How To Grow Turnips
2011-02-20 at 12:30 pm pshipley
How To Grow Turnips
Welcome to our guide on How To Grow Turnips. Growing turnips is relatively straight forward. Turnips are biennials grown as annuals and grow to a height and spread of around 25cm. Roots may swell to 8cm in diameter and may be long or round in shape. The flesh may be cream, yellow, or white and the skins red, white, yellow or pink.
The leaves of young late sown varieties are called turnip tops and can be eaten as a fresh green vegetable.
Turnips are grouped as spring / summer or autumn / winter dependant on when they are harvested. Spring / summer varieties are ready in around 10 weeks but do not store well.
Turnips grow well at temperatures of around 20C, but will tolerate light frost.
Soil For Growing Turnips
Turnips prefer a fertile soil which is moist and light. A dry soil will encourage bolting. Add well rotted manure or compost during the previous season. Lime will discourage problems from club root.
Sowing and Growing Turnips
Early spring sowings can be made as early as late January in greenhouses, frames or cloches for spring / summer crops. Sow outdoors as soon as the soil is workable in March / April for spring / summer crops, or June / July for autumn / winter crops.
Sow in seed beds or direct to their planting position. Sow in shallow drills, then thin to 10cm spacings and in rows 25cm apart.
Maincrops or winter turnips can be sown in late July or August and lifted as required. If weather is hard store turnips in clamps.(Stack in a pyramid on straw with necks outwards without leaves).
Simply keep watered and free of weeds.
Keep an eye out for:-
Flea Beetle – Pits in upper leaves of seedlings.
Club Root – Distorted swollen roots with stunted growth.
Violet Root Rot – Purple fungus on roots, stunted growth.
Boron Deficiency – Grey looking roots, rings of brown discolouration in lower root. Split or holey roots.
Turnip Gall Weevil – Hollow swelling on roots.
Harvesting and Storing Turnips
Knowing how to grow turnips and growing turnips is one thing but you need to know when and how to harvest and store your turnips.
Quick grown crops produce the most tasty roots, and in cool, moist conditions and with unchecked growth can be lifted after 6-8 weeks. Lift turnips for storage before the first frosts and then store in clamps outdoors where they should keep for 3-4 months.
Suggested Turnip Varieties
Early Spring / Summer Crop – `Milan White` or `Model White`.
Late Autumn / Winter Crop – `Golden Ball`.
Thank you for reading our simple How To Grow Turnips guide, why not check out all our other vegetable growing guides and articles from the menu on the right side of this page. Good luck growing turnips!