Swedes

This is the perfect time of year for planting swedes. Dirty Nails has been sowing seeds of the Marian variety this week. He likes to start his swedes in between rows of winter Radar onions. These are pretty well grown by now and will be harvested in June. The thick green onion tops provide good protection for the germinating swedes, and a sowing in early May will have a month or so to sprout and be thinned before the seedlings are exposed to the elements, and pigeons. These birds love swede tops. Once the onions are gone, Dirty Nails stops them from damaging his crops by running string between supporting posts to create a cobweb effect. This is thin enough to allow him to get in and weed, but thick enough to foil a landing pigeon’s outstretched wings. He also ties takeaway cartons to sticks for the purpose of bird-scaring.

Having thoroughly weeded his onions Dirty Nails ‘station sows’ his swede seeds three at a time, ¾ of an inch (2 cm) deep and 6 inches (15 cm) apart. Kept moist and with plenty of warm sunshine, they should be ready for thinning to the strongest seedling in 20 days or so. Further thinning will be needed in a few weeks to allow 12 inches (30 cm) between plants.

Natural History In The Garden: Stinging Nettle

After April showers come May flowers, and a vast array of common yet fascinating plants can transform the garden into a colourful wonderland this month. The stinging nettle grows abundantly in and around human habitation, and has done so for centuries. It thrives in the rich soils that are invariably created near where folk live. The stinger is covered with tiny hairs all over. Even the faintest of touches will break the tips of these hairs and release a potent acid which is both painful and can cause a rash. However it is an important food source for many beautiful species of butterfly when in their caterpillar form, and people have used nettles through the ages for cloth, food and medicine. The delicious young tips can be pinched out and eaten, the sting being rendered harmless through steaming.

Swedes grow vigorously. They will swell up, and with luck should provide a heavy yield of cream and purple-skinned, deep yellow-fleshed roots that are ready for harvesting from October onwards. Swedes are very hardy vegetables and can be left in the ground until needed in the kitchen.

Vegetable Snippets: A Brief History Of The Swede

The swede (Brassica napus) is alternatively known to Americans as rutabaga and to the Scots as neeps. In northern England it is rather confusingly referred to as turnip.

Some sources locate the development of swedes to seventeenth century Bohemia, where it was described as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. By 1664 this vegetable was being cultivated in Britain and was popular across the colder northern European countries where it does well. Relatively easy to grow and hardy, swedes were an important staple of the war-time diet between 1939 and 1945 and are rich in vitamin A. The young leaves also make a hearty meal when taken and treated as for cabbage.