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Chervil the herb should need no introduction; what may is the version of it that is grown not for its leaves but for its root, which is used in a culinary sense much like any other root. This is now a little-known vegetable--though once, long ago, it was popular; for a while, one could find it in one or two seedsmen's listings, but it apparently didn't move enough and now it has vanished from everywhere we can find save one U.K. supplier. Its flavor is said (we haven't tried it yet) to be a sort of cross between carrots and chestnuts--"floury and sweet, with a peculiar aromatic flavor" says the old Vilmorin vegetable guide (most other sources--though possibly just copying one another--also mention chestnuts and a "floury" composition, whatever that is). The shape of the root is stubby and bulbous, rather than the parsnippy elongated look common to most root vegetables.
The first named cultivar seems to have been "Altan" (1986); there are now, at the least, a couple more: "Véga" and the charmingly named "M4.10". This too-little-known vegetable is thus rarely if ever sold except by the generic name Turnip-Rooted Chervil (or something of the sort). Research continues to go forth, especially in France (see the links below), aimed at developing newer types, but so far as we know few if any are available to the home gardener.
If you want to try some of this charming root, have a care with it. Its cousin, herb chervil (related, but not closely) can easily become highly invasive; whether that is also true of this plant is uncertain, but, as we say, have a care with it. (Note that the invasive species spreads by both seed and underground runner, and so is almost impossible to eradicate once established.)
Beware: chervil-root seeds are very short-lived! If you aren't saving you own seed annually, don't try to be cheap and use last season's leftovers--get fresh seed every year. In fact, their seeds lose their vitality in a dry seed packet so rapidly that if you can't plant them or begin stratifying them as soon as you get them, at least cover them in cool sand.
Growing them may seem tricky, but it shouldn't be--in fact, the plant is now becoming a serious weed problem in the northeast, so readily does it grow in a northern climate.
Rooted chervil requires two things to succeed: a "stratification" period (described further below) of at least two months, and properly timed planting. One can proceed in two ways: stratify the seeds indoors, then plant them out very early (commercial growers in Europe plant in February) and harvest late that fall; or plant the seeds out in autumn, letting them stratify naturally in the ground--but still with a harvest in late fall (making virtually a one-year growing process).
Rooted chervil properly planted actually finishes its growth sometime around July, but it is one of those several vegetables having mediocre or worse taste till it has been exposed to freezing temperatures once or twice: the freeze causes a process that converts starches to sugars within the root, so that its flavor becomes what we grow it for. So the root can be pulled in July (as commercial growers do it) to free up space, but if so pulled, it must then be stored, usually in sand, till late autumn anyway. What is simpler and easier for the home grower is to just leave it in the ground till that ground threatens to freeze hard (making removal of roots mechanically difficult); it can then be eaten fresh or cooked and frozen (as with any root crop, from carrots to parsnips), or it can be stored fresh in sand in a cool location for quite a long time.
Because it is essential to work only with fresh seed, one way to go is to begin stratifying the seed as soon as it is received from one's selected seedsman, which will typically be in early to middle January (if one orders timely). If we get it in mid-January, we can stratify it for two months, which takes us to mid-March, then plant it out (one always direct-seeds rooted chervil).
The other approach is to carefully store the seed till autumn, then plant and wait for a harvest next year (relying on Mother Nature to accomplish the stratification), a process that ties up a bed more or less continuously all year round; if one is going to proceed in this manner, a dedicated planter--a tub filled with sandy soil--is probably the best way to go (as with scorzonera). If going about it this way, optimum seed storage becomes important, owing to the very short "shelf life" ofchervil seed. In essence, what you want is the opposite of stratification: very dry environment and not too cool (but not warm) temperatures.
We think the best approach is the single-season one, because it obviates the concern about seed storage. So the timing is: get your seed as soon as possible, and start stratification as soon as you get it. Make sure, though, that you are getting this season's seed--that is, don't place an order in late autumn to start stratification in December, since you'll almost surely get seed (if there is any to be had at all) that is almost a year old.
