Pictured Root Vegetables: Top 15 Picks to Delight Your Sight and Palate

Pictured Root Vegetables: Top 15 Picks to Delight Your Sight and Palate

In the world of gardening, root vegetables are a must-have. From the common onion (Allium cepa) to the exotic turmeric, these versatile roots offer a wide array of flavours, colours, and health benefits. Here's a guide to 15 root vegetables, their growth tips, and uses.

1. Onions: One of the easiest vegetables to grow, onions come in various types, including green, red, yellow, white, and sweet onions.
2. Potatoes: Popular for their versatility, potatoes can be grown with some know-how to avoid bitterness. They can be prepared in numerous ways, such as French fries.
3. Sweet Potatoes: These tuberous roots require four months to grow and are loaded with vitamins A and C, beta carotene, and potassium.
4. Ginger: Originally from warmer climates, ginger is a spice that is actually a root vegetable. In colder regions, it can be grown in containers using organic soil.
5. Carrots: Naturally sweet, carrots come in various colours beyond the usual orange. They are easy to grow and can be harvested in a matter of months.
6. Beets: Another easy-to-grow root vegetable, beets have a sweet flavour and are good for digestion, lowering blood pressure, and fighting infections.
7. Rutabagas: Similar to turnips, rutabagas are easy to grow and don't require much space. They prefer fertile, slightly acidic soil and partial to full sun, and should be left in the ground until September or October.
8. Parsnips: Hardy and able to survive light frost, parsnips have a nutty or sweet flavour. They take a while to grow but are worth the wait.
9. American groundnuts, Chinese artichokes, Egyptian walking onions, and Sunchokes: These perennial root vegetables can be planted once and harvested for years to come.
10. Radishes: Easy to grow from seeds, radishes can be ready for harvest in a month or less.
11. Fennel: This tasty, versatile vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked. It has a sweet licorice flavour and crunchy texture when eaten raw, and a milder taste when cooked.
12. Celeriac: Technically celery root, celeriac is planted in rows where the plants are spaced two feet apart, with about 18 inches between the rows. While not very popular in the US, it's widely used in Europe.
13. Turnips: Coming in several varieties, including small golden and bright red ones, turnips are an excellent root vegetable for cooler climates.
14. Kohlrabi: Tasting similar to cabbage, kohlrabi can be used raw or cooked. It is green on the outside and white on the inside, similar to an old-school turnip.
15. Burdock root, Yucca, Salsify, and Turmeric: These lesser-known root vegetables offer unique flavours and health benefits.

In addition to these, garlic is one of the easiest root vegetables to grow. It is planted in loose, fertile soil and has numerous health benefits and uses in cooking.

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a novice, these root vegetables are a great addition to any garden. Happy growing!

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