Turnip Tips

[someone_random]

I'm trying to grow some purpletop turnips and I believe that now is near the time to plant. I live in SE Ohio in the middle of zones 6a and 6b. The 10 day forecast gives me a low of 27F, although I'm not sure how much I believe that number. Last fall I tried to sow them directly, but they never sprouted. This time I plan to sprout them before planting, and this time with better soil. I'm still not sure exactly when to plant them though. I was thinking this week or next week. I'm new to all of this so I'd appreciate any tips.

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome @someone_random from a fellow turnip lover.

Turnips are tough...i.e. they survive the entire winters here with temps down into the low teens. However, that's established plants. I would imagine seedlings would need some frost protection, however.

What I would do is plant some next week, plant some more the following week and plant some more after that.

Turnip seed is relatively cheap and plentiful, fortunately. That way if a frost gets those early ones, you still have more chances, plus that will stagger the maturity date also which is usually a good thing.

 

[someone_random]

Welcome @someone_random from a fellow turnip lover.

Turnips are tough...i.e. they survive the entire winters here with temps down into the low teens. However, that's established plants. I would imagine seedlings would need some frost protection, however.

What I would do is plant some next week, plant some more the following week and plant some more after that.

Turnip seed is relatively cheap and plentiful, fortunately. That way if a frost gets those early ones, you still have more chances, plus that will stagger the maturity date also which is usually a good thing.

Gotcha. Do you normally plant them directly, or do you sprout them first?

 

[Meadowlark]

I always direct seed them. They do NOT transplant well.

 

[someone_random]

I always direct seed them. They do NOT transplant well.

Alright, weeded my planter and will plant probably Sunday based off the forecast. When I plant, should I put multiple seeds into one hole? Most guides online say to space turnips by like 4.5 inches if you're going for large roots.

 

[Meadowlark]

The seeds are very small and it is kind of difficult to get perfect spacing on each one. So, I don't worry about it. Turnips are one crop that seems to not mind crowding and may even prefer to be planted that way.

 

[Ruderunner]

Note, they can bee thinned once established. And don't worry about frost in the fall. Turnip almost likes it. I'm in NEO and have picked them in December.

Being a little north I wait till late March before planting, but you can certainly start now.

 

[oneeye]

Great idea friend. I would plant a few indoors in small containers too but be careful not to plant them too deep. Keep us posted on how it turn-ips out.

 

[Ruderunner]

One thing I've run into is soil that's too deep. I've had turnip grow long and thin, more like a carrot. I shoot for 5 or 6 inches of soil on top of my clay ground. The taproot hits the clay and the rest bulbs out. Beets and carrots are the same pattern. Obviously carrots get deeper soil so they don't look like small basketballs.

 

[someone_random]

One thing I've run into is soil that's too deep. I've had turnip grow long and thin, more like a carrot. I shoot for 5 or 6 inches of soil on top of my clay ground. The taproot hits the clay and the rest bulbs out. Beets and carrots are the same pattern. Obviously carrots get deeper soil so they don't look like small basketballs.

That's strange because I've seen videos where turnips are grown outside of a planter (i.e. practically no depth limit) and they still end up as purple basketballs. Could it be something else that changes its shape? My planter is 12 inches deep and I can't really change that.

 

[Ruderunner]

Even outside of a planter, there's still varying soil consistency. In my case, good loose soil on top of fairly hard clay.

 

[someone_random]

Oh hey, another question: when I plant them, should my lines be parallel to the long end of the planter, or parallel to the short end? So like should I have 3 long lines going from one short end to the other, or like 10 shorter lines each going from one long end to the other? Or does this not matter much?

 

[Meadowlark]

Doesn't matter. I often just broadcast turnip seed on a bed. They do extremely well that way. Use some tops for greens if you need to thin them. Delicious.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Alright, weeded my planter and will plant probably Sunday based off the forecast. When I plant, should I put multiple seeds into one hole? Most guides online say to space turnips by like 4.5 inches if you're going for large roots.

Planting small seeds like those I make a groove, pour a few seeds into the palm of one hand, then take a pinch with the other hand and run along the groove rubbing finger and thumb together, with a bit of practice you can drop the seeds almost singly, but don't worry, you can always thin them a bit if there are too many. Pulling the soil back into the groove I always 'rough it up a little', that means that some seeds will go a little deep, some near the surface, and some the perfect depth, packets often say things like 'Plant 1/8th inch deep', that's damn near impossible, but you can be sure at least some are, and the rest somewhere near that way.
Sounds like you are growing in a container, containers lose heat through the sides as well as the surface, so they can be more affected by cold than planting in the ground, but you can also move them somewhere frost free if there is a cold night predicted.

 

[someone_random]

Alright lads, I planted the first half of my turnips. These are direct sowing. I'm trying to sprout some seeds in a plastic bag with paper towel so that will be the second half (and if that's not done in another two days, I'll direct sow from a second bag of turnip seeds). I am one step closer to LARPing as a Central European peasant. Here's a pic: