A Few Important
Facts About
Horseradish
We sell an heirloom variety of horseradish It is a plant carried to Colorado during the homestead era, literally in a covered wagon. The roots, which are the edible part, are very similar to most varieties I’ve seen. Each root that begins the growing season will tend to grow larger and, at the same time, start one or more new roots nearby. Also, horseradish is highly adaptive. It will grow in many soil types and climates. Be warned, however, that it is invasive. Plant it too close to your house and it will be popping up in your living room before you know it. The plants are extremely hardy, too. Easily split and transplanted. They are also known to be allelopathic, meaning they retard the growth of nearby plants, or kill them.
Horseradish is generally harvested in the fall but can be dug any season. By fall, each plant established in place before that spring will have produced at least one, usually several, other plant from its root. They may forma tight cluster of plants. To harvest, dig up the entire cluster and take the largest, oldest root(s). Replant the smaller roots, amending the soil if you like. The plant is so vigorous, however, that it usually won’t matter if you replant any roots. New plants will soon emerge from root fragments left in the ground. They will just take longer to grow to size than full roots you replanted. For a new spring planting it is recommended the first harvest be no sooner than fall of the following year.
Again, caution is warranted when planting horseradish. It is an invasive plant and will spread. Also, it is suspected of being a plant that will kill perennials growing within its root area. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that weeds are never a serious problem around our horseradish plants as well as the fact that three rhubarb plants closest to our initial horseradish planting died after a few years. This is why most people plant horseradish in large containers or far away from their primary gardens.
