Horseradish

[Meadowlark]

Growing horseradish as an experimental crop this year...someone made the mistake of telling me it could not be done in East Texas. Wrong!

It is a fascinating plant with unique roots which produce wonderful sauces. According to Wikipedia, The root was used as a condiment on meats in Germany, Scandinavia, and Britain. It was introduced to North America during European colonization; both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson mention horseradish in garden accounts. Native Americans used it to stimulate the glands, stave off scurvy, and as a diaphoretic treatment for the common cold. Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana, syn. Cochlearia armoracia) is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish).

Brassicas grow very well here especially in Hugenkultur containers which is where I've been growing these plants for well over a year. Through our incredibly long hot, humid summers, this has thrived.

According to experts, the taste provided by the roots is at its highest after a hard frost/freeze has killed back the plants. We haven't had a hard frost yet, but I'm taking samples just to verify that the experts are correct. My first sample was taken today and shown below. The sauce from this will be compared to post-freeze harvested roots for intensity.

Anyone else grow this interesting plant in their garden?

 

[Meadowlark]

Did a "search" and found @Ruderunner has grown and is still active here...what have you learned about it? Thanks.

 

[GFTL]

WARNING!!!! Grow them in pots. They are incredibly invasive and impossible to destroy. Plus containers make for much easier harvest. I thought I was being smart by growing them in large garden containers but made the mistake of having holes in the bottoms in stead of the sides for drainage. The roots grew through the bottom and started spreading. Been trying to get rid of them ever since.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Agreed, invasive, contain.

 

[Ruderunner]

WARNING!!!! Grow them in pots. They are incredibly invasive and impossible to destroy. Plus containers make for much easier harvest. I thought I was being smart by growing them in large garden containers but made the mistake of having holes in the bottoms in stead of the sides for drainage. The roots grew through the bottom and started spreading. Been trying to get rid of them ever since.

This!

Several years ago I tried to grow horseradish in some old shipping crates from work. It did well. Well enough that it grew through the cracks in the crates and rooted in the ground.

Water sparingly, it's surprisingly susceptible to root rot. But, it will chase the water it desires. I had some in one spot and chased the roots 3 feet deep before giving up.

It doesn't seem to like too much nitrogen unless you want lots of greens. Those are edible treat them like mustard greens.

Container growing is probably best and you can pick your containers to help shape the roots. A tall container will provide longer skinnier roots than something short. A sandy soil works well top with leaf mulch over winter.

I'm still experimenting with it. I don't necessarily need to grow alot but I am trying to grow it very pungent.