🥬 Gilfeather Rutabaga

What it looks like

Photos show the species, rutabaga (Brassica napus Napobrassica Group), since no cultivar-specific photo was verified for this variety — the species photos above are already hosted on this site and attributed as on the species guide.

Why this variety

Gilfeather is a sweet heirloom rutabaga with a green top — a different look from the purple-topped rutabagas most gardeners know — and a reputation among rutabaga lovers as the sweetest of the lot. It matures in about 85 days, a little faster than most rutabagas, with smooth roots, sweet yellow flesh, and a flavor that has kept it in gardens for generations.

Green-top rutabagas are an old type, and Gilfeather is their best-known representative: the green shoulders mark a root that stays sweet and tender, and its earliness is a gift for gardeners with short cool seasons. Harvest at 4 to 5 inches for the sweetest roots, and let cool weather do its work — rutabagas sweeten as temperatures drop, and Gilfeather sweetens more than most.

Florida translation: Gilfeather is a winter rutabaga here — sow in fall for a winter harvest, water evenly, and take advantage of its 85-day season, the shortest on this list, to beat spring heat. Florida’s cool nights still sweeten it, even without a hard frost, and its earliness is insurance against a warm spring.

How to grow

Direct sow about half an inch deep in fall, 3 to 4 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart, and thin to 6 inches apart once seedlings are up. Work worm castings in before sowing, loosen soil deep, and keep the row evenly moist through the season.

If you are new to choosing between cultivars, the Varieties Matter guide explains why the name after the plant matters as much as the plant itself. For the general picture, start with the Rutabaga growing guide, then use this guide for the details that make Gilfeather Rutabaga different.

Water & feeding

Rutabagas are a long, slow crop, and they punish uneven watering more than most roots: dry spells make woody, sharp roots, and a sudden soak splits them. Water about an inch a week through the whole long season, mulch to hold moisture in sandy soil, and feed modestly — worm castings before sowing plus one light side-dressing mid-season. Rutabagas need boron more than most vegetables; a boron shortage shows up as brown, corky hearts inside otherwise fine-looking roots, so a light application of a complete fertilizer with micronutrients is cheap insurance on sandy soils.

Common problems

• Woody or bitter roots — heat or drought during bulbing. Sow so roots mature in cool weather and water evenly.
• Brown heart (boron deficiency) — corky brown centers in the root. Use a complete fertilizer with boron on sandy soil.
• Clubroot in brassica beds — rotate out of brassicas for several years and keep soil pH up.
• Flea beetles and cabbage worms — row cover early for seedlings; hand-pick caterpillars on established plants.

Harvest

Pull at about 85 days, when roots reach 4 to 5 inches — fork them out, twist tops off, and store topped roots in a cool, damp place or refrigerated in a bag for months. Roast Gilfeather in chunks with a little oil and salt until the edges caramelize; its sweetness needs no glaze, and it is the rutabaga to convert skeptics with.

Saving seeds

Gilfeather is a sweet heirloom rutabaga with a green top, so saved seed comes true — let a root bolt and set seed, and isolate it from other brassicas, which cross readily. The full method is in the Saving seeds section of the Rutabaga guide.