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In terms of nutritional and medicinal qualities, rutabaga is similar to turnip, but surpasses it in the amount of mineral salts and carbohydrates. And the amount of vitamin C in it remains unchanged throughout the winter. Growing and caring for rutabagas in the open field is not difficult for any gardener, even a beginner. It is necessary to follow the usual rules of agricultural cultivation, and the swede will delight with its tasty and healthy fruits throughout the year.
The origin of the swede
Rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica - lat.) Is a type of fruit and vegetable culture of the Cabbage genus of the Cruciferous family. The vegetable is a natural hybrid that emerged as a result of the natural crossing of turnip with cabbage. The first scientific description of rutabaga was made in 1620 by the Swiss botanist-taxonomist Kaspar Baugin, who noted that it grows wild in Sweden, where it remains popular with the local population to this day.
There is another theory of origin, according to which Siberia is considered the birthplace of the swede. Before the import of potatoes into the country by Peter I, it was one of the most consumed vegetables. It was from there that the rutabaga was brought to Scandinavia and distributed throughout Europe. Proponents of this theory call the excellent resistance of the vegetable to low temperatures as the main argument.
There are yellow-meat varieties of rutabagas - this is a table vegetable grown by a person for his own food. And white meat - used as livestock feed. Also bred universal varieties intended for both purposes.
Where are rutabagas grown
In the Middle Ages, rutabaga was distributed in the Mediterranean, Scandinavian countries, France. Currently, it is widely grown in Europe: Germany, Sweden, Spain, Finland. In England, there is a national dish made from rutabaga with meat. Rutabagas are grown in Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
Recently, interest in planting rutabagas in Russia has increased. Most of all it is grown in the middle lane and the northwestern part of the country. Using the seedling method, rutabagas are cultivated in the open field and in the more northern regions of the country, where the summer is very short. But in the south, due to a lack of water, which is necessary for a vegetable, rutabaga is not widespread.
The best varieties of rutabagas
Swede varieties with photos and descriptions help to understand that they differ from each other in root crop size, resistance to growing and care conditions, ripening time, purpose and yield. There are few domestic varieties of rutabagas. Only 6 of them are included in the State Register of Russia. All these types of swede have passed the appropriate test and are allowed to be planted outdoors in all regions of the country. Moreover, these are the best varieties of rutabagas both for the middle lane and for any region of Russia, thanks to the culture's unpretentiousness to environmental conditions.
Rutabaga Krasnoselskaya - a mid-season vegetable, the harvest of which can be harvested in 110-120 days from the moment the first shoots appear. The root crop has an elongated, rounded shape of a greenish color with a purple tint and a juicy, sugary pulp. Its weight ranges from 300 to 600 g.This type of rutabaga keeps well all year round.
Rutabaga varieties Light Dream - early ripening, yields a harvest after 65-70 days. Root crops have an elongated shape with a yellow skin and juicy tasty pulp. Fruits are small, weighing 300-350 g.
Variety Novgorodskaya - the fruit has a juicy, tender beige pulp. Root crops with a purple color on top and light on the bottom, rounded-elongated, can grow up to 400 g, winter well, retaining their taste. The fruits are mid-ripening.
Child love - a variety, the technical maturity of which occurs 90-110 days after planting in the open field. Root crops of a rounded shape with a weak brownish-green color, with proper care, reach a weight of 350 g. The inner part has a yellowish tint, juicy with a pleasant taste.
Rutabaga Gera Is a mid-ripening variety, the fruits of which reach removable ripeness within 3 months from the moment full sprouts appear. Root crops with anthocyanin peel color have a delicate taste and grow up to 300-400 g in weight.
Verey rutabaga - yields ripe fruits 3 months after planting in open ground, therefore it is considered a mid-season vegetable. Root crops have a flat-round shape with a reddish-purple rind. The fruits are relatively small, reaching a weight of 250-300 g.
The following types are also considered popular varieties of rutabagas for growing in the Moscow region among gardeners.
Rutabaga Swedish - an unpretentious variety with a yellow or red tint of pulp, inferior in taste to Krasnoselskaya rutabaga. It has large root crops weighing up to 1 kg, gives good yields and preserves its qualities throughout the winter.
Kohaliq - mid-season fruitful variety with fruits with yellow juicy pulp, pleasant to the taste. Root crops are light purple in the upper part and light in the underground part. They reach a mass of 1 kg. Grown as a table vegetable.
Late grade Kuzma - a high-yielding variety with round and cone-shaped fruits weighing up to 1.5 kg. The growing season from the moment of planting is 4-5 months. Resistant to fungal diseases.
