A heavy, firm root with flesh so thick it blunts a vegetable peeler, swede is mashed, baked with cheese or cut into chips like a potato. Called rutabaga when the flesh is yellow, this ancient heirloom belongs to cold, moist winters: give it humus-rich, free-draining soil and it will shrug off frost in the ground.
| Name | Rutabaga |
|---|---|
| Family | Brassicaceae |
| Type | vegetable |
| Height | 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | humus-rich, well-drained |
| Flowering | summer |
| Harvest | 3-4 months after sowing, so autumn, winter and spring |
Swede is particularly well suited to climates where winters are cold and moist.
Sowing swede is best done indoors from late winter onwards or directly in the ground from late spring to midsummer.
Cover the swede seeds with ½ inch (1 to 2 cm) soil. Sprouting should occur after ten days.
If you notice tiny eggs on the underside of leaves, they might come from large white. They’ll hatch and eat away at leaves but won’t harm the roots.
When harvesting, the swede must feel firm and heavy. A square yard (1 m²) should yield an estimated 9 lbs (4 kg) on average.
Fall and winter swede are best when you harvest them just as you plan to eat them; they will also keep well in a cool and ventilated place.
Swede keeps easily over several weeks, preferably in a cellar or in a cool room.
To keep winter swede best, leave them in the ground until early spring. Actually, staging the sowing will give you different sizes to choose from.
If you only need to keep them a few days, the vegetable rack in your refrigerator is fine.
Twist the leaves off to a short stub before storing, as the foliage keeps drawing moisture out of the root.
Split or fork-damaged swede will not keep; eat those first.
Lift the last roots left in the ground before the plants restart growth, or the flesh turns woody and pithy.
Spread a straw mulch over the row so you can still dig swede out when the ground freezes hard.
Swede is one of the easiest roots to store, and the method you pick decides how long it lasts. Match the store to the moment you actually plan to eat them.
| Storage method | Where the roots sit | How long it keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Left in the ground | In the vegetable patch, lifted as needed | All winter, up to early spring |
| Cellar or cool room | Cool, ventilated indoor store | Several weeks |
| Buried in dry sand | Roots covered in a box of dry sand | Longer than loose storage |
| Refrigerator | The vegetable rack | A few days |
Whichever store you choose, pull the roots in dry weather and take only what you need.
Swede are said to have several therapeutic benefits. Chief among is the fact that they are great diuretics and help the digestive tract to “cleanse” itself.
Swede is most often eaten cooked instead of raw. Try it out either mashed, baked with cheese, and even fried much like potatoes to give… swedish fries!
You can combine them in meals with other winter vegetables such as turnips or carrots. They can also be tasty extenders for typical winter dishes, like soup broth.
It is often easier to peel swedes with a sharp knife rather than the usual vegetable peeler. The thick flesh makes this difficult, so take care.
Beware of letting the ground dry up, water generously during hotter months.