Chervil roots can tolerate any sort of soil save really bad clay, but--as we noted above--they, and all "roots", do vastly better on soil that is very loose and friable, else they get stunted, show forked roots, and generally sit in their corners sucking lemons and sulking. For best results, dig your bed so as to loosen the soil as deeply as you can possibly manage, and remove all rocks and as many pebbles as possible, working in organic matter or even straight sand to make it good and loose. They like the more or less standard garden-soil pH of 6.5 to 6.8, or even a little lower, maybe 6.3. Rooted chervil can benefit from a little extra phosphate in the soil.
It is also wise to not use much manure in roots beds--and absolutely never any that is not thoroughly composted--or you'll have forked roots galore. Chervil roots need good sun exposure. Like almost all roots, they are not frost-sensitive.
As we note in several places, a simple expedient is to have a "roots bed" with soil customized to roots' common wants and needs, especially of a rather sandy consistency. Or, perhaps even better, one can use growing tubs, one per root vegetable, each with an appropriate soil type. Inexpensive fiberboard planting tubs of some size, good for two or three seasons, can be bought rather cheaply, or a plastic laundry basket or some such--with drainage holes drilled out--can make a permanent planter. Owing to the density with which root vegetables can be planted and grown, one can get quite a crop from a single such tub. It also makes harvest easy: spread a tarp, dump the tub onto it, sort through the pile for the veggies, then put the soil back in the tub (preferably with some amendments added to refresh it for the next season).
Owing to "an embryogenic dormancy", chervil root seed requires "stratification" to develop--a process roughly simulating conditions in its natural habitat. Stratification consists of exposing the seed to near-freezing temperatures in a humid environment for a period of 8 to 10 weeks; one source referred to a temperature range of 0° C to 6° C (32° F to 43° F), while another just mentioned a temperature of 4° C (39° F). Note that the typical home food refrigerator's ideal temperature range is 35° F to 38° F and you'll have a clue about how to achieve stratification.
What one does is to place the seed between layers of well-mositened paper towel, the refrigerate it. It is important to refresh the dampening as often as necessary to keep it moist; it doesn't need or want to be sopping, but don't let it get dry.
Chervil-root seeds can have a low germination rate even under optimum conditions; it is wise to plant 2 or 3 seeds at each point where a plant is wanted, then see what emerges and thin--if necessary--to the most vigorous seedling when they look like they're starting to compete. Chervil roots can probably be spaced at 2 to 3 inches, especially in a deep-dug or raised bed, or a container.
Plant the seeds very shallow--incdeed, you might just place them on the surface and sift a tiny bit of soil or sand over them to keep them from blowing away. And be sure to keep their soil moist, especially till emergence.
Chervil root, like chervil as such, requires moist soil. When the seedlings are young and small, cultivate well but carefully and not too deep.
In summer's heat, chervil root (and chervil) might want a little shade. A small, light framework with latticing to provide sun/shade strips that will move as the sun moves across the sky is a good idea and not much trouble to make. Or, if you are growing them in a tub or tubs, put the container on the east or west side of the house, to reduce their sun hours.
Again: the root is considered edible only after it has been exposed to at leats one strong freeze, and preferably a couple. So leave the roots in the ground as late as possible, till the ground is ready to freeze solid.
Besides any links presented above on this page, the following ought to be especially helpful:
Chervil is another of the highly useful crops in the Umbelliferae family, along with parsley root, carrots, celery, celeriac, and a host of herbs--angelica, dill, herb chervil, caraway, coriander, and others more obscure.
Turnip-rooted chervil was enjoyed by the early Greeks and Romans, and in England during the 14th to 17th centuries. It was introduced into France in 1846, and over the last 20 years, much work on developing the plant for better modern use has taken place there.
This is a vegetable that not a few think is due and long overdue for a renaissance.
If you find this site interesting or useful, please link to it on your site by cutting and pasting this HTML:
The <a href="http://growingtaste.com/"><b>Growing Taste</b></a> Vegetable-Gardening Site
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