TURNIP-ROOTED CHERVIL SEEDS

Chaerophyllum bulbosum

An obscure and ancient vegetable from the Caucasus. Utterly sublime in flavor, but one of the most challenging of all root vegetables to cultivate in gardens. Seeds require a long period of exposure to cold winter weather to germinate, and their viability is limited to just two or three years. We could not grow this plant in Iowa. This species will not tolerate hot Midwestern summers. Here in the Hudson Valley our rich rocky soils and cool misty nights are ideal, and we are just on the cusp of what it will tolerate as far as winter cold. Gardeners with clay soils will have a difficult time, as will gardeners in zones 5a and colder if they hope to overwinter these plants.

Seeds are best sown in situ in autumn. If sown into flats in winter, keep them in a somewhat sheltered location outdoors, exposed to the elements but in no danger of being baked in the sun or ransacked by animals. After around 8-12 weeks of cold, seeds begin to germinate in spring. Germination is erratic and generally poor. Seeds may also be mixed with damp sand or sown onto a moist coir pad, bagged, and refrigerated. Check for germination frequently and pot up sprouts promptly to grow on at cool room temperature in bright indirect light. Transplant seedlings into fertile garden soil before they become rootbound. Water and mulch generously. As with carrots and such, seeds germinated anywhere but the Earth tend to produce roots that are less than uniform. Like all chervils, these plants prefer cool moist soils and semi-shaded conditions during the heat of summer.

Inedible tops grow to 2'-3'. Biennial, these plants rarely bloom in the first year unless very seriously stressed. Roots may be harvested anytime after foliage dies back, in autumn, winter, or early spring of the second year. Flavor improves signifcantly with cold storage, either in the ground or in a cellar. Wonderful subtly aromatic flavor raw, boiled or roasted. Very much worth the time and effort if you have garden space to spare.

Glowing historic descriptions of Turnip-rooted Chervil do not exactly match the plants that gardeners are able to grow today, owing to the fact that this species is now rarely cultivated and has devolved in the absence of careful selection. We hope that some brave souls will take it upon themselves to return this species to its domesticated former glory. Care should be taken to bag flowers, as the seeds tend to drop immediately upon ripening.

Packet contains around 100 seeds.