Print this page using your browser menu option, then click here to return

June: Swedes

Swede is an underrated vegetable - there is nothing so comforting or indulgent as pureed swede with lashings of butter, pepper and a dash of cream on a cold winter's evening, and in spite of the temperatures this winter my crop stood in the ground through it all and we finished the last of it in March!

Sow swedes now for a winter harvest, directly into the ground in rows 30cm/15" apart. They are not particularly fussy about their soil, so no carting manure is necessary, just make sure you have raked the vegetable bed over, then make a drill in the soil about 2cm/1" deep, water the drill well (first), dribble in the seed, then draw the soil back over the seed. When the seeds are well up thin gradually until each swede is about 23cm/9" apart, and leave to grow! I tend to sow 'Ruby' or 'Invitation', but it depends what the seed companies are selling, or what seed I pick up at the Seed and Plant Swap.

Tip: Swedes are part of the brassica family, so make sure you rotate them in that group, but you can sow a 'catch' (or quick) crop of radishes or pak choi at the same time, and these are also part of the brassica family.