THE ROOT OF IT ALL

by Barry Ballister

Issue 35 (March-May 07)

[Copyright © 2007, The Valley Table]

From colonial times, Hudson Valley gardeners have managed two kinds of gardens: the garden you pick and the garden you dig. Peas, beans, peppers, squash and tomatoes are picking plants: You plant, cultivate, water, sucker and pick--and then it's over. The other garden grows silent and mysterious, underground. Underground crops display showy surface growth, while underneath, in the dark, warm, rich soil, the nutritionally powerful bulbs, roots and tubers grow thick and fleshy.

The underground garden is for winter harvest. Properly dug and stored at 55 degree in the dark, underground crops can supply food for months.

Not every root vegetable is to everyone's taste or need. Choose selectively according to your ability to prepare and provide soil and space. Since most store-bought roots are packed, waxed and commercially stored, you will be delighted at the superior taste and freshness your own underground garden will provide to your kitchen. Can you dig it?

Beets are sown directly to the workable soil from seed. The Detroit Red variety suits this locale best. (Beets may also be sown in flats 3 or 4 weeks before the soil warms up, then transplanted to the garden 1 to 2 inches apart in a row.) When sown directly, thin the seedlings when the beet balls are about a half-inch in diameter. Thinnings can be pulled for salad greens or a green side. Transplanted beets mature in 5 weeks after transplanting; sown seeds require 55 to 65 days to mature. Beets may be re-sown until mid-July for a late fall crop. At harvest, remove the tops, wash and store the roots and serve the leaves as a vegetable.

Carrots probably are the most popular root vegetable. The pointed Danvers and the cigar-shaped Nantes are best suited to this area. Both grow to about 8 inches and mature in about 75 days. Carrots are sown from seed as soon as the ground is workable and can be re-sown for a fall crop until late July. Early weeding may be necessary, so build up a ridge row to identify your sowing. When the seedlings are up about 2 to 3 inches, they should be lightly thinned. A second thinning at about 6 inches will begin to yield tiny "carrettes," which are very sweet, blanch quickly and can come to the table as a delightful side or in a baby veggie mix. Thin until the plants are 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 15 inches apart. At harvest, cut off all but about a half-inch of the greens, wash the roots and store.

Celeriac is a prized soup ingredient. Sometimes called celery root, the plant is related to celery but has an enlarged, fleshy root crown instead of thick stalks. The root crown has a celery-like taste and a turnip-flesh texture. Slivered or julienne, the root is an excellent salad additive or served on its own with a béarnaise or mustard dressing. It adds a zesty, fresh flavor and delicious bulk to a soup or it can chunked and roasted as vegetable mix with beef, pork or lamb. The seed is sown in a hot frame or greenhouse very early and transplanted outdoors at 3 to 4 weeks when the soil is warm. Transplants should be 6 to 8 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart. As the plant grows, remove the top lateral roots and soil at the top of the crown. At harvest, remove the greens and place the roots in dampened sand to maintain their moisture content.

Garlic is another member of the allium family and is, in fact, a bulb. Seeds may be sown directly in the soil and thinned to 2 to 3 inches in rows 12 inches apart. A small garden may be better served by planting cloves. Apply liquid fertilizer to the plants 2 weeks after planting. The cloves should provide good to sized bulbs within 90 days. Once pulled, the bulbs should be dried in the sun, stems cut and garlic stored in a dry, cool place. The early green flower stems, called "scapes," can be cut as a pungent, peppery salad mix.

Kohlrabi looks like a turnip but is a cabbage cousin. Its leaves form an enlarged green ball half in the soil and half above. Harvested early, it has a sweet cabbage flavor and, like cabbage, comes in three colors: white, green and red (White Vienna is the most popular variety). Seeds are sown in rows 18 inches apart in open ground; seedlings are thinned to 8 to 10 inches. Seedlings can be started indoors in February but require the soil be prepared with transplanting solution 2 days before and again right after transplant. Roots should not be disturbed by cultivation and early shallow weeding and mulching is recommended. The plant is ready for harvest 75 days after sowing.

Leeks are sown early in the spring from seed in rows 18 inches apart and the plants thinned to 3 inches apart. Hill up or mulch the soil around the roots to blanch them. Manure or liquid fertilizer should be applied 3 times during the 130 days of growth. Leeks can be allowed to flower (a pretty, globular umbrel of purple-white blossoms) before harvest. A mild member of the allium family (along with onions), leeks enhance any soup or can be left raw as a salad mixer. Whole leeks, braised or steamed with garlic and broth, are a beautiful vegetable serving; they also can be creamed in a processor with spices and parsley for a creamy winter soup.

