How To Grow Swede

Growing Swedes
Swede is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and is well-suited to the novice gardener. They also crop over a very long time. This is because they can be left in the soil throughout the winter.

Swede is often confused with turnips but they have several advantages over the turnip. Firstly, they crop much later in the season and swede is well capable of withstanding very hard frosts. In addition, the swede is sweeter and milder.

As the name implies, swede originated from Sweden and they are related to the turnip.

SWEDE QUICK GUIDE

Latin Name
Brassica napus napobrassica

Type
Hardy Biennial

Sowing to Harvest Time
20-24 weeks

How Many?
0.5-1kg (1-21/4 lb) per root

Size
7.5-17.5 cm (3-7 in) in diameter, 12.5-17.5 cm (5-7 in) long

Swedes are grown in most cases purely for the tasty edible roots but it's also possible to leave the root in the ground and eat the green leaves which will appear in the spring. Just cook them as you would for spring greens. There are three types of swede and they are known as green tops, bronze tops and purple tops. Purple tops produce the largest crops and are the most commonly available.

Where To Grow Your Swedes
Swedes prefer a medium soil which contains lots of nutrients although they will be happy growing in most soil types. They are unfortunately prone to club root so make sure the soil is not too acidic. Acid soils encourage club root. The ideal pH for swedes is somewhere between 7.0 and 7.4. If the soil is short of nutrients then add some well-rotted manure a month or so prior to sowing seed. If manure is not available then add a long lasting fertiliser such as bonemeal or similar.

Swedes don't like being waterlogged. If your soil is not free draining then either dig in some well-rotted compost or grow them on a ridge so that the water drains away.

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