Planting Skirret
Skirret is a cool season vegetable in the Apiaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
You can sow Skirret directly into the garden 0–2 weeks before your last frost.
Skirret can be grown by direct sowing and transplanting. Direct sowing avoids transplant shock, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Skirret room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 8 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 18 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 1 |
| Planting depth | 0.25 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Days to Maturity
Skirret reaches maturity in 120–150 days from sowing.
Skirret is ready to harvest after about 135 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.
Conditions and Care
As a cool-season vegetable, Skirret does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.
Skirret needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0.25 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Skirret belongs to the Apiaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Skirret is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Growing Notes
Perennial sweet root vegetable.