Growing Horseradish

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Armoratia rusticana common horseradish
Other names
common horseradish
Botanical name
Armoratia rusticana
Plant category
Root and tuber vegetables
Horseradish
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Facts and figures

Light requirements
Sun / partial shade
Nutrient requirements
Medium feeder
Difficulty level
Easy
Culture (according to Gertrud Franck)
A - tall or wide crops, almost year-round
Row spacing
20 cm
Plant spacing
70 cm
Growth height
50 - 120 cm

Planting & harvest times of Horseradish

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Transplant
Harvest
Harvest (next year)

SpringTransplant to bed from Mid April to Mid May. Harvest begins around Early October and continues until Late February next year.

AutumnTransplant to bed from Early September to Late October. Harvest begins around Early October and continues until Late February next year.

Plant 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.

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.

Good and bad companions of Horseradish

Good neighbours
Bad neighbours

Predecessors and successors of Horseradish

Bad predecessors
Bad successors

Care and fertilising

Horseradish needs consistent moisture to develop nice roots.

Harvest and processing

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You can harvest all winter long, as long as the ground isn't frozen. Always loosen the soil with a digging fork first – don't just pull on the plant. It would snap off.