Horseradish?

[flowerlady]

Just got back from a digging session, I found some horse radish!!  Is this a good thing or bad?

Its an old old root.  How should one really grow it? 

Apart from horseradish sauce why does one grow it!! :-\

[flowerlady]

[Svea]

horse raddish can become a weed if not all dug up in the autumn.
very invasive, in fact

also, best to dig up in autumn when it gets cold as then the root actually becomes sharp. in the height of summer, it is really mmild and the broken root doesnt really smell much of anything except moist earth (if you are lucky)

hth
svea

[jennym]

I planted horseradish 3 years ago and really wish I hadn't. It has spread 10 feet from the original site despite the fact that I've tried to dig it all out. The roots go down really deep, and run through the soil. Maybe you could grow it in a large pot? (I realised this year that there is a mass of horseradish growing wild by the side of a road near me anyway, so I didn't need to plant it in the first place.)

[daveandtara]

We have horseradish on our plot growing
like a weed. determined not to waste free food, i typed horseradish into our search engine (google) and got a horseradish fan club site!  :o i kid you not!!
anyway, this site had about 50 or more horseradish recipes so you need not waste any of it  ;D
give it a try if only for a laugh!

[tim]

Fortunately, ours has stayed in a 10' area for 20 years or so. Haven't looked in the neighbour's garden though!!

For convenience, dig it, grate it & freeze it. Same as ginger. And, if making H sauce, use mayo instead of cream - it'll then keep in the fridge.

[Svea]

i will help clear my friends weed patch later this year ;D

[philcooper]

.... best to dig up in autumn...

Digging it up, unless you get every bit of the root is the way to increase it.

Better to plant it either:

somewhere where it won't upset anyone by spreading - mine is alongside the comfrey which it does seem to compete with

or somewhere where it can't spread, this would mean lining a hole with something like slate or galvanised iron to a depth of 6 ft (at least)

Phil

[flowerlady]

Wow,  maybe I should not have dug it up!!  I shall watch the old patch with interest.

Thanks for cheering me up!

[organicartist]

I've read that young horseradish leaves make a good salad leaf, (used in moderation in a green salad), there's loads growing on plots on our site, so I'm going to try that. Will let you know if its any good.

[Alan_Y]

I agree with Phil

Get rid of the stuff, I thought i dug it all up and then rotorvated the plot.

Bad move horseraddish every where.

Kill and Distroy Exterminate.

[the_snail]

What would be a good idea is to plant it in a old washing metal machine drum. Then burry it in the ground so the moisture can penetrate the holes. It mat stop it from spreading. Also try it with ya mint. That is if you can get an old metal washing machine drum.

[kelso]

I've always collected horseradish from the wild - problem solved. :)