horseradish

I don't even know if horseradish is an herb, but we want to plant some and don't know where to find it.

Thanks in advance, Mary Lee

Save some money on mail order and just go buy some at the grocery store in the produce section.

Buy some roots (get the ones that are at least a half-inch in diameter) and plant them horizontally in your garden with the big end slightly elevated above the lower end. Your soil should be well-worked and loose. A piece about a foot long will give you a good-sized plant.

Best of luck and Happy Gardening!

Shoe

May I add, I have read that you want to plant it where it can spread. If not, keep it contained... Thanks for the tip Shoe, I wanted to plant some too. Love it!

Oh, thanks Shoe and Podster! I never would have thought to get it from the grocery store. The "plant it where it can spread part" makes me pause though. Should I put this in a pot? It won't take over the garden and be a thug will it?

Mary Lee

It sure can spread in good loose soil. Many folks recommend to plant it at the edge of your garden. Supposedly it's a great companion crop for potatoes but if it were me I'd plant it in an area all to its own. As for containers, yes that would work if it was big enough. I haven't done it but have read where people plant theirs in bottomless containers in the garden, that allows good drainage and the walls of the containers keep the side roots from spreading outwards.

What might be really REALLY interesting to do though is to plant your root in a 4-6 inch diameter pvc pipe! This would not only keep it in check (bury the pip below ground level at the proper angle of course) but will help to keep the root nice and straight. I hear tell people have been growing huge roots this way! Sounds fun, eh!?

Shoe

Shoe, that's a fascinating idea! How long would the pipe need to be? Are you talking about a foot long piece of horseradish? I was thinking of maybe a chimney tile. You can buy them as much as a foot square I think and probably 2 feet long. Pvc pipe would a lot cheaper. If we made the hole a lot bigger than the diameter of the pipe and filled in around it with mulch, it would be pretty easy to dig up.

So now that I have ideas about how to grow it, what do I do with it after it grows?:) Like when and how to harvest it and how to process it?Also how much sun and water does it need?

This project is getting more and more interesting all the time. Thanks Shoe.

Mary Lee

A ten foot length of pvc pipe might cost around 5-7 bucks, maybe a tad more. I think I'd cut it into two foot sections, put some good dirt or even amended potting mix in, add the root (about a 6 inch section should be enough to get started but you could use a longer piece if you want), and lay the whole thing in your dug out trench (remember to keep the fat end slightly elevated).

And yes, "padding" the pipe with mulch around it might make it easier to dig up but I bet you'll be able to just yank the pipe outta the ground at harvest time even without the padding.

I'm now wondering if a few holes should be drilled in the pipe on the top; that would allow water to get to the root system but yet not encourage side-roots to try to escape (since they tend to grow outwards, not upwards).

Any comments? More suggestions?

Shoe

I want pictures of this experiment at different stages of progress (please).

Oh, I thought you meant to plant it vertically. If you plant it horizontally, you need holes all along the pipe. Yes, that makes sense. I guess you could keep checking the end of the pipe to be sure the root wouldn't outgrow the pipe. You probably need to give it a good cover of mulch on top of the pipe to keep it cool. I'm assuming horseradish needs lots of sun. How much water?

heheh...Dyson, join the fun!

Yes, the more sun the better. Hmmm...planting it vertically might be another great experiment. Maybe I'll get some roots and try both ways, for comparison. As for water, I would just go by the topgrowth...if it shows wilting then I'd water it. As for the "soil" it is in that will also determine how long it stays moist or dries out.

So...guess we better take pics for Dyson, eh?

Shoe

I can't wait to start. How frost tender is horseradish? Is it too early now? I hope my camera is working when we do this.

Horseradish is planted in the Fall and winters over easily, even up north. Planting it now should be fine, it'll most likely sprout when temps and conditions tell it to.

If I get some this week I'll most likely plant it this week.

S.

Allright! I'll get some tonight! I assume that since I'm putting it in this pipe, it can be moved easily. I f I start it in the wrong place and need to move it when we start planting the rest of the garden, I can do that?

Mary Lee

Welp, since I'm inside most of the day I just HAD to go searching...

...found this on the Internet regarding horseradish, plus it mentions about planting it in containers as well as in a pipe. Check it out.

http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:1neJweKFBhQJ:extension.usu.edu/boxelder/files/uploads/horseradish2006-07.pdf+growing+horseradish+in+pvc&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

Shoe

Ok, I'm on-board, had not planned to plant horseradish this year but you'se guys have talked me into it. Now all I gotta figure out is where. (Garlic has also been added to the list though I think I'm gonna get killed for cutting into the wifes flower area).

That's amazing. I'm glad you had the time to find that. I think I'll stick to planting mine in a pipe. I have enough weeds to deal with already.:) Shoe, will you be at the College Station RU?

Dyson, the nice thing about planting in a pipe is that you can move it relatively easily. That is I hope you can.

Dyson ~ your wife should like the garlic when it blooms. It can be decorative, just tell her it is Allium. : )
Anybody have any favorite horseradish recipes they want to share?

