How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Rutabaga

Rutabaga is severely underrated and is something you should grow in your garden. It’s related to the turnip but is usually sweeter and won’t taste like a radish as turnips sometimes can. Rutabaga likes cool weather and can be grown in the spring and fall in most parts of the US.

What can you do with rutabagas, you ask? You can cook the roots as you would a potato –mashed, roasted, hasselback, or spiralized into a veggie noodle. They can be eaten raw in a salad or blended into a soup. The leaves are good to eat, too, tasting much like turnip greens, so you can enjoy the entire plant.

Rutabagas are relatively easy to grow and don’t require much room in the garden, so they’re great for new gardeners or those growing in small spaces. If the conditions are right, you can store rutabagas in the ground with a hefty layer of mulch and pull them out when you need them throughout winter. Talk about convenience!

Whether you’re new to rutabagas or have heard of them before, let’s get into the details so you can plant seeds and grow this versatile root in your garden.

What is Rutabaga?

Brassica napus var. napobrassica, commonly called the rutabaga, swede, Russian turnip in Northern Europe, or if you’re in the northern parts of North America, table turnip or Swedish turnips, is a cross between the turnip and wild cabbage.

Native Area

It’s believed that rutabagas originated in the 17th century near the Czech Republic. They became popular in the US in the early 1900s when they started to be used as a food source for livestock. However, growing them was too much work, so farmers stopped using them. The idea came back in the 1970s when farmers realized they were a good forage crop, meaning they could throw rutabaga seed out for the livestock and let the plants grow themselves.

Characteristics

The leaves of these Russian turnips are covered with prickly hairs. Rutabagas are fairly turnip-shaped, although they’re a bit more cylindrical toward the bottom of the root. Although there are some purple varieties, they’re more likely to be brown or yellow rather than a turnip’s typical purple and white.

Mature garden-grown rutabagas tend to be about the size of a grapefruit, and if allowed to go to seed, they will develop small yellow flowers.

It’s not just for livestock, though! You can sauté the greens or use young leaves in salads, or make some rutabaga root fries, au gratin rutabagas, or roast the roots with vegetables and garnish with rutabaga leaves.

Planting

Growing rutabagas requires cool weather when they mature since heat will turn them bitter. If you live in a warm climate, you’ll get the best results with a fall crop. To plant in the fall, count back 90 days from the first average fall frost since rutabagas need 80-100 days to mature. You can plant rutabaga seeds for spring planting as soon as the ground isn’t frozen.

If you choose to grow these plants in a container, give them plenty of room to grow to their full potential. A container that’s 10-12 inches deep with a similar diameter will be ideal, although you could go just a bit smaller if you need to.

To plant rutabaga seeds, place up to three seeds in a shallow hole. If you’re planting in a row, space the plants about two inches apart. Rows should be about two feet apart. Once the seedlings emerge, thin rutabagas, so there is only one seedling per hole. It should take about ten days for you to grow rutabaga seedlings.

Once the first true leaves have emerged, thin them to be eight inches apart. Rutabaga foliage is edible, so you can toss extra seedlings into a salad or add the plants to your compost bin.

How to Grow

It’s easy to grow rutabagas when you understand their needs. If you can give them sun, keep them watered, and watch out for pests, you’ll be harvesting rutabagas in no time!

Light

Rutabagas prefer full sun, at least six hours of direct sunlight. They will do okay with partial shade, usually three to six hours of direct light. If you have limited sunlight, an appropriate-sized container will allow you to move the rutabaga around to get as much sunlight as possible.

Water

Like other root vegetables, rutabagas require plenty of water for good root development. Aim to give them about an inch of water each week. If you’re not sure when they need water, stick your finger in the ground about two inches deep. If it’s dry, it’s time to water!

Water at the base of the plants so the roots can receive as much water as possible. You can stop watering when the top two inches of soil are wet. You won’t have to water as much when it rains, so check the soil frequently during the days following a shower to see if your rutabagas are thirsty again.

Rutabaga roots need consistent moisture, so they aren’t drought tolerant. Dry spells can turn the roots woody or bitter, so it’s important to keep the soil moist. Make sure you have well-drained soil because standing water isn’t good for them, either.

Soil

This root vegetable isn’t too picky about its soil. Clay, sand, loam—it doesn’t matter too much as long as it drains well and has enough nutrients available. Sandy soil will require more water since it drains easily, while clay soil doesn’t drain well and may be difficult to deal with in the long run.

The soil pH you should aim for should be between 6.0-7.0. It prefers neutral soil but can tolerate slightly acidic soil up to 5.5. As for soil nutrients, poor soils may require compost or fertilizer, but it won’t take much to make your rutabagas happy.

Temperature

Rutabagas perennialize in USDA zones 3-9, but they can be grown annually in all zones. The ideal temperature range is nicely chilled at 50-65°F (10-18°C), so growing them in the spring and after the first fall frost is ideal in many zones. Rutabagas need to have these cool temperatures right as they mature, so in some warmer climates, you can plant them in May and harvest them in the fall when the weather is perfect.

