ROOT CROPS.....YOU EITHER LOVE THEM OR DISLIKE THEM!!! AND EASY TO GROW!

Root crops such as rutabagas,  turnips, parsnips, carrots and beets to start with are packed with great nutrition for all of us.  And over the years I have found that you love "em" or you dislike them!  I am an "O" blood type and according to the book "Eat Right for your Blood Type", "O" blood types are to eat root vegetables.  In the beginning of humans, food was eating roots, berries and animal meat.  Animals were hunted with respect and honoring and only killed so the new humans could survive.  Perhaps because I am an "O" blood type I tend to love "Root Vegetables" and there runs DNA memory of my origins.
I have started growing root vegetables now ever year.  I have found the best soup recipe called "ROOT SOUP" with carrots, rutabagas, turnips and parsnips.  Easy recipe and easy to make and freezes very well, tasting fresh when I take a vacuum seal bag out of the freezer months later.  if you have a root cellar you can store them for a much longer time after harvesting.  You can also store them in a refrigerator at about 32 Degrees Fahrenheit and they last well into winter.


When I grow root crops and seeds are so tiny, I over seed in my rows and then rely on "thinning" them.  It is important to thin them the first time when the plant has 2-3 leaves and are about 1/2 inch tall.  If you let the thinning go too long, you can get long spindly stems that cannot hold themselves well in the soil and the roots don't form as well.  So, I start thinning them right after they appear being very carefully when pulling out seedlings that I wish to remove.  What works for me is to pull them to the side gently instead of straight up and it won't disturb the soil of the seedling "left behind".  You can also use a tweezers and cut off at soil level those seedlings you want to remove.


I just thinned the root crops out for the third time yesterday.  See the pictures below.  As the root or bulb grows and expands I will need to watch closely to make sure there is enough room between the plants.

I want to do a general fertilizer 10-10-10 at planting or my animal compost when planting and after a few weeks, I want to decrease the amount of nitrogen in any fertilizer as I want growth in the root and not in the leaves.  Nitrogen helps "leaves" to grow.  I never in the past did well with root vegetables because I did not feed the "roots".  I have discovered a "root crop" fertilizer through Gardens Alive that is high in Potassium and phosphorus and low in nitrogen.  Potassium improves the thickness of the stem so roots grow full and large; reducing water loss through leaves so plants better endure dry periods and acts as an antidote to excess nitrogen.  Phosphorus aids strong root development and promotes greater disease resistance.  I add this great "root fertilizer" at planting and then again mid-season by using the "trenching" method of making a one-inch deep furrow near the base of the plant and pour a pencil-thick line of the fertilizer in the furrow, cover and watch the roots grow and fill out.