Horseradish is easy to grow. It prefers northern climates and does not do well in areas without hard freezes. It is nearly impossible to grow in subtropical and warmer climates. Wisconsin is not tropical and horseradish loves it here. It is grown as a commercial crop.
I dug out these two large roots from the herb bed, yesterday, where I have several clumps of horseradish always growing. These two were especially fat and clean, which made preparation quick and easy.
My recipe is just horseradish root and vinegar. Here is a post describing the process in more detail: https://blog.cobrahead.com/2017/11/13/horseradish/
The two roots yielded 3 and a half pints. My horseradish is not killer hot, but it has lots of flavor and certainly cleans out the sinuses. We’ve already sampled it with some aged cheddar. Delicious, as we knew it would be.
The fumes created when you grind up horseradish root will drive you out of the house! So I used to make my horseradish outside, dragging a blender on a long extension cord out by the garden. Until…I started to use the half face-piece respirator I got for my job, for when I used paint thinner, acetone, lacquer thinner, etc.. THAT works great for blending up the root! Now I don that thing and make horseradish in the comfort of my kitchen.
So, what’s the best time to dig these up? –Fall or Spring?
Horseradish grows like a weed–literally!–around here. Discovered a white flowering plant in the hedgerow and after some online consultation on social media learned that it was horseradish. Don’t know how it got there and my family’s not fond of it, so it will probably remain in the hedgerow. It’s a member of the brassica family.
The old saw is “harvest your horseradish any month with an R in it”, but I think early Spring is best, or fall after a hard freeze. Definitely not when it is warm.
Horseradish has a pretty flower and it is a decent pollinator attractor. It is hard to kill and propagates easily.