Swedes culinary & fodder

[Devil's advocate]

How are swedes doing?

I've grown culinary swedes since the mid 70's & the family since 1929 for local wholesale markets.

This is the first year with hardly any drilled.

But since early March we've had hardly any rain just a few mm. So I see no point drilling with the high cost of insect netting & very real risk of flea beetle.

They might have grown sown late April but I doubt it & would have been poor at best.

We are on stand by to drill if some rain turns up but it is looking doubtful.

I have a small area on light land but they have not germinated & light land of this type does not produce a nice shaped swede with good flavout that my customers expect.

Must be a worry for some sheep farmers too.

 

[Bogweevil]

Plough up some moisture?

Worth having some module raised, ready to go in six weeks - costs high but so might be prices come winter? However if no rain by July...

When is the latest you have successfully sown swedes - I reckon on mid June?

 

[Devil's advocate]

Plough up some moisture?

Worth having some module raised, ready to go in six weeks - costs high but so might be prices come winter? However if no rain by July...

When is the latest you have successfully sown swedes - I reckon on mid June?

I grow leaf veg & put stockfeed swedes in the tramlines upto 10th July (drilled) & they have produced small swedes suitable size for bagging.

So I'm not sure 20th June will produce a crop any later it will just be a small area for retail. Laying insect netting out is hard work, I'm only doing it if I'm sure of a crop.

When I grew a lot of swedes we used to transplant 1st May for 1st July harvest. But we had to harvest them fast or they would go woody, huge yeilds though all the same size.

A bore hole would be cheaper than transplanting, few legal issues of course.

 

[neilo]

I never plant swedes (for grazing) before mid-June, to try to lessen flea beetle challenge. This year I’m going to cancel the seed and drill maincrop turnip on that ground instead, so at least I’m risking less expensive seed.

 

[Bogweevil]

I grow leaf veg & put stockfeed swedes in the tramlines upto 10th July (drilled) & they have produced small swedes suitable size for baggi

Brilliant, so often amazed by the skill and ingenuity on TFF!

 

[Devil's advocate]

Brilliant, so often amazed by the skill and ingenuity on TFF!

Was that tongue in cheek?

Yes we plant caulie, broccoli & sweetheart cabbage as late as mid July to keep continutiy of supply. The tramlines only get damaged so just drill swedes with a one bed drill up the tramline. to prevent erosion & supply some fodder. We have used small primo cabbage for same job but the number of passes with inputs & crops maturing at the wrong time seems too much hassle.

 

[Devil's advocate]

I never plant swedes (for grazing) before mid-June, to try to lessen flea beetle challenge. This year I’m going to cancel the seed and drill maincrop turnip on that ground instead, so at least I’m risking less expensive seed.

I've never grown turnips, what varities do you grow. Noticed that people are buying turnips more these days mostly immigrants but tiny demand compared to swedes.

Flea beetle never used to be consideration here but with the gradual loss of chemistry, they have become one. I was going to buy flea beetle nets & a machine to lay it but just too busy dealing with various pressures this spring. So still using root fly nets & hand laying them. They do delay the flea beetles but if the crop is uneven at germinating they devastate the late germinating plants. Hallmark still works here if applied at dusk but we are loathe to use to save predators for aphids & rootfly larvae.
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