When should I sow swede in the UK?

May to early June. Don't sow earlier than May — April-sown swedes face the worst of the flea beetle generation and grow slowly through cold weather. May-sown plants outgrow the pest faster. Single sowing covers the season; swedes are not a successional crop.

What's the difference between swede and turnip?

Different species. Swede (Brassica napus, subsp. rapifera): yellow-orange flesh, dense and slightly waxy when raw, slow-growing (24+ weeks from sowing), very hardy (RHS H6), classic winter storage root. Turnip (Brassica rapa): white flesh, fast-growing (6–12 weeks), tender when young, hardy (H5). Swedes are the neeps in Scottish neeps and tatties. Different in flavour, hardiness, and growing schedule.

Why are my swedes small and woody?

Drought stress during the first 6 weeks after sowing is the usual cause. Swedes need consistent moisture to develop full-sized roots; once they check, they don't catch up. Other causes: club-root infection, sowing too late, or a cultivar wrong for UK conditions.

How do I stop club root on brassicas?

Lime the soil to pH 7+ before planting. Raise transplants in modules so they have a strong root system before going in. Use brassica rotation (don't plant brassicas in the same bed two years running). If your bed is heavily infected, the only solution is to skip brassicas in that bed for 7+ years; or grow in containers of fresh compost. Club-root-resistant cultivars (Invitation F1 swede, Kilaton F1 cabbage) are useful tools.

When are swedes ready to harvest?

From late October onwards, but frost-sweetened roots are best — wait until after the first hard frost in November for the transformation in flavour. The first lifts can be cricket-ball-sized; later lifts can be tennis-ball or larger. Smaller is sweeter; over-large swedes get woody.

How long do swedes store?

Lifted and stored in damp sand in a frost-free shed: 4–5 months, until March. Left in the ground under straw mulch in milder gardens: until February or March, lifted as needed. They hold up far better than turnips in storage and are one of the most useful UK storage vegetables.

Colinabo / rutabaga

Brassica napus subsp. rapifera

Siembre las semillas de colinabo directamente entre mayo y principios de junio para una cosecha de otoño-invierno. El colinabo es muy resistente (RHS H6) y constituye el ingrediente básico de plato típico escocés «neeps and tatties» (nabos y patatas); crece más lentamente que el nabo, es más resistente y tiene una raíz más grande. Siembre con poca densidad en un suelo profundo y sin piedras; aclare hasta dejar una separación de 30 cm. Esté atento a los pulgones en las hojas jóvenes (una protección de vellón o una siembra ligeramente más tardía evita lo peor). Recoja a partir de finales de octubre; de hecho, las heladas mejoran el sabor. La mayoría de los cultivadores de huertos urbanos las recogen en noviembre y las almacenan en arena húmeda para el invierno; en jardines más templados, los colinabos pueden dejarse en el suelo bajo un mantillo de paja y recogerse según sea necesario. Marian (la variedad estándar del Reino Unido) y Brora (más nueva, resistente a la hernia de la colinabo) son opciones fiables.

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