Turnip
- Botanical Name
- Brassica rapa var. rapa
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained, fertile, well prepared and loose (free of stones and clumps)
- Planting & Care
- Seed germinates when soil temperature are between 45-85°F, will germinate in temperatures as low as 40°
- For summer crops, plant as early in spring as possible
- For fall harvest, plant turnips 70 to 80 days before the first average fall frost
- Fall turnips can also be broadcast after cabbage, beets, early potatoes and peas have been harvested or between rows of corn
- Plant every 2 weeks for continuous harvest
- Seeds will germinate in 4 to 7 days
- Sow seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart
- Thin plants to 4 to 6 inch spacing
- Quality and flavor is best if harvested when temperatures are cool
- Use a floating row cover to protect plants from pests
- To reduce disease, avoid planting turnips or other cole crops in the same location more than once every 3 to 4 years
- Turnips are of best quality when they are 2 to 3 inches in diameter and have grown quickly and without interruption
- Roots become sweeter with frost and cool fall weather
- Mulch the soil with a thick layer of straw to prolong the harvest throughout the winter
- Turnip greens can be used either raw or cooked
- Problems
- Flea beetles, cutworms, root maggots, cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, aphids, slugs and snails, nematodes
- Varieties
- Just Right - All-America Selections winner, smooth white slightly flattened roots, good for fall and winter crops
- Tokyo Cross - All-America Selections winner, rapid maturing, mild white flesh, 20-25 days for greens
- Golden Globe - golden fleshed roots
- Hakurei - white flat to round roots, best up to 2 inches
- Purple Top White Globe - purple shoulders, 4 to 5 inches
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