Swede (rutabaga)
Brassica napus subsp. rapifera
Botanical family: Brassicaceae
A hybrid between cabbage and turnip (Brassica napus), which appeared in Northern Europe in the 17th century. Also called 'chou-navet'. Sow in May-June, harvest in autumn before hard frosts. Yellow or white flesh, milder and sweeter than turnip.
Full sun
Deep, cool, rich in humus
Regular
Very hardy
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A keeping vegetable par excellence: stores in a cellar or clamp all winter. Well adapted to the cool, damp climates of the north.
Good companions
Trap plants (variable effect, need watching)
Aromatic: scent said to confuse pests
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Poor companions
Same family: shared diseases and pests
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Seasons & availability
Swede: lifted from September to Christmas, it then keeps all winter.
Available: January, February, March, April, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Swedes » (rhs.org.uk/vegetables/swede/grow-your-own)
- Interfel, « Rutabaga : Présentation, disponibilité, conservation » (lesfruitsetlegumesfrais.com/fruits-legumes/legumes-racines-tubercules-et-tiges/rutabaga)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Like the other brassicas, the swede contains glucosinolates and goitrogenic compounds that, in very large quantity and especially raw, can hinder the use of iodine by the thyroid; cooking strongly reduces the content. Its richness in fibre can make it less digestible for sensitive guts: sufficient cooking softens it. In case of a thyroid disorder or doubt, seek the advice of a health professional.
Family behaviour: Brassicaceae
In general, Brassicaceae produce glucosinolates, sulphur compounds with a mild biocidal effect on the soil (a biofumigant effect, sometimes sought between two sensitive crops). Members of the cabbage and mustard family, they are prone to the cabbage white and clubroot.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Civilians of the German Empire during the Steckrübenwinter ('the turnip winter') · German Empire, winter of 1916–1917 (First World War)
An attested fact: during the winter of 1916–1917, a failed potato harvest and the Allied blockade reduced the German civilian population to feeding almost exclusively on the swede (Steckrübe), a vegetable until then reserved for livestock. This episode has remained in collective memory under the name Steckrübenwinter, 'the turnip winter'. A later interpretation, to be distinguished: the reputation of 'famine food' that stuck to the swede after the war is a memorial construction, born of that memory of deprivation, and not a property of the vegetable itself.
Encyclopædia Britannica, entrée « Steckrübenwinter » (histoire allemande, 1917) ; Wikipédia, article « Turnip Winter », qui documente la hausse de la mortalité civile en 1916-1917.
A solidly documented historical fact, not to be confused with the later stigmatisation of the vegetable. The swede is not a 'German dish' but the memory of a wartime deprivation. No nutritional or health claim is made here; the association 'swede = famine' belongs to collective memory, not to a characteristic of the vegetable.