big job to get it right you had to have a well fertilized soil but still soft and little sandy so it would be easy to dig because you had to dig up the root still sitting in the soil and take all the sideroots away in old swedish its called "fnasa" but its beginns with a root as long as you could get about 35 cm and thick like a little finger you plant it laing down in 45 degrees (help me with the word) in that way it could be very heavy roots. plant the roots as soon you can in the spring "fnasa" two times first summer and two times the next summer and harvest next fall. You also have full control of the plant if you do this way if you dig up the hole plant.
Roger
I'll never forget the day my dad proudly harvested his 1st homegrown horseradish & set about grinding it up with vinegar to use with the usual plethora of sausages he adored (we're Czech - sausages are like some sort of must-have rule).
So he peels & cuts the roots up, tosses them in the blender with some white vinegar & salt, then takes out a full tablespoon & pops it into his mouth. That glob of horseradish blew out of his mouth at supersonic speed, hit the kitchen window, & plopped down into the sink.
Like any good child would, I nearly laughed myself sick.
HAH!! And I'm laffing my head off right now, Breezy! What a picture!
Lol - I can't believe he didn't realize how hot it would be. I mean, I was sitting across the room & could smell the fumes as soon as he took the cover off the blender.
Makes me think of my mother visiting me in Baltimore and her prep. for a small fmaily pre-wedding dinner. I took her to the famous Lexington market downtown, and she bought horseradish they ground in front of her... to make cocktail sauce for the shrimp.
Back home, she started the sauce, kept tasting and adding horseradish until it tasted right to her. By dinnertime it was SO strong no one could eat any. Most had the reaction Breezy's dad had!
Yes - fresh horseradish is delicious, but if all you're used to is the storebought stuff - TREAD CAREFULLY!!! There's a world of difference between commercial bottled & freshly ground.
Good luck to you on that, spectrum! It's fun to push zones, so you'll have to let us know how it all works out.
I made the mistake of standing over the blender and opening the lid after grinding. WOW! I thought somebody had hammered a pipe up my nose.
I tried growing them in pots and still had plants popping up where I didn't want them. A few roots had made it out the drain holes then broke off and sprouted when I moved the pots. They aren't so invasive in that they spread a lot themselves, but if you till or chop them up, all the little bits sprout. I guess "tenaceuos" would be a better description. (edited for weird spelling)
This message was edited Oct 25, 2005 3:03 AM
"I thought somebody had hammered a pipe up my nose."
OUCH! What a description!! But think I've experienced that!
Maybe I'll plant mine in the orchard area...or maybe stick with pvc pipe?
I've been growing horeseradish in a whiskey barrel for the last two years with great success. I guess the barrel is a little rotted on the bottom as I noticed escape plants this summer growing around the barrel. I highly recommend this method although watch where you locate the barrel as the leaves do get very large. Ours is near the front door and my wife was concerned that the plant would start to consume visitors.
I have a root that is now ending it's third season and has never been dug up. We actualy bought the root in our local Stop & Shop grocery store. We planted it just after we bought it in the fall of 2002. It grew the fist spring (see photo) and continues to grow yearly. Since it's planting we cut off the leaves and add them into our greens salad and boy it is great. The picture is a first year growth planted in the corner of our raised bed perrenial herb garden.
This message was edited Oct 29, 2005 12:06 PM
Interesting. Exactly how hot are the leaves tastewise?
There actually mild peppery, not really hot. I pick about four wide and long leaves to add to two salads.
Sort of like mustard greens? I think I remember sampling a piece of leaf when I was a kid and thinking it wasn't too bad. It would be great if they're as good as you say; there aren't that many hardy perrenial greens crops out there.
I was rummaging around and found a link I'd saved a while back that should answer some questions, except for the one on what the leaves taste like.
http://tomclothier.hort.net/page22.html
Keith! Nice to see you posting again. I've missed your posts, but maybe I'm not "watching" the right Forums.... we have so many now.
Thanks Darius. I've been out of it for a while. Maybe we can Dmail and catch up.
Thanks!
This is an informative thread, as I planted h.r. for the first time this past spring. . .seems there's alot of caveats attached to this plant. I'm almost afraid to mess with it now. Think I'll process it outside on my patio. When I first planted it, was researching and found this link with lots of pics that was helpful. Thanks for the other link, as it has alot more info.
http://horseradishplants.com/cgi-bin/store/processing.html?id=UQjgK6NU
This link mentions something about digging it after the tops freeze back, for a better flavor. Anyone have any experience in this regard? Or does it matter?
Crucifers are generally sweeter after a freeze, so I don't see why not.