Onions-- the possibilities are almost endless. An old country phrase "know your onions" refers to the enormous depth of knowledge one may possess on any subject. It is rooted in the fact that onions include an uncountable number of varieties, sizes, shapes and colors. There are sweet onions, bitter onions, high-sulphur onions and high-sugar onions. Some multiply while growing; others grow wild and reproduce themselves year after year; some end with the harvest. But once you select your favorite variety, it's a matter of planting as early as the ground can be worked. Onions are most easily cultivated from "sets" (small onions left over from last year's harvest) which are available at garden centers, roadside stands and catalogs. To grow larger onions, pull the center seedstalk out of the plant when it's about 6 inches tall. Weeding also favors bigger, harder onions. The first planting should be watered with a transplanting solution, and then again when the stem reaches 6 inches. Sets may be planted thickly--the thinnings can be used as green onions or scallions. Late varieties produce sizable stem leaves which are stepped on and bent over before the seed cluster forms. This increases the onion size and prepares them for drying. After harvest, the bulbs should be dried in the sun, the stems cut and the onions stored in a dark, dry, cool environment.

Parsnips, when you can find them in the stores, are usually sold bagged in plastic. Fresh parsnip from the garden is a spicy, parsley/turnip-flavored root that adds zest to soup or to roasted mixed vegetables, or served alone with a cream sauce or as a buttered side dish. There are several varieties--select one according to the depth of loamy, sandy soil yo have available. The softer the soil, the longer the root. Seed is sown directly into the soil. A 1-inch ridge or cover should be formed over the planted row and removed in 10 days to eliminate weed germination. Once up, thin to 3 inches apart in a row. Leave the plants undisturbed in the ground until the leaves are frozen. (Actually, parsnips can be left in the ground until they are needed, however, once spring returns parsnip root will turn bitter and should be harvested before new growth appears.)

Potatoes may be the most fun subsurface crop to grow. (Actually, they're not a root but rather a tuber.) I don't even use up my small garden space--I plant them on the side of the compost pile in the rich, loamy bottom soil and I'm rewarded with sweet, flaky, robust potatoes of good size and quality. Potatoes are available in endless varieties, shapes and colors, so keep it simple. Save some potatoes that you like or purchase from a garden center or roadside stand ("seed" potatoes)--cut the tubers in sections so each section has an "eye" (each eye is a dormant bud). Place each about 3 inches below the surface and 4 to 6 inches apart in rows. Cover and continue to "hill" up the rows with fresh soil or composted matter as the plants develop. After the first or second frost, separate the soil from around the plant until the tubers appear. Dig, wash and store. The look and feel of your underground crop and the fresh taste will make you a homegrown potato freak.

Radishes are much more than those pale, wilted rosettes that always show up at a potluck party. Radishes can be round, red, pink, long, white, black, leathery, skinless, multi-colored, hot, spicy, sweet and--best of all--easy to grow. They are sown from early spring to late summer; thin to 1 inch apart when first roots are about a quarter-inch in diameter. Early varieties are ready to harvest in 20 to 30 days; summer varieties are ready in 45 days; winter varieties in 60 days. Seeds are sown in long, shallow furrows. Choose your seed variety according to the season you will plant. Earlier varieties are smaller while later-harvest types are longer and larger with plant tops that require more space. Early radishes can be planted with the beets and carrots in the same space to mark the rows.

Rutabaga is a winter crop. Sow the seed in late July or early August in rows 3 feet apart. Thin plants to 4 to 6 inches apart and side-dress the seedlings with liquid fertilizer several times during the 100 days of maturation. Rutabaga withstands heavy frost and in mild climates need not be dug until after Thanksgiving. Rutabaga grows to 5 or 6 pounds, though a smaller size is more desirable and more manageable for a small garden. Rutabaga stores exceptionally well in cool (55 degree) areas. This underground crop serves well in soups, root vegetable mixes or mashed sides, and roasted with meats.

Salsify (also called the Oyster Plant because of the oyster-like flavor of the root flesh) is a late, after-the-frost harvest plant that serves the kitchen well. Soups, sauces and gravies all improve with the dashing taste of salsify root. Sow seed in early spring in rows 18 inches apart. Thin to 4 to 5 inches apart. Side dressings of liquid fertilizer will keep the roots healthy and rich during their long growing season of 120 days. Cold weather and frost improve the root flavor and salsify can be left in the ground and dug as needed all winter.

Turnips are a double gift: The broad leaves are spicy, delicious and highly nutritious; the root (or ball) is also spicy with high quality nutrients. Neither the plant or the root enjoys hot weather. Plant turnip seed in rows and thin to 3 to 4 inches apart in the early spring or late summer for a late spring harvest or fall crop. The growing season is short--less than 90 days--so March and July sowings will provide turnip greens and roots for most of the year.