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Rutabagas - a great survival crop for the PNW

Kyle Putnam

Hand holding a very large rutabaga
Behold the mighty rutabaga

What is a survival crop exactly? It has connotations of growing something you might only want to eat if you are really facing hunger. Boiled cabbage, anyone? (Cabbage and farro soup is actually kind of amazing, FWIW.) I think a survival crop is a) something easy to grow in large quantities, b) easy to store, c) will fill you up, and d) you actually want to eat.


Here in Western Washington, potatoes are very easy to grow, store pretty well, will fill us up, and we do enjoy eating them. I don't enjoy eating them every day, though. With a little help staying warm in spring, winter squash can ripen in prolific amounts and stores like a dream. The problem is that no one I know loves winter squash. Many of us love a bowl of butternut squash soup or slice pumpkin bread but might not want squash as a main event. A few parsnips are certainly nice to have on hand. To round out these staples, let me suggest it is time for rutabagas have a renaissance.

A spanish tortilla made out of rutabagas
Tender rutabaga tortilla

Rutabagas definitely sound sad, like something out of a Roald Dahl book. In the grocery stores, they look sad. Sometimes they are even covered in wax to try to preseve the freshness. If that is your only experience with a rutabaga, let me encourage you to give them another go. They are delicious mashed with butter, salt, and pepper. They can be roasted on their own or as part of mash. They are excellent steamed or roasted with apples with thyme, salt, and pepper. They can be cubed and added to soups, split pea and ham being my favorite. I made an incredible spanish tortilla from a recipe from the Tenderheart cookbook, subbing in rutabaga for turnips. I have freeze-dried them and had them reconstitute beautifully in soups and stews. They are a wonderfully neutral root vegetable, something that can be eaten regularly throughout the fall and winter, offering a welcome rotation from the other winter staples. Even better, they are extremely easy to grow.

Rutabagas growing in a raised bed
Rutabagas growing readily in a raised bed

Other than winter squash, I don't know any other crop that grows in our climate that offers as much bang for your buck. A single seed easily results in a side dish for two. A packet of seeds would produce enough rutabags to outweigh a person. For the last two years, I have direct sown mind in mid-July. For Western Washignton, this seems to be about the right time. I have used grow bags and raised beds but I am sure they can grow admirably in-ground. Keep them well-watered and provide them with a medium amount of fertility and they will reward you with huge roots. I mulch them before the weather really turns cold. Last year, we had a true cold snap with temperatures going below 15, which is cold for our area. I harvested them and did have some minor freezing damage with the mulch but quickly processed them and everything was fine.


I did have a couple of minor issues. The first year, I had a small issue with root maggots that could easily be cut out after harvest. The second year, I used row cover, which I think may have solved the root maggot issue but accidentally trapped cabbage moth caterpillars under the cloth, resulting in swiss cheese for leaves. I followed Charles Dowding's lead and just kept removing any significantly damaged leaves. The new leaves still produced enough carbohydrates to grow signficant roots. Not sure which way I will go next year. Either way, the issues were surmountable. If I had major slug issues, I would keep some Sluggo down around the seedlings until they are robust.


So, back to our criteria for survival crops. Rutbagas are extremely easy to grow in large quantities. They store beautifully under mulch in the garden until there is a significant freeze. They are large; they will fill you up. Each seed provides a meaningful number of calories for hard-working adults at a seed:produce ratio only paralleled by winter squash. Once you cook with a rutabaga straight out of the garden, you will want to eat them; They are delicious! Ignore the sad grocery store rutabagas and Roald Dahl book vibes and, next year, give rutabagas a try!



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