Wed 7 Jan 2009
This cool-season vegetable produces huge crops of edible roots and greens from a given area. Rutabagas are almost always planted in midsummer for a late fall harvest. Rutabagas require 90 days to mature. The heavy tops of rutabagas ~ are edible but coarse. Rutabaga plants are large and are generally widely spaced to allow the large roots to reach their full weight of 3 to 5 pounds each. Rutabaga roots can be kept in cool storage if washed, trimmed, dried thoroughly, and dipped in wax. Different varieties give a nice choice of colors and shapes. Rutabagas have large, yellowish roots, sometimes topped with purple.
How to plant
Work plant food into the bed and broadcast a second application around plants a month later. For spring crops, plant seeds 1/4 inch deep in short rows as early in the spring as the soil can be worked. For fall harvest, sow seeds 1/2 inch deep in midsummer. Sow rutabaga seeds 1 to 2 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart.
Care
During dry weather, two or three waterings per week will be needed to prevent wilting of foliage.
Harvesting
Pick greens while they are the size of your hand or smaller; the stems of older leaves get stringy. Roots will keep in the ground until the soil begins to freeze solid. Then they can be dug and topped and stored in a straw or leaf pile or a very cool root cellar. Pull and top rutabagas before roots are injured by extreme cold.
In containers
This root crop requires a great deal of soil depth to be successful and is impractible for containers.