Even though they prefer cool temperatures, rutabagas are pretty tolerant of cold and hot weather, however, they have limitations. Exposure to light frost is known to promote a sweeter  flavor of rutabaga roots, but freezing temperatures will kill the plant. On the other hand, temperatures consistently over 80°F (27°C) in early summer or late summer can cause cracking or skinny roots and make the flavor bitter or cause the plant to bolt. So leave rutabagas in the ground over summer.

If you’re struggling with unpredictable weather or a short growing season, use floating row covers and mulch in your planting beds to keep your roots happy.

Fertilizing

If your soil is healthy and full of nutrients and organic matter from the beginning, you won’t need much fertilizer other than periodically adding a fresh layer of composted manure throughout the season. If your soil has room for improvement, then expect to need to supply some nutrients.

Rutabagas don’t require much fertilizer, so you can use a balanced general-purpose fertilizer. Apply some right at the planting time, and add some again in four weeks. Your plants may benefit from some nitrogen-heavy fertilizer one month after planting, but too much nitrogen will dampen your harvest.

Organic fertilizer is recommended because it’s less likely to burn your plants and is safer for the environment. However, you can use whatever you have available. You can also use composted manure (not fresh) or aged compost as needed to give your roots a little boost throughout the growing season. 

Maintenance

Pruning isn’t required, but you may want to pick young leaves to sauté. Be careful only to take a few leaves per plant, though, so the plant has enough leaves to keep growing. Other than that, they need very little maintenance.

Propagation

Rutabagas can only be propagated by seed. Allow them to grow until they produce small yellow flowers and seed pods. Once the seed pods dry, you can open them up, and you’ll have plenty of seeds for next year!

Harvesting

Don’t wait too long when it’s time to harvest rutabagas. Hot temperatures at the end of spring and cold weather at the end of fall can affect root growth or make the taste and texture unpleasant.

The ideal time to harvest rutabagas is when the diameter is three to five inches, and the temperatures are 50-65°F (10-18°C). A night of light frost may sweeten the flavor, so you may want to take a chance to see what happens once you’re comfortable. 

If you live in a cold area climate and winter approaches before your rutabagas are ready for harvesting, harvest the leaves so they are only two to three inches apart from the ground, and then cover the area with a generous layer of mulch. This will allow you to extend the growing season just a little longer.

Dig up the entire rutabaga roots lightly like you would turnip roots by either using your hands or a trowel. Be careful not to damage the root so you can properly store it.

Storage

Rutabaga varieties, like other root vegetables, are pretty easy to store for long periods without the need for canning. The best way to store them is in a dry root cellar above 32°F (0°C).  If you don’t have a cellar, consider keeping them in the ground! Remove the foliage and leave rutabagas in a thick layer of mulch. Dig them up when you’re ready to use them. This method won’t work everywhere since freezing temperatures will ruin them. Consider testing this storage method with just one rutabaga to see if it works in your zone.

You can also freeze them or cover them in paraffin wax and store them in a cool, dry place like a pantry. If executed incorrectly, the wax method can ruin the root, so you might want to practice it before committing!

Common Problems

Rutabagas aren’t immune to disease problems and pest problems, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for signs that your plants need help. You can easily keep most problems at bay with a few preventative measures.

Growing Problems

Rutabagas aren’t prone to many problems other than pests and diseases. Cracked roots are usually a sign of inconsistent water or dry soil. A blockage may cause poor bulb formation in the soil or clubroot, which we’ll discuss in a minute. If your rutabagas are struggling, cut the foliage back to two to three inches, water consistently, and you should see them perk up again.

Pests

Aphids are a common garden pest that you’re almost guaranteed to see each year! They suck out sap from leaves, so you’ll see wilting or curling. Simply spray them off with water or use neem oil to get rid of them. Plant flowers to attract beneficial insects, like ladybugs because they love an aphid buffet.

Flea beetles, loopers, and slugs will chew up the leaves of your rutabagas. Remove them by hand when possible. Use Bt for worms, and if necessary, spinosad for flea beetles.

Root maggots and wireworms will chew up mature and developing roots ruining a harvest. Use row covers and diatomaceous earth around newly planted seedlings to prevent them from making their home in your garden. Beneficial nematodes like Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Hb) can be applied to the soil to kill them once they’ve already invaded.

Diseases

Many diseases can’t be reversed, so prevention will be your key to success. Diseases such as Alternaria leaf spot, Anthracnose, black rot, white rust, and other fungal infections may attack your rutabagas. Once your plants are infected, you’ll have to remove infected tissue to prevent the spread of the disease.

Root-knot is caused by root-knot nematodes that aren’t beneficial (shall we say, detrimental nematodes?). You can prevent them by rotating your crops each year. Since rutabagas are in the brassica family, avoid planting them where you previously had other brassicas like broccoli, brussels sprouts, or turnips. Planting marigolds can help deter these nematodes after their second season in that place in the garden.

Clubroot affects brassicas and infects soils. It causes deformed roots that will cause plants to wilt and die. Crop rotation is the best way to avoid this disease, and you should be sure to remove all roots when you remove the plant.

Frequently Asked Questions