Growing Wasabi: You Need to Know That

Wasabi, the Japanese horseradish, is extremely aromatic. However, growing it is not that easy. Below you will find a few tips that will make it easier for you to deal with the coveted plant.

Useful tips for successful wasabi cultivation

Wasabi is pretty expensive. In Germany, it usually only has a very small proportion of the real plant, the rest is often ordinary horseradish that has been discolored and changed in taste.
Therefore it can definitely be worthwhile for you to dare to grow, even if it is a challenge.

• Wasabi seeds are hard to come by. However, nurseries offer young plants. It’s best to buy one to start growing. In addition, the cultivation of seeds is much more difficult than that of a young plant.
• You can grow wasabi both outdoors and indoors.
• The minimum volume of a tub should be 10 liters if you choose to grow your plant in a pot. You then have the advantage of being able to offer her more controlled temperatures.
• The plant thrives best on streams or rivers. If you have this opportunity, use it!
• The wasabi needs a shady location and moderate temperatures in summer. These should be between 8 and 20 degrees.
• In the garden, slugs and aphids can become unwanted pests to be reckoned with.
• Use substrate rich in nutrients and humus.
• You should keep the soil constantly moist, but avoid waterlogging.
• In winter, if you have the plant in the garden, you must protect it with fleece, brushwood, or something similar, as it does not tolerate low temperatures well.
• Wasabi hibernates best in an unheated conservatory or greenhouse at just above zero degrees.
• Follow these growing tips, and with a little perseverance and luck, you’ll soon have your very own wasabi!

You have to keep this in mind when harvesting the wasabi

You can harvest the roots (rhizomes) as soon as the trunk of the wasabi plant is about a finger thick, i.e. after about two to three years.

• The roots should then be 18 to 21 cm long and therefore ready to eat.
• However, you can use the stalks, flowers, and leaves earlier and also process them, for example, to make a salad taste more exciting.
• You can also use the stems, flowers, and leaves to make a slightly milder wasabi paste.
• Once you’ve harvested the roots, grind them up as you would with horseradish to get the coveted paste.
• Grate only the required amount from the harvested rhizome, otherwise, the taste will quickly be lost.
• Only harvest parts of the plant at a time to allow the rest to recover.
• You can store wasabi roots in the fridge for up to a month before they go bad.