Ditmars Bronze Top Swede

Bred as cattle fodder. Raw roots are crunchy and firm, dry, not sweet, and have a hint of spiciness. Cooked roots are creamy and slightly bitter with a strong broccoli-like flavor. Elliptic roots are yellow roots with purple around the top and mostly above the soil line. Roots are 3.5-6.25" long, 1.33-3.65" wide and weigh 2-19.5 oz. Rutabaga type leaves are green with purple midveins. Plants 6-8.66" tall and 19.5-36" in diameter. Uniform planting. Developed by R.V. Ditmars of Deep Brook, Nova Scotia and registered in 1929. Seeds of this variety were donated to SSE by SSE member Heather Apple (ONT AP H), who received the variety from Joe Folkins of New Brunswick. Mr. Folkins had grown the rutabaga for years, primarily for cattle feed. Despite saving seed, Mr. Folkins ran out of seed at one point and searched for more than a year before he was put in touch with F.O. Blake of Langley, British Columbia who was able to resupply seed. This accession was previously distributed by SSE incorrectly as a turnip, but botanically, it is a rutabaga.