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Small swede
Sylvia Goss
Posts: 1
in Fruit & veg
swede small leafs large what am I doing wronge
0
Sylvia Goss
Posts: 1
Posts
They are, I believe, very susceptible to minor mineral deficiencies which would not necessarily be known to amateur growers.
Same goes for celeriac. Usually better grown commercially.
I have tried to grow swede for three years now and I have only ever succeeded to grow two decent ones in all that time and they were in year one, last year I sowed a row and covered it with fleece about a quarter of the row germinated and none reached any usable size, I put this down to inadequate watering, this year I sowed a row which didn't germinate even though I watered regularly so I sowed another row which germinated well but something ate the seedlings as they weren't covered with fleece or netting. I may try again next year but haven't decided yet. I find that most things can be bought in the shops cheaper than growing them yourself but for me the joy is in the growing as I can then say that I'm a grower. I have the same problem with radish and spring onions for some reason and they grew for me in year one but since then have struggled.
Sylvia. i presume you are talking about this years crop of swedes. They should still be small with big leaves at this time. They will only butt as we call it in autumn. a bit early yet.
Barry. Swedes are sown in late May or early June. Never any problems with size here but it depends on how you thin them. If you leave them too close they will be small. 6 to 8 inches apart would give decent size roots. Only 2 swede eaters here so 4 to 6 inches apart gives the size we need.
Swedes are part of the Brasica family so be careful not to follow the cabbages with them.
Hope this is of help to you.