How to Grow and Harvest Turnips: Complete Details

Turnips are cool-weather root vegetables that can be grown in both spring and fall. This easy, compact and fast-growing root vegetable is best sown little and often for harvesting from early summer into autumn. The young roots are sweet and tender, delicious raw, roasted or added to stews and the young leaves are edible too. Turnips are quick and easy to grow from seed, forming small rounded or flattened roots, usually with white or purple skins. So, let’s get to know how to grow it.

How to Grow

The main sowing season is from March to mid-August, although early sowings can also be made in February under cloches or in a greenhouse. It’s generally prefer cool conditions, so spring sowings usually germinate quickly and abundantly, while in hot dry weather. For early turnips, sow seeds in February, directly into the soil. Make a drill approximately 1cm deep and sow in rows 30 cm apart. Protect these early sowings with a cloche.

Water well during dry weather and thin plants depending on the size of turnip you’re looking for. Turnips grow best in full sun when temperatures range from 40° to 75°F. Sow turnips at different times of year for a different type of turnip crop. You can do a second sowing of early from March to June.

Harvesting

Harvest greens when turnips are small. But the leaves taste best when young and tender. Cut leaves 2 inches above the base. They may grow back. Harvest just a few at a time, if also growing for roots. However, small, young turnips are more tender. Often early types are harvested after about 5 weeks. For fall turnips, consider harvesting after one or two light frosts for a sweeter taste. Mulch to harvest later in the season and to protect from a hard freeze.

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