Growing Horseradish

Horseradish is almost never grown from seed. Instead, you propagate it from root cuttings — the strong side roots that branch off the main root. Plant these out in autumn or in spring from mid-April onwards. Push them into the soil at a slight angle, making sure they point in their original growing direction. The top end should poke out about 3 cm above the well-loosened, compost-enriched soil.

If planting takes place in the autumn, the harvest does not begin until the autumn of the following year and ends in the spring of the year after that. Grove is only planning as far ahead as December of the following year.

You can also give horseradish a permanent spot in the garden. If you leave small pieces of root in the ground when you dig it up, each bit will sprout a new plant the following spring. This way, horseradish stays put in its corner and comes back on its own every year. This approach means less work, but it does spread over time and becomes very hard to get rid of completely. If you want to avoid that, grow it in a container or use a root barrier to keep it in check.

Horseradish needs consistent moisture to develop nice roots.