Root Crops Examples

Oops! I guess I never got that gardening memo. I didn't even realize I was breaking the rules this past March when I planted daikon radish in spring. I asked a farmer friend who said that she always learned that you should plant daikon as a fall crop,...

Growers often shade the harvested boxes of potatoes with cut vines while they remain out in the fields. Sweet potatoes are dicots (broad-leafed plants) of the Morning Glory family and the genus Ipomoea .

Carrots are a favorite of munching rabbits, groundhogs and deer. When you grow carrots in containers, the roots are less likely to come into contact with these pests. Because phosphorous is fairly immobile in the soil, it needs to be close to the root...

After thinning, mulch with a layer of straw or shredded leaves to cut down on future watering needs. Packed with fiber, potassium, folic acid and manganese, these roots have been a staple crop since before the Roman Empire, though our modern, orb-shaped...

If you love cooking with homegrown ingredients and are looking to expand your garden's offerings, shallots are a must for your veggie patch. Because they cost a lot at the grocery store, you might think shallots are difficult to grow, but that's not really...

Carrot seeds take a very long time to germinate, so be patient with them. I harvest some roots in the baby stage while I allow the rest to reach maturity. If you've never grown your own beets and have only tasted them from a can or pickle jar, you're...

Plant In Well-Drained Soil The main disease fennel suffers from is root rot, which can be avoided with well-drained soil. You can cut the rest of the fronds a couple inches above the bulb if you would like, but some growers prefer leaving the fronds on...

That's a lot of spuds! If you grow potatoes and you don't harvest new potatoes, you're missing out. On a whim, I decided to plant potatoes this year and I'm so glad I did—75 pounds of delicious potatoes await the dinner table.

Some dislike its tendency to spread, but how can it spread when you're eating it with abandon? I greedily eye my horseradish bed, awaiting the time when I can dig their delicious roots for fresh sauce.

Spinach can be grown under floating row cover to prevent leaf miner and aphid damage. Where to plant: Garden; containers When to harvest: 30 to 40 days after seeding, when leaves are 1 to 2 inches in length (baby spinach); 40 to 50 days after seeding...

Because carrots have a single, thick taproot rather than many small fibrous roots, the zone from which they can absorb phosphorus is relatively small. This means that for straight, uniform roots, a deep seed bed is an absolute necessity.

These lightweight, white fabric covers rest on the plant tops and create a physical barrier to all kinds of pests. At this pH, the greatest variety of nutrients is available for plant use.

Once trimmed, they are ready to begin digging. You might have seen them at the farmers' market , but if you didn't know to look you could easily have missed them. We wound up sticking them into a spare pile of dirt just off the driveway for safekeeping...

She raises Welsh Mountain Ponies in northern Wisconsin and enjoys gardening, especially heirloom vegetables. Carrots You can begin harvesting carrots when they're approximately finger-sized or wait until they are fully mature.

Roasted turnips are delicious, as are braised turnip greens with a touch of garlic and olive oil. Size: 12 inches Sunlight requirements: Full to partial sun (A minimum of four to six hours is ideal.) Water requirements: About 1 inch per week—overly...

Once established, sweet potatoes just need a spot weeding. My recommendation is not to buy starts, but to start your own by either direct seeding in the garden or starting them in cell trays so that you can plant more for your money.

Remember that one bad apple, er turnip, spoils the whole bunch, so regularly cull any rutabagas that rot throughout the winter. Once seedlings come up, cultivate after every rain to contain weed pressure .

I ended up with a bad case of the blight , and that, combined with the stink bugs , was a recipe for ‘mater failure. The edible portion of an artichoke is the flower bud, which is harvested when it's still tightly closed and well before any flower color...

It will take several months for the seedlings to show signs of ample growth, but by the time early autumn arrives, the bulbous roots begin to swell rapidly. Celeriac requires a very long growing season, upwards of 110 to 120 days from sowing.

Instead, store them right in the garden. Admittedly, turnips are not sexy vegetables. Tags Dirt On Gardening , turnips But all that marvelous flavor is easily spoiled by a clueless chef.

“Fall is another perfect time to plant radishes,” says William Adams, co-author of The Southern Kitchen Garden (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007). Sow your first batch of radish seeds six weeks before spring's average last-frost date.

White vegetables may appear to be lacking pigment and nutrition, but just the opposite is true. They're full of numerous vitamins and other nutrients, even though they aren't full of color.

Potato Scab: Scars, scabs, lesions, craters and thickened spots on potato skins can be a sign of potato scab, a devastating disease that leaves potatoes looking less than desirable.

You'll extend your homegrown harvest and expand your culinary options. Rutabaga roots can grow quite large so give the plants plenty of room to grow. The soil must be over 40 degrees F for the seeds to germinate.

A light frost will improve crops. A heavy straw mulch will extend your harvest into early winter. In spring, plant two inches apart — 1/2 inch deep — into loose soil with plenty of organic matter.

The flavor is bold, but it's also quite sweet, and the red stays red, even when cooked. I grow it in my garden every year because it produces consistently-sized carrots that are sweet and do not get pithy when over-mature.

Every Thanksgiving, my family does its best to have a homegrown holiday. It was delicious! This year, of course, it's no different. This is my son's favorite gardening job because it's so easy.