Rutabaga ???

Has anyone grown rutabaga? I have never seen seed locally, but thought I might try to get some online next year. To me, a holiday meal is not complete without rutabaga.

Love rutabagas! I left you a note in your PM box.

They are in my to do list. I tryed one year but did not get much root. I think I planted them too close together. They are almost cabbage size. I need to stop playing with potatoes and start growing rutabagas. My DH is not supposed to eat potatoes and he loves rutabagas.

From Territorial Seed ...

CULTURE: Rutabagas and turnips are fast growing and require a
fertile, well-dug, well-drained seedbed that has a pH of 6. One cup of
our complete fertilizer dug into 10 row feet will give the plants
adequate nutrition. Sow the seeds thinly into 1/4 inch deep furrows, in
rows 12-16 inches apart. The optimum soil temperature for germination is
50-80°F. Emergence can take upwards of 20 days. Keep seedbed moist.
When seedlings are well established, thin them to 2-6 inches apart in
the row. Sowing indoors is not recommended.
INSECTS: Cover the
rows with Reemay, AG-19, or an insect barrier to reduce root maggots.
Row covers prevent flies from laying their eggs at the base of
developing plants. Flea beetles can be controlled with a floating row
cover as well, or by applications of Rotenone or Rotenone-Pyrethrin.

memart1 wrote: To me, a holiday meal is not complete without rutabaga.

I couldn't agree more! I'm hoping to try growing them myself!

So many vegetables, so little space. I want some of it all.

Kay

we are going to try and grow some rutabagas & turnips for the first time for a fall crop

are turnips and rutabagas the same thing or do they taste differnt?...i dont think i have ever had either one.....

hugs

rose

FamilyGardening wrote:we are going to try and grow some rutabagas & turnips for the first time for a fall crop

are turnips and rutabagas the same thing or do they taste differnt?...i dont think i have ever had either one.....

hugs

rose

they are different. I like rutabagas but do not like turnips. now isn't that a definitive definition?

Turnips~Brassica rapa subspecies rapa
Rutabagas~ ` Brassica napobrassica

They might not even cross.

Turan wrote:

FamilyGardening wrote:we are going to try and grow some rutabagas & turnips for the first time for a fall crop

are turnips and rutabagas the same thing or do they taste differnt?...i dont think i have ever had either one.....

hugs

rose

they are different. I like rutabagas but do not like turnips. now isn't that a definitive definition?

Turnips~Brassica rapa subspecies rapa
Rutabagas~ ` Brassica napobrassica

They might not even cross.

*Turnips~Brassica rapa subspecies rapa
Rutabagas~ ` Brassica napobrassica*

now that looks and sounds like alien gardening language

hugs

rose who is off to look up words......

Rutabaga and turnip are similar, but turnips are smaller and have a stronger flavor. I like both but I know my aunt always mixed her turnips with mashed potatoes to ease the flavor a bit. I cook them both by cubing them, then boiling in salted water until tender. Then I mash them and add a little butter and a little sugar. I have thought about candying them like sweet potatoes, but never tried it yet.

My nine will be diced then boiled till soft, mashed in my bowl. Then cabbage that has been boiled seperately will be drained of juice and added to my bowl, in equal portion to rutabaga; all chopped medium fine. Then corn bread added by crumbling in all stired; pepper sauce added to taste. If I don't beat my brains out with my tongue first ; I am gonna have me a meal.

The only time we use a rutabaga is for a Lancashire lamb hot pot.
diced rutabaga in a lamb stew topped with thinly sliced potatoes. YUMM

Oh, I buy rutabaga because it is the closest to swedes, I cannot buy swedes here.

scratch that I think rutabaga is a swede lol

memart1 wrote:I cook them both by cubing them, then boiling in salted water until tender. Then I mash them and add a little butter and a little sugar. I have thought about candying them like sweet potatoes, but never tried it yet.

I also mash mine with a little bit of milk and some salt. Every once in a while, I'll add in a spoonful of sour cream. A few years ago, I found a delicious recipe for Smashed Rutabagas with Ginger-Roasted Pears. Yum! The pears and ginger give it a bit of sweetness and even those whom I've made it for who haven't liked rutabaga love it!

memart1, I grew Rutabaga's in MM late last year and pulled the last of them a few weeks ago. If you do grow them and let one plant go to seed you will have enough seed for two years or so from one plant. Steamed Rutabaga, YUM!

I have two squares of rutabaga growing in my "Box#1". There is a festival to honor them (and just to have fun) in a town just north of us.

http://www.cumberland-wisconsin.com/Festivals/RutabagaFest.aspx

My little town honors pepper instead.

http://www.pepperfest.org/

Guess that says in Wisconsin we do love our veggies!

In our area the only thing we have like that are the cherry blossom festival on the river common, and the kielbasi (Polish sausage) festival in the little borough of Plymouth. One of our fellow SFG friends offered me some rutabaga seeds for just a SASE, so I just sent it out today. I will probably [lant some in late July or early August.

I was wondering if I can grow them in my square foot gardens that are 6 inches deep and how many per square. I dice rutabages(well really any root vegges) and toss them in olive oil and sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and roast them in the oven at 350 until tender. They also go in any roast I do(beef, pork or poultry).

I've been trying four per square foot but as they grow rather big over here 7 inches plus diameter in my ANSFG beds , I'll have to work to a 9 inch spacing between them over four adjacent squares as we like eating them a lot.
We eat them raw as cubes in a salad , boiled or olive oiled & oven roasted as a medley along with other root ot tuber veg .
They also do well cubed up in slow cooked stews and soups .

They freeze well when boiled , mashed and vac packed in family sized portions , when thawed and reheated with a small knob of butter are very nice with a main meal meat dish & gravy if you give a good grind of black pepper corns on them .