Marian variety - universal, suitable for human table and livestock feed. Gives high harvests of fruits weighing up to 600 g. The vegetable does not require special care, is immune to temperature extremes and resistant to fungal diseases.
The variety should be selected for its purpose, qualities and desired result. Each of the above types has pleasant flavors and is very unpretentious to care for. Therefore, gardeners who risked planting swede in their open field are satisfied with the results.
How to sow rutabagas for seedlings
The vegetable is grown in different ways - by sowing seeds directly to the garden bed and planting seedlings. The second method is most common in the northern and middle regions of Russia, since the growing season for rutabagas is long enough and it may not be enough for a short summer.
When to plant rutabagas for seedlings
If desired, you can sow in 2-3 times. The timing of the first planting of swede seeds for seedlings must be calculated so that with proper care, planting in open ground will be done in 40 days, and the first crop will be ready for harvest in the middle of summer. The last planting should be carried out so that the roots ripened in autumn do not freeze with the onset of cold weather and retain their taste. In the middle Russian zone, the time of the first sowing begins in April.
Preparation of soil and containers
For planting seedlings of turnip, choose deep wooden or plastic boxes, perhaps pots, so that the plant can freely take root. The container is filled with the nutrient mixture so that a distance of 2 fingers is left to the top.The mixture can be obtained by taking garden soil and adding mineral fertilizers to it, or buy it in a store. Some gardeners recommend adding wood ash to the mixture - 1 tbsp. l. for 1 kg. It protects seedlings from diseases and serves as a good source of trace elements for the plant.
Seed preparation
The choice of seeds must be approached responsibly and properly prepared. The seeds are first disinfected in a garlic or manganese solution, putting them in it for an hour. Then washed in clean water and dried. Next, you should germinate them by placing them in a damp cloth for several days. When white sprouts appear, you can plant seeds in prepared potting mix for seedlings.
Sowing seeds
Sow seeds for seedlings about 1.5 months before planting seedlings in open ground. The seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of 1.0-1.5 cm after 2-3 cm. Before planting, you can mix the seeds with superphosphate and evenly sprinkle them into boxes with a moist substrate. Sprinkle with soil mixture on top and water well.
Seedling care
The sown seeds are covered with glass or foil and kept at a temperature of about +180C. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed, and the boxes are transferred to a room with a temperature of 6-70C. When several days have passed after planting, the temperature is increased to 12-130C. Thus, the seedlings are hardened. All the time while it is growing, care consists in watering, loosening, and, if necessary, thinning.
How to plant swede in open ground
Planting can be done with pre-prepared seedlings or seeds immediately. Site selection and soil preparation play a large role in the further growth of the swede. The best harvest is obtained on moist loamy soil with moderate sunlight. The most suitable temperature regime - + 16 ... + 180C. When the temperature rises, it is important to monitor timely watering.
Planting rutabagas in open ground with seedlings
Approximately 2 weeks before planting the seedlings on the garden bed, they begin to harden. To do this, boxes with seedlings are taken out into the street for a while. When the sprouts are ready to be quietly outside for a day, they are planted in open ground.
Swede does not require special requirements for the soil. It is better if the soil is fertile - sandy loam, loamy or fertilized with peat compost. It is advisable to prepare the site in the fall: dig it up by adding manure, potassium salt, urea and superphosphate.
Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out in the presence of 4-5 strong leaves from seedlings. They do it as follows:
- The holes are prepared at a distance of 15-18 cm between them in the same row, placing the rows half a meter apart from each other.
- Spill the wells abundantly with water.
- The seedlings are dipped in a clay mash, set in a hole and added dropwise so that no bare stem remains, and at the same time, the root collar is not deep underground.
- Lightly compact the earth around the seedling.
- Wet the earth from the watering can again.
Growing rutabagas outdoors from seeds
You can plant rutabagas with seeds directly into open ground. The beds must be prepared in advance. Seeds are sown in rows to a depth of 2.5 cm.When the first shoots appear, thinning is done, leaving 4 cm between the shoots.After germination of 4-5 strong leaves, a second thinning is made so that 15-20 cm remain between plantings.
There is another way of growing from seeds in the open field - winter planting. Sowing is carried out in late autumn, when the ground begins to freeze. The site is dug up in advance, fertilizers are applied, holes are made, at the bottom of which sand is poured, 2 rutabaga seeds are placed, sprinkled with sand and humus so that the seeds are at a depth of 2.5 cm.
How to grow rutabaga outdoors
Growing rutabagas is easy. As a rule, it gives good yields on any open ground and in any weather. Does not like rutabaga acidic soils that can be neutralized. When planting, you should take into account the rules of crop rotation.
