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Site Characteristics
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Sunlight:
Soil conditions:
- requires well-drained soil
Prefers well-drained, fertile soil high in organic matter, pH 6.0 to
7.5. Can tolerate slightly alkaline soil. Needs plentiful, consistent
moisture. Loosen soil deeply or grow in raised beds to encourage good
root development. Will tolerate less-than-ideal conditions, but poor
soil will slow growth and hurt quality and flavor.
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Plant Traits
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Lifecycle:
annual
Biennial grown as an annual.
Ease-of-care:
easy
Foliage color:
medium green
Foliage texture:
medium
Deeply lobed or cut leaves on most varieties.
Shape:
cushion, mound or clump
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Special Considerations
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Tolerates:
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frost - Light frost improves flavor, but hard freezes will kill plant and damage roots.
Special characteristics:
- not native to North America
- Not known in the wild. Probably developed in cooler parts of Europe.
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Growing Information
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How to plant:
Propagate by
seed
Germination temperature: 45 F to 85 F
- Will germinate at soil temperatures as low as 40 F.
Days to emergence: 4 to 7
Seed can be saved 4 years.
Maintenance and care:
From early spring to late summer, sow seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep, 1 inch
apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin plants to 4- to 6-inch
spacings.Plant every 2 weeks for continuous harvest. Quality and flavor are best if harvested when whether is cool. Use floating row cover to protect crop from early pests. To help reduce disease, do not plant turnips or other cole crops in the same location more than once every three or four years.
Pests:
Flea beetles - Use row covers to help protect plants from early damage.
Put in place at planting and remove before temperatures get too hot in
midsummer. Control weeds.Cutworms - Control weeds. Cardboard collars around each plant give good protection. Other pests:
Root maggots
Cabbage loopers
Cabbageworms
Cabbage aphids
Slugs and snails
Nematodes
Diseases:
Black leg
Black rot
Turnip mosaic virusWhile
susceptible to the diseases that plague other cole crops, turnip
diseases usually aren’t a problem if grown in well-drained soil and
harvested young.
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Varieties
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Browse turnip varieties at our Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners website.Look
for a range of root size and shapes (globe, flat, cylindrical,
egg-shaped), root color (most common are white, some with purple
shoulders), and maturity dates (most mature in 30 to 60 days). Caution:
Some varieties are grown strictly for their greens and produce poor
quality roots. Some varieties recommended for New York include: Gilfeather
Purple Top White Globe
Tokyo Cross
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