Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Mizuna
COURTESY ISTOCKPHOTO/LIGHTHOUSEBAY
RUTABAGA, OILSEED RAPE
Brassica napus
Two crops of large agricultural importance belong to the species
Brassica napus
: rutabaga (ssp.
rapifera
) and oilseed rape (ssp.
napus
). Rutabaga production has decreased in recent decades, but oil-
seed rape (often as canola) production has increased dramatically in the same time frame. The rutabaga
is an old turnip-like (though of a different species) crop that, depending upon the variety, can be used
for food by people and/or livestock. Rutabagas for human consumption have blue-green leaves; others
do not. Oilseed rape is grown on the field scale, and oil from its seeds is processed into cooking oil,
margarine, and biodiesel. Rutabaga is grown as a biennial for seed, whereas rape is grown as an annu-
al. Up until the 1960s, it was common practice in Germany to harvest edible leaves from rape plants
before they set flowers. Oilseed rape can also be grown early in the garden for fresh vegetables in mid
to late spring, when fresh garden vegetables are otherwise rare; do not use it as a green manure in the
garden, as this may invite problems with cabbage diseases and pests.
Rutabagas (also known as Swedish turnips, or Swedes) store well, so they can be enjoyed all winter
long. Varieties with yellow flesh (from beta-carotene) such as 'Wilhelmsburger' and 'Gelbe Schmalz'
(yellow lard) usually taste better than white-fleshed varieties. Because of its cabbage-like flavor,
rutabaga is often made into casseroles with potatoes, onions, and fatty meat. White-fleshed varieties
are often grown for livestock, though some ('Mammoth White Russian') are for human consumption.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• 10 to 15 healthy plants
• insect netting (or absence of cabbage pests)
• trellis or one support pole per flowering plant
POLLINATION NOTES
Rutabaga and oilseed rape are, like all brassicas, insect-pollinated outcrossers.
Rutabagas flowering in the home garden will cross with flowering rape being grown nearby. Use an
isolation distance of 500 ft. (150 m) in an ideally sited garden, larger distances in less-ideal circum-
stances (such as if a field of rape is being grown nearby).
