THE YELLOW-FLESHED turnip we eat in Ireland is in fact not a turnip at all, but a swede. It’s related to the turnip of course, but it’s a slower growing version which is left to grow much larger than the quicker-growing turnip.

Swedes grow well in Ireland and store well – they are not particularly fussy about the soil they grow in, though they will fare better if the soil is manured the previous autumn.

Sowing

Though they can be sown direct, a foolproof way to grow healthy swedes is to sow them in module seed trays – sow one or two seeds in each module of the tray 2cm deep.They will germinate in about a week (thin out the weaker seedling) and will be ready for planting about a month later.

Harden off early sowings. Plant seedlings out, spacing 30cm between rows and plants. Do not plant turnips where there have been brassicas for at least three to four years previously.

Since swedes store well, it’s worth putting some thought into growing for winter storage – if you sow 30 swedes in May or June, they will be ready to lift in October and will last you from October to April (consuming one a week). You will need around 2m of growing space to grow this many swedes.

Shutterstock / kaiskynet Shutterstock / kaiskynet / kaiskynet

Growing

Keep plants free of weeds by hoeing, and water regularly during dry weather. Plants won’t need feeding if you have added compost/manure to the soil the previous year.

Harvesting

Swedes take up to five months to mature (turnips take just  six to eight weeks). Harvest when 10-15cm diameter, by simply pulling the root from the ground by the stem. Swedes can be left in the ground for the winter but there is a risk of them rotting in water-logged soil, so best to take them out and store them in sand.

Recommended varieties

Marian – purple top variety with paler yellow flesh and a good uniform shape

Problems

Swedes are affected by the same problems that afflict all brassicas, though they are rarely badly impacted. Cabbage root fly, clubroot, and flea-beatles are the main culprits.

GIY tips

1. Store swedes in a cool shed in a box of sand or create a swede “clamp” (a pyramid of swedes on a bed of straw, covered with another layer of straw and soil).
2. You could also do an earlier sowing of swedes in April for summer eating, but we tend to use quicker growing turnips for this instead (and honestly, swedes are not exactly what you want to be eating in summer anyway).

Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author and founder of GIY.

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