Skip to main content
Going back to your roots
April is the time to get planting a crop of scorzonera, says MAT COWARD
Scorzonera [Steffen Zahn/Creative Commons]

SCORZONERA belongs to that group of root crops which are listed in almost every seed catalogue, and described in almost every gardening book, but aren’t actually grown all that often in gardens or allotments.

I’m not sure why that is. Scorzonera isn’t difficult, and it’s a versatile vegetable with a pleasant, if not especially strong, flavour. 

Perhaps it’s simply that folk have better things to do in the winter than dig long roots out of cold soil and then scrape the frozen mud off them in the kitchen sink. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Savoy Italian cabbage. Photo: Goldlocki/CC
Gardening / 2 January 2026
2 January 2026

MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026

(L to R) Flowering parsnip in its second year; Oven baked parsnip with honey and mustard / Pics (L to R): Pic: Skogkatten/CC Takeaway/CC
Gardening / 6 December 2025
6 December 2025

Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year

Giant Winter / Pic: Krish Dulal/CC
Features / 6 September 2025
6 September 2025

MAT COWARD sings the praises of the Giant Winter’s full-depth, earthy and ferrous flavour perfect for rich meals in the dark months

(L to R) Wong Boks and a Chinese cabbage and tofu soup  Pics (L to R): Bayartai/CC and NeoBatfreak/CC
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down