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Horseradish! I have no idea what to do.

ProjectileTeeth

ProjectileTeeth

I planted a couple horseradish plants in my front yard back in April, and now I think it's getting to be around the time I should harvest them. Well, it. One got eaten by bunnies, I doubt there's anything there. The other one thrived, though.

Questions:

-When should I pull it out of the ground? Should I let it go through the winter?

-If I pull it out of the ground, how do I get it to regrow next year? Do I cut part of the horseradish root off and replant it, or put it in a glass of water, or something? I mean I could buy more and plant them again next year, but I'd rather have a sustainable way to keep this horseradish train going.

-I've heard that it's a species that spreads easily, but I haven't seen any signs of that throughout the year.

Mainly: I want to harvest this root, and make a good horseradish condiment from it. But I want to continue growing it, and I have no idea how to continue it's life cycle if I pluck the whole root from the ground.
 
I have a few plants in my yard (which I ignore / don't take care of) and have dug up what I can manage to each year.  I must have always left some of the roots behind, because they have returned with each Spring so far. Lots of flowers on them this year too. A pic https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx6HIrLFbzx/
 
I don't particularly want them anymore, since they get so huge, but they keep coming back with no effort on my part.  
 
Ive let mine go a year over one winter. Getting ready to dig it up it soon. Best to pull after frost as I understand it, ok to harvest in any month with an r... going to try for the first time this weekend I think, have six plants for some reason.

Not an expert, that is just what Ive gathered and am going to do.
 
I grew it for a number of years and this thread,Growing Horseradish , pretty much sums up my experience. 
 
To address OP's concern:
 
ProjectileTeeth said:
Questions:

-When should I pull it out of the ground? Should I let it go through the winter?

-If I pull it out of the ground, how do I get it to regrow next year? I mean I could buy more and plant them again next year, but I'd rather have a sustainable way to keep this horseradish train going.
 
But I want to continue growing it, and I have no idea how to continue it's life cycle if I pluck the whole root from the ground.
Click to expand...
 
I dug (Not pulled.) up mine in the spring. The largest/thickest roots were used for making the horseradish and the smaller "shoots" were replanted, laid flat about an inch deep, to replenish for next season.
 
I would like to add I used a pitchfork to dig the roots and loosen the soil for regrowth of the shoots.
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
I grew it for a number of years and this thread,Growing Horseradish , pretty much sums up my experience. 
 
To address OP's concern:
 
 
I dug (Not pulled.) up mine in the spring. The largest/thickest roots were used for making the horseradish and the smaller "shoots" were replanted, laid flat about an inch deep, to replenish for next season.
 
I would like to add I used a pitchfork to dig the roots and loosen the soil for regrowth of the shoots.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much the exact method we used on the farm for production and expansion of a patch. Nothing like fresh horseradish slices!! 
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
 
CF.... Did you do anything to control the invasive trait of your horseradish?
Click to expand...
 
Yep.. We ate it!
I've yet to grow my own patch at home.. But the patch we had on the farm didn't spread much, outside of our doing. We dug the entire lot up, once a year, and harvested all the large portions. I've heard of it being invasive too.. But yet to see it. Definitely love to get my hands on some like that, if it's good an spicy! The variety we had was almost turmeric colored on the skin and a yellowed' ivory beneath.. Mouth waters just thinking about how that was, fresh on sandwiches. 
 
I should also note that, like that article you linked mentioned.. Our patch was mown down here and there. I didn't really think about it until I tried to recall the flower colors. I never mowed it, but it was on the edge of the garden, in the transition zone between lawn and garden.. About the time the cats would start lurking in the grass, it would all get cut back. 
 
CraftyFox said:
Yep.. We ate it!
I've yet to grow my own patch at home.. But the patch we had on the farm didn't spread much, outside of our doing. We dug the entire lot up, once a year, and harvested all the large portions. I've heard of it being invasive too.. But yet to see it. Definitely love to get my hands on some like that, if it's good an spicy! The variety we had was almost turmeric colored on the skin and a yellowed' ivory beneath.. Mouth waters just thinking about how that was, fresh on sandwiches.
Click to expand...
 
Found another THP thread on growing horseradish....Growing Horseradish
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
I grew it for a number of years and this thread,Growing Horseradish , pretty much sums up my experience. 
 
To address OP's concern:
 
 
I dug (Not pulled.) up mine in the spring. The largest/thickest roots were used for making the horseradish and the smaller "shoots" were replanted, laid flat about an inch deep, to replenish for next season.
 
I would like to add I used a pitchfork to dig the roots and loosen the soil for regrowth of the shoots.
Click to expand...
Thanks, NECM! That's very helpful! I will have to see if my dad has a pitchfork I can borrow in the spring, cause I certainly don't, and I can't imagine buying one, cause I have no idea what I'd use it for after digging up my spicy roots.
 
ProjectileTeeth said:
Thanks, NECM! That's very helpful! I will have to see if my dad has a pitchfork I can borrow in the spring, cause I certainly don't, and I can't imagine buying one, cause I have no idea what I'd use it for after digging up my spicy roots.
Click to expand...
 
You certainly don't need a pitchfork to dig the root! I have one and found it easily loosened the soil making separation of root from the compacted earth a simple task and it left the bed prepped to replant the shoots. A garden trowel will work as well as a shovel!
 
You're welcome and good luck with future harvests! 
 
That horseradish I let go two years then pulled was pretty woody. By pretty, I mean completely.

Some of it is coming back, a total mess in a patch of self seeding caraway. gonna pull it this fall.
 
boutros said:
A.)That horseradish I let go two years then pulled was pretty woody. By pretty, I mean completely.

B.) Some of it is coming back, a total mess in a patch of self seeding caraway. gonna pull it this fall.
Click to expand...
 
A.).Sorry to hear that! Have you let it go two years before? Have you harvested this 
B.) And use it as root stock?
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
A.).Sorry to hear that! Have you let it go two years before? Have you harvested this 
B.) And use it as root stock?
Click to expand...
A- nope! I am a horseradish noob
B- it’s stuck in the ground bro and it won’t go away. I tried to deal with it, I tried to pull it... it’s back!
 
I’ve been pulling some shoots, hasn’t been too bad but pretty close to some rocoto peppers that are looking halfway decent, so have to cull the horseradish this year. I’m sure it will be back tho, lol. I plan on moving in a year or two to a place with more space, will try to have a dedicated, more controlled area next time.
 
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