How to Transplant Horseradish
A "From the Ground Up" Success Story
Cocktail sauce and Bloody Marys, that is where my mind wanders when I hear mention of horseradish. Just imagine thick, zesty cocktail sauce accompanying fresh shrimp alongside one of Justin’s deliciously spicy Bloody Marys.
While horseradish is the perfect accouterment to all things Sunday brunch, it is seemingly much more than that. Several weeks ago, my Gram encouraged me to dig up some of her horseradish for transplanting. She said that it is good for the heart, and at 98 years old, I immediately knew what she said was true. We grabbed a box, and off we went to get some horseradish.
We used a spade to dig down deep enough to sever a cantaloupe-sized piece of the root away from the patch. We did our best to keep some of the existing soil intact to make being transplanted to new soil a bit easier for the plant.
On the drive home, all I could think was, what on earth am I going to do with horseradish? By the time we arrived home, it was late. I was exhausted. As we unpacked the car, I tossed the box of horseradish at the end of the driveway. Instead of dealing with the horseradish, I headed out to get some fresh flowers.
Like a newspaper forgotten on the porch (we might have a few of these), there it sat. It sopped up some rain and then dried and crinkled in the beating August sun for four days. Thursday rolled around. I had finally mustered what it took to transplant horseradish. It was in bad shape but was still a bit green, so there was hope. There had to be.
We dug a hole, amended the soil a bit, and plopped it in the ground, following it up with some good old-fashioned H2O.
Here is how to transplant horseradish:
Find someone with horseradish. Transplanting is the best way to get it and it grows into a healthy-sized patch in good time, so I'm willing to bet someone would be happy to share! I've also seen it at a farmers market once, but let's face it, free is ME!
Next up, dig a hole.
3. Amend the soil. I do this by adding compost or some potting soil to the existing earth. It seems to help any plant that you buy or transplant become accustomed to the new soil.
4. Nestle the root of the horseradish into its new home and cover up with dirt.
5. Give it a good soaking with the hose. I used the "garden" spray setting so it would not disturb the soil that I built up around the horseradish. Sometimes when you're out in the garden, you get little visitors. This time around, it was my four-year-old niece.
6. Compost the grass that you removed to transplant the horseradish. Since we live in town it is easier for me to use a barrel tumbler. (Pssst! We'll talk more about composting in another blog!)
The evening I transplanted the horseradish, Gram passed away. The following days didn’t exist in my conscious mind. The transplanted horseradish had not been cared for and neither had my soul. It had all been neglected. A few days later when I finally did go out to look at it, I realized the horseradish looked about as a good as my spirit. The horseradish was dried up, crusty, and lifeless.
Chalking up transplanting horseradish as a failure and feeling disappointed, I decided to forget about it.
Nearly a month later, I moseyed out to cut some fresh flowers. As I marched my overflowing mason jar of flowers across the lawn, I happened to notice the horseradish. Much to my surprise, we had fresh, beautifully green horseradish growing in abundance.
My heart had been in such disrepair the weeks prior that it took seeing the thriving emerald green horseradish leaves to realize that even after something seems to have wilted and succumbed to the pain, with a little time and calm, our roots can rebuild the strength needed to continue on. More importantly, at that moment, I knew Gram was right when she said horseradish is good for your heart.