Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: rowlandwells on August 21, 2017, 08:54
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we where watching Monty on Friday and he mentioned sowing both swede and turnip seed this month something I've never thought of before
has anyone on site done the same and how did they turn out because I'm tempted to give it a go :blush:
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From personal experience, if you crack on and sow turnip seed around now, then there is just about time for them to make small roots before the cold weather, and the leaves make good "greens" to cook as spinach... bear in mind I live in the South
Was the idea with swede to overwinter small plants so they get off quickly next year? They do take a long time for the base of their stems to swell to make that bulbous swede
Interested to know what others know
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Yes, time to sow seed for baby turnips (perfect size imo) but have to disagree with Monty again!! about sowing swede now :dry:
I'd not sow them later than the end of June if you are expecting more than a slightly swollen stem ::) They take much longer than turnips to bulb up.
In his book Gardening at Long Meadow he advises that The seeds are sown in spring and allowed to grow slowly through summer, with the best harvest in autumn and early winter
So why is he giving bad advice on GW?
Another thing he could have been shown sowing now is Kohlrabi, so no need to mention swede at all - makes no sense to me :wacko:
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To confuse further, down in Cornwall where we can extend seasons better than most, we call swedes turnips and turnips sort of anything really, sort of interchangeable. This has been particularly funny in the authentic pasty recipe debate. So maybe Monty has got his reference wrong somewhere. In my opinion, I can't see "Swedish turnips", ie swedes for most parlance, benefiting from being sown now. I've sown in late June before and got a great crop, but never now. They would have to overwinter to mature, unless in some greenhouse, but even then, can't see it at all.
As MOS has said, he must have been talking baby "turnips" if anything. They certainly aren't "swedes" in many peoples' understanding.
I think Monty is a sweetie with lovely dulcet tones, but he admits he hardly gardens at all these days in the manner portrayed given his other commitments. Maybe he's a bit off the pace or a secret Cornishman.
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Minister of misinformation?
Swedes are essentially an open field crop that I have never been able to grow properly either in my garden or allotment.
The farmers that grow them sow May time, I think they are a bit like Chinese veggies they need to be sown later in the season to succeed!
When my granddad was little they made their Halloween lanterns out of swedes, proper sized , not the runts that are sold now, tasteless and not sweet as swedes should be!
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Love Swedes, have a couple of packets of seed and a lot of spare space so going to give it a try. Will sow them tomorrow and keep you posted. I have nothing to lose😃