Horseradish in pots

[Miss Jessop]

If you're organic repeated cutting will eventually weaken the plant - can you mow or strim it? (if that approach works with our massive area Japanese knotweed I'll let you know) but otherwise, if you are never going to want it try a systemic weedkiller which will kill the roots - might take a while though.

I grow horseradish from root cuttings - it only needs the tiniest amount of root to grow a new plant - very satisfying to propagate but it never goes in my garden!!!

[binley100]

OOh just been looking at a recipe for Beet relish using beetroot and horseradish. I want to grow some now.

[greengrass]

Thanks miss jessop
have been spraying the leaves with a weed killer as it is not in a part of the garden i use for veg and yep sure is taking a while but will keep at it
and good luck with your knotweed

i try to be organic and always are with me veg

JB

[sarraceniac]

Mine's been in for 4 years and has certainly spread but I don't find it all that invasive. Mind you I'm very fond of smoked mackerel and beef and I've not actually tried to get rid of the Horseradish.

[greengas]

I planted mine in a very large plastic pot about a month ago and stuck it on paving slab next to polytunnel. I was hoping it will act as shading, how long before I start seeing shoots appear?

[Mac]

Hi All, I got a small horseradish plant earlier in the year and potted it into a flower bucket, it's doing really well so was going to pot it on into a much bigger pot (we don't have very deep soil here as on the side of a rocky hill). Mu question is a bit silly probably, but how do you go about harvesting it? Is there a main root that you "trim" off, or do you just chop the roots as you find them?

[sarraceniac]

Mine is in the ground where it spreads like heck. I just dig it up and clean up any roots big enough for grating. Doubt if a small root will give you much this year though. I'd pot it on into the biggest pot you can find and leave it at least another year. It may behave differently in a pot though. I'd imagine that just taking up the lot in August and popping a few thongs back into fresh soil/compost to keep it going should work.

[Mac]

Thanks for that, I'll pot it up and leave it be til next year and see what happens. May try and find a place for it somewhere in the garden...we've gt lots of "wild" areas whch may suit it if the soil is deep enough.

[Farmer_Gyles]

I was looking forward to some home grown horseradish this year - bought a couple of roots (pre-packaged by a well known company that sells onion sets too) and put them in pots for the time being - they just rotted away .......

[JimW]

Bought a plant in a pot from HBase last spring, planted in soil/compost in a large pot, kept reasonably watered all last year, just tried to harvest some (March) and all I have are a mass of pencil thick roots coming off the original piece, no real "tap" root at all.
Certainly not a piece big or sturdy enough to think of grating.

Has anyone any suggestions please?

[Capsid]

Bought a plant in a pot from HBase last spring, planted in soil/compost in a large pot, kept reasonably watered all last year, just tried to harvest some (March) and all I have are a mass of pencil thick roots coming off the original piece, no real "tap" root at all.
Certainly not a piece big or sturdy enough to think of grating.

Has anyone any suggestions please?

Try planting the pencil roots again in a new pot with fresh compost. They need to put on a lot of leaf growth to make the tap root so a deep pot is essential. I grew one in a big pot buried in the ground to contain the roots and had a decent tap but there was no heat at all; I read that the plant needs to be 3+ years old before it gets hot enough. Anyway not a fan of it and I threw it out as I needed the space.

oops, I said this in post #2.

[dirtyhands]

Was lucky enough to have an established patch at last house, so have some experience with horseradish.
First, if your going to harvest each year it will spread, the 2nd year after our first harvest saw a 6ft spread in all directions. So highly suggest containing it. once its in the ground you won't remove it. The harder you try the better it grows.

Second, when you harvest your looking for pencil thin pieces preferably with green tops. These should be put to one side and replanted for the following year.

Third, i found heat comes more from how you process than age of plant, the more you chop the root and longer you leave it before adding the vinegar the better.

My plan in the new house is to get a metal dustbin in semi shade put drainage holes in the bottom, then 4 layers of thick membrane. and place on slabs. 5 pencil thin shoots spread should grow great.

my last house had sandy soil so will prep the soil mix with extra sand.

hope that helps

[Pippa201]

Long roots.

Hi guys, I had a great deal of success by planting the root in a 3-foot section of plastic drain pipe. I used rough old soil from the garden. Compost will be too loose, and result in thin, wiry roots. I stood it out of the way in a corner of our patio (DON'T stand it on the garden!). Support the pipe as best you can, and walk away....... A year or so later, I decided to harvest it. It had expanded so tightly that I had to use a garden hose to wash away the soil, which enabled me to pull the twisted roots out of the pot. I had prepared two, and the second one was so tight in the pipe that I had to take a saw to the plastic and make a cut down one side to weaken it. However, the effort was well worth it.