The best soil for swede is considered to be the soil on which legumes, nightshades, and pumpkin crops grew before it. You should not plant rutabagas in those areas where relatives of this culture grew: turnip, radish, cabbage.
To grow a decent harvest, planting and caring for rutabagas in the open field must be carried out observing the standard set of agrotechnical rules for growing fruit and vegetable crops, namely:
- timely watering;
- applying the necessary fertilizers;
- weeding and loosening of the soil;
- measures to protect against diseases and pests.
All this is familiar to any gardener and does not pose any difficulties.
Watering and feeding
Rutabaga belongs to moisture-loving plants. If there is not enough water, the root crop will grow tough and bitter. Too much water will make it watery and tasteless. Therefore, the swede is watered 3-5 times from the moment of planting in open ground, taking into account weather conditions.
When watering, it is advisable to use a nozzle so that a strong stream of water does not expose the root, which will turn green from this and lose its qualities. One bucket of water per 1 sq. m plot.
Fertilizing is carried out twice after planting in the garden:
- After two weeks, the sprouts are watered with slurry.
- At the beginning of the formation of a root crop, fertilizing is done with mineral fertilizers.
Loosening and hilling
An indispensable point in the technology of cultivation of rutabagas is loosening the soil, hilling bushes and weeding. The first time, loosening is carried out immediately after planting the seedlings.
These actions enrich the soil layer with oxygen, improve the heating of the soil by the sun, stimulate plant growth, and help fight weeds and insect pests. In total, about 5-6 loosening is done during the season immediately after watering.
Protection against diseases and pests
Rutabaga is a relative of turnip, radish and all types of cabbage. Therefore, the diseases and pests to which these crops are susceptible are the same.
The most common diseases are:
- blackleg;
- felt disease;
- mosaic.
Of pests:
- cruciferous flea;
- bedbugs;
- aphid;
- spring cabbage fly;
- sprout fly;
- slugs.
After planting seedlings in the beds, for prevention against the attack of cruciferous fleas, the plants are pollinated with wood ash or sprinkled with fine lime. The use of insecticides and fungicides is standard.
To reduce the possibility of damage to the swede by diseases and pests, some agrotechnical care measures should be taken:
- observe the rules of planting and crop rotation, do not plant rutabagas in the area where related crops used to grow;
- process the seeds before sowing them in order to exclude the occurrence of the disease;
- regularly remove weeds that weaken vegetable plantings;
- in the fall, after harvesting, remove all plant residues from the site so that they do not become wintering for pests;
- dig up the soil for the winter, destroying the laid eggs of insects and their larvae.
The yield of rutabagas
The main conditions for obtaining a good harvest of swede are considered to be the presence of moist soil and the absence of drought.The vegetable also gratefully responds to feeding with organic fertilizers after planting in open ground.
Harvesting can be carried out when the roots have reached a diameter of 5-6 cm. It is not recommended to re-grow the rutabagas, as the pulp will lose its tenderness. Different varieties can have different yields:
- Krasnoselskaya - from 4.4 to 5.2 kg / m2;
- A bright dream - from 2.5 to 3.5 kg / m2;
- Novgorodskaya - 4-4.5 kg / m2;
- Children's love - 5.8-6.2 kg / m2;
- Hera - 4.5 kg per m22;
- Heather - 3.5-4.0 kg from 1 m2.
Under favorable conditions in central Russia, you can remove up to 8 kg of vegetables from 1 m2 land.
Storing swede for the winter
For storage for the winter, rutabagas begin to be dug up at the beginning of September and finish before the onset of the first frost. The fruits are carefully dripped in so as not to damage them, dried well in a ventilated place. Separate cracked and damaged fruits. They are not suitable for storage and are best consumed immediately.
Rutabaga can be safely stored for several months without losing its nutritional and taste qualities at temperatures from 0 to +40C, packed in boxes and sprinkled with sand. It can be laid out on shelves in an unheated room (basement, cellar) or placed in excavated earthen trenches, sprinkled with sawdust and dry grass, sprinkled with earth on top.
Recently, gardeners have been storing rutabagas in plastic bags and consider this method to be successful. These conditions increase the concentration of carbon dioxide and the humidity required for storage.
Conclusion
Since rutabagas are not widely popular with gardeners, it may seem that growing and caring for rutabagas outdoors is something special. In fact, this is not the case. The same agrotechnical rules for planting and a little attention to care that are used for related crops: cabbage, turnips, turnips. And the vegetable can be consumed fresh or stewed in various dishes all year round.
