Growing Horseradish

Armoracia rusticana, the horseradish plant, is a perennial root crop grown for its pungent flavor. Since it does not usually produce seeds, it is grown from root cuttings. It is an easy plant to grow in the home garden, but can become invasive. With a few steps to control its growth, and very little care, growing horseradish can provide years of harvests.

Planting a Horseradish Root

You can purchase horseradish root from a nursery, get a piece from someone growing it, or find it in some grocery stores. Plant it in early spring in well-composted soil. If it is too early to plant, you can store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks or plant in a pot. Do not add it to a vegetable garden, unless you have an area for perennial plants. Annual tilling will destroy the plants. Add it to a perennial herb bed where it can grow to two feet tall and be 18 inches wide. It prefers full sun, but will tolerate partial shade, although it will grow slower.

Growing horseradish requires either a lot of space for the plants to spread or some sort of confinement of the roots. Horseradish roots grow several feet deep. Use a bottomless bucket or section of drainage pipe to encourage deep, straight roots and keep it from spreading across your garden. Loosen as much soil beneath the hole by poking into it with a stick. Place the small ends down and the large ends slightly below soil level, with the crown just showing above ground. Allow one-foot spacing and three-foot rows between plants. Water it well.

Care and Maintenance

Keep the soil slightly moist throughout the growing season. The plant grows fast in late summer and fall, so provide adequate water. Fertilizing is not necessary if you have added compost to the planting hole. Otherwise, use a balanced or low-nitrogen fertilizer twice during the growing season.

Harvesting Horseradish

You can pick fresh leaves to add to salads throughout the summer. Since one-year old plants are the most flavorful, many people dig them up and replant each year. If you select this harvesting method, do it in the fall after the first frost. If you prefer to leave the plants in the ground over the winter, dig them up and divide in early spring. You would then break off pieces to replant and process the rest into ground horseradish. Either way, dig around the plant and lift the root out with a shovel.

Growing horseradish is an easy process. The plants require little maintenance during their growing season and, whether dug up annually or divided every spring, they continue to produce a pungently flavorful crop.

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