Dyson, also tell her that garlic repells lots of undesirables. Roses are supposed to like garlic I think.

hehehe...smart thinking, podster! In other words, Dyson, just say, "But honey, I put the garlic there to encourage good growth in your flower beds, offer wonderful flowers to look at, and, if,if, if you like, we can use the garlic for some of that wonderful spagetti sauce you make!" (That should do it, eh?) :>)

Now as for the horseradish, hmmm. (grin)

Mary Lee...I think I'll go with the pipe planting, too. It just seems more fun to me! As for the CS roundup, I doubt it. I wanted to go last year but due to the driving distance plus being involved in growing/selling here at that time of year I could never make it. I'm sure the same will be true this year as well. (I did show up in a picture there though, toasting Dave with my DG mug!!)

Shoe

may i pls join in....

hahahahaha! Shoe, u miss the most important thing, i believe. it should have been... "Honey, placing the garlic is not only beneficial for ur flowers, it will also drive the bugs away from ur lovely flowers plus it is also edible to enhance our food."

sorry can't help it :D!

hi everyone.
ma vie

Hehehe...you got that right, Mavie! *grin

Dyson, one way or the other, you WILL be growing garlic! :>)

Shoe

sorry double post

edited cuz it is not meant to show as double posting.

This message was edited Feb 1, 2007 9:34 PM

sorry i can not help it. i had to smile back at U!

btw... belated Happy Birthday Shoe, i hope it was a good one.

i hurt my right hand. i could not be on line as much as i used to. no worry, health wise i am fine. just losing use of right hand is a total handicap as temporary as it is.

ma vie

Ma Vie, I was just wondering how you were doing... I've gotten a couple of good email forwards from you but had been missing you around the DG forums! Hope you're typing with both hands again soon!!

MaVie, I know what you mean. Was one-handed for quite a while once...no fun! Wondered why you haven't posted lately! Glad you are learning to deal with it! As healthy as you are you'll heal pretty quick! (eat more kimchee, it'll help!) And yes, my birthday was a nice one (that means I survived yet another year, eh!?)

Shoe

Jill... it is no fun to be left handed.[i never use my left hand all my life.] it takes so loooong to type :(.

Shoe ... eating Kimchee is part of my life. i am never without it. so glad to know ur b/day was a nice one. i totally agree with u that we have to try our best to eat and live healthy.

Happy birthday, Shoe. I didn't realize you had a milestone recently.

Btw about the horseradish, should I close the end of the pipe so it doesn't escape from the pipe there? Or does it only grow in one direction? I would have to cut away a hole on the top side of the pipe.

Mary Lee

Mary Lee,

i am not Shoe, but i do not think u should cover either end cuz horseradish grow both the tops and the root at the same time. at least that is what i recall prior to losing all my plant due to health reasons. hth

ma vie

Oh yes I realize that. If I covered the end I would have to cut out a hole in the top of the pipe so the plant could grow, but if the end was covered then the roots couldn't grow out into the garden. Maybe I'm not explaining this very well. This is difficult to do without pictures.

i went back to the link Shoe recommended and this is what they have to says

Ok, I think I get it.:) I think I shouldn't have been posting so late last night. I was too tired to think straight.

Mary Lee

Sounds to me like the PVC pipe should be open at both ends... but that you should also try to harvest it before the roots start coming out the ends of the pipe... You wouldn't believe how the tiniest scrap of root left behind will turn into a whole new plant! I have a very persistant horseradish plant in my front landscape bed, from the time I "temporarily" held a plant there for my dad (at the time, there was no other tilled ground available here, as we'd just moved in).

I guess my question should have been Will the root grow from both ends or only from the small end?

Thanks, Ma Vie for helping out here. Thanks for the extra links, too!

As for me, I just assumed to leave both ends open but I was thinking it would be a while before the root would grow out the lower end. Guess we could always make the pipes a bit longer, eh?

And by the way, Mary Lee, I'm still thinking of also growing one vertically in a pipe, just to see what happens. I know they like growing in cooler weather so guess I'll stick the upright pipe in something and mulch around it for temperature control.

And yes, the plant will grow at both ends. The topgrowth will have extra suckers growing around the crown of the upper root and I'd read that some folks trim those off to encourage bigger root growth. (And the young leaves are edible!)

Thanks for the extra links, MaVie!

Shoe

Shoe, maybe we should use a 3 foot pipe and make a hole in the center (that is l l/2 foot from the end) for the leaves. That way it can grow from both ends and not invade the garden.

Do you cook the leaves or eat them raw?

Mary Lee

Hehehe...I'm beginning to envision "pipe gardens" all over the place here, Mary Lee! *grin

As for the leaves I've never tasted them. Hey, Critter, ya'll ever eat the leaves from your Dad's plant?

Shoe

Shoe, that's a rrrreally interesting mental picture.:) For certain types of people that could even be an illegal picture. Not that I am one of those. Unfortunately, right now I can't even drink wine.

I've nibbled a leaf tip, yeah, and it's got a lively flavor... doesn't pack nearly the same whallop as the root, however, more like mustard greens to me.

Shoe... u know it is always a pleasure to give a helping hand ':). here's one more link i found by accident while researching on another thread http://www.herbherbert.com/pdf/horseradish.pdf

You guys are way overthinking the horseradish. I've grown it for decades. Once you''ve planted it in a spot, it's there for good because every bit of root that gets left behind re-sprouts. But it doesn't really spread.

I also have plants in half-barrels, because the loose soil there makes harvesting earlier.

Give it some sun, some water, done.