Thursday, April 21, 2011

Horseradish, It's Here!

I received my horseradish in the mail that I ordered from Burpee.com. This will be our first time growing horseradish. Both my husband and I love the stuff, and so we are beyond excited to be growing our own. I am a little bummed by the quality of the roots that Burpee sent us.  There are 5 roots in the order and 2 of the roots were puny skinny.  You will see it on the left side of my hand.  Compare that to the ones on the right which are thicker.  It's not my first frustrating experience with Burpee.  Last year, I had a dismal experience with getting their seeds to germinate.  I don't know why I continue to give them business.  I think we bought our horseradish roots with them because I couldn't find a good source that sold horseradish.  These better grow well, if it doesn't, I will never buy from Burpee ever again.
I ended up planting the roots in a large container.  A lot of garden bloggers advised me to not put them in the ground since they can be very invasive.  I hope these grow well.  I'm on the lookout for a wine barrel to purchase so I can transplant them in that.  I want to give it as much space as possible so that it can produce runners.  I want lots and lots of horseradish!  Yum.
Just a reminder, I'm hosting a pie cutter giveaway, enter here!  Deadline is this Friday, 4/22.

11 comments:

  1. Good luck with your horseradish. It it my bad luck plant. I had someone steal my plant and then last years plant just up and died. I have an order placed for this year with Richter's. I hope I don't strike out again.

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  2. You might want to try Nourse Farms
    http://noursefarms.com/catalog/Product/HORSERADISH/HR-/Horseradish-Roots.aspx

    I've been ordering from them for years. Their stuff ALWAYS arrives in excellent shape. They have super customer service. They might be a bit expensive, but I've NEVER been disappointed.
    Good luck!

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  3. Don't discount the skinny roots. They might surprise you. I hope you find a good container and they grow well.

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  4. Exciting! I would like to try to grow this too :)

    Another place to try is www.groworganic.com -- the usually have what I am looking for.

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  5. I don't like horse radish. I saw they were selling the roots for the 1st time around here this year though.

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  6. I would get them into the larger container very soon so the roots can get settled and grow. The ones I got from my mom were just the crowns, like what you cut off carrots. I planted them and they grew great! With roots as large as yours, they might grow faster when left undisturbed. Mine was two years old when I harvested it. The leaves were over 3 feet high and looked pretty nice as a foliage plant. Whatever you end up with, make sure it has a wide base so it won't tip over in the wind in case your's grows tall like mine did. Happy gardening!

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  7. I planted ours in a pot and they still escaped. I'm still trying to dig it out from among the honeysuckle roots.

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  8. Fantastic! We love fresh horseradish too. My husband makes an excellent vinaigrette with grated horseradish and he also has some horseradish - creme fraiche - based thing he whips up that makes a great sauce for lots of things, or a great dip too.

    I will be eager to hear how these grow for you, especially the little skinny ones. It's very exciting!

    I know Chelsea Garden Center in Red Hook has half wine barrels for sale, but I don't know how much they are...I imagine they are pretty spendy, but it may be worth a call to find out. Our barrels are so sturdy and will last for years, I'm sure. If you get some, I recommend putting casters on the bottoms so that you can move those beasts around if necessary!

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  9. fun! I would also like to grow horseradish. Been thinking about it for years! I've got a little garden with all kinds of things sunken in containers - oregano, mint, etc. The container is a great idea.

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  10. I will be watching for an update on your horseradish growing. I am thinking those little ones will grow just fine.

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  11. Don't dismiss burpee because you couldn't get lavender and rosemary started from seeds. That's pretty advanced plantsmanship. Most gardeners start with small plants.

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