[Brassica Blaz]

hi ,does anyone have any recomms for a good swede? i grew ruby last year and sowed mid june,they grew very large and split.i'm trying brora this year hopefully these will be better.are there any small growing varieties? ive looked for some but not had any luck.could i get away with not sowing until july with the late season and all?

[Swing Swang]

I've sown Marian late June with good results.

[Ivor Backache]

I had very large swede (Marian) last year which split, resulting in a lot of waste. But when I planted them I put some chicken pellets in the planting hole and I suspect they were overfed.
I am growing Marian again but this time without any extra feeding.

[Carrotcake]

I'm pretty sure I grew Ruby last year, which I sowed direct in July and they were brilliant. Not sure if our results would be the same though. We had a long, dry summer here and I hardly gave them any attention.
It was the first year I'd tried swedes and I couldn't believe what a good crop they were considering how much I neglected them 

[Goosegirl]

Carrotcake - you swine !!! How did you do that - and with no attention??? I think I have always sowed too early (late April / May) so haven't sowed mine for this year yet. Maybe splitting is more to do with irregular watering rather than a constant dryness. Will do mine at beginning of July like you. I love them mashed with carrots, drained, then folded into a very thick white sauce with lots of black pepper - mmmm !

[aelf]

mine go in this weekend, bit later than intended but then everything is late this year 

[mumofstig]

I sowed marian late last year and only got small ones. I sowed some at the weekend, hopefully they will be a bit bigger this year. I'd rather a few split than have them too small personally

Mind you we were very dry in the SE last year, maybe that was why

[Carrotcake]

Blissfull ignorance is my excuse 

I'd had the packet of seeds since 2004 and only put them in (on 10th July) because I had nothing else to put in the space once the spuds came out!

We are on chalky soil (I use the term loosely!) so it must be something to do with the heat and dry conditions. I'm trying again this year, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. They were definitely my best winter crop 

[kingdhesiii]

I've sown Marian late June with good results.

yep marian are nice and you can sow up to end of june and still gain good results with it.

[rowlandwells]

 it seems by what your saying that Marian is a good choice of swede much grown there is another variety on the market that is well worth a try its called invitation it to is club root  and powdery mildew resistant  seams an excellent choice for late season sowing also used as a fodder crop

usually harvested from December to April i know my farmer friend set swede as a fodder crop and had lovely mini swede the sheep loved them 

[RichardA]

Marian but get the watering right -- too much and they grow too quick and can rot -- too little and go woody.
Just right and the kids still dont eat them so dont grow many at all now.
R

[paintedlady]

there is another variety on the market that is well worth a try its called invitation it to is club root  and powdery mildew resistant  seams an excellent choice for late season

I grew these a couple of years ago - best swede ever    While my Marian were being ravaged by cabbage white caterpillars and cabbage root fly, the late June sowed Invitation turned out perfectly blemish free.  Lovely purple skin, roughly large orange size roots.

[Craig69]

Mine were doing fine until i planted them out on the allotment.
All 40 of them went all limp & laid flat out on the ground.
None for me this year i think 
Everthing else is doing great

[DD.]

You have to be very careful in transplanting root veg. They absolutely hate root disturbance.

I'm not a fan of doing it, I tried it once 34 years ago.

[Zippy]

Can I ask - do you sow Swedes in module trays and plant out or do you sow direct? It seems anything I sow direct just doesn't come up, whereas I have more success if sown in trays and plated out - of course, more labour intensive.