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Swede experts
DiSteve
Posts: 33
in Fruit & veg
I have grown swede from seed....all seemed to be going good, I can see the swede growing to a reasonable size, however on harvesting a number of them are rotten
What have I done wrong?
Never grown it before and was rather excited as its my favourite vegetable, but would love to learn how to grow perfect swede for next time.
0
Posts
Hi DISteve. It may just be down to the rather strange weather we have had this year. They certainly do not like being waterlogged and up here in the North West my garden has been under water several times this season. Ideally they should be ready September to November but they can be left in the ground for Christmas eating.
When you say they are rotten, has the flesh in the centre has turned brown, which is known as 'brown heart'? That is caused by a nutrient (Boron) deficiency. This is worse on alkaline soils and spraying with a dilute solution of Borax a few times during the growing season should fix it.
The other possibilites are slugs eating into them which lets in fungal spores and starts them rotting. Lack of water followed later by lots of water can cause them to split, again letting in fungal spores.