We figure some of you might appreciate a three year update on our horseradish experiment! Things are going great with it, despite our concerns that arose from our exceptionally cold winter we had this season!
For the uninitiated, you might be surprised to learn that yes you can grow horseradish! Better yet, it’s a solid cold hardy perennial that thrives in zones 3 through 8! So, it’s an excellent choice for us northern growers that want something a little out of the norm in our gardens!
You have a few choices for starting a horseradish patch. You can grow it from seed, should you have the time and inclination. You can also plant the cuttings of a horseradish root in the ground or in a pot that you intend to transplant. Finally, you can buy a pre-grown plant from your local nursery. We opted to go with pre-grown plants as we didn’t need very many to fill our space. Horseradish will naturally take up any space you give it as it matures over the years. Like with mint, it’s a good idea to contain it as it’ll have a tendency to go wherever it wants.
We’ve been pretty happy with horseradish as a “hands off” perennial. We really haven’t had to do much for it, aside from clearing out the old brush in the spring. It has reliably returned for us, even after a winter where we clearly flirted with temperatures below its typical growing zone. Some northerners say they’ve had no luck with horseradish, but we seem to be bucking that trend! We do cover our horseradish with straw in the fall, which decidedly helps survival rates.
Our plants did threaten a very late start in their second season, something we see a lot with our first year returning perennials. This year, though, our horseradish were roaring and ready to go by the time the snow melted. So, it appears they are a fair bit more responsive as they get established and learn the ropes of their northern environment.
Now, in warmer zones, they say you can start harvesting your horseradish at about the three year point. Our experience with subarctic perennials usually tells us that it takes quite a bit more time to get to harvest maturity, given our frozen world and markedly slower perennial growth. We might consider a first harvest next season (fourth year) as our plants are looking like they have finally taken up the space we’ve offered them.
We haven’t decided whether we’ll pursue an early spring, mid-summer or late-summer harvest just yet. We often have to modify harvesting (and other plant care) guidance for the sake of northern common sense. Horseradish is typically harvested in late fall, but the people who say this typically aren’t talking about the subarctic where “late fall” (e.g. October) actually means “winter” for us. We’ll certainly bring you all along for that one, it’s going to be a fun one! And we are very, very excited about it!
So, if you’re looking for something a bit different in the perennial world, we’ve been having a good time with growing horseradish. It’s definitely not a “looker” of a plant, but it does surprise our occasional guests that visit our gardens. Many people likely assume that horseradish is some obscure thing, grown in exotic far-off places.
But, that’s not true! Horseradish can literally grow right in your back yard!
