How to Grow Turnips at Home

Home gardening is becoming increasingly popular, with many people opting to grow their own food as a way to save money and eat healthier. One vegetable that is easy to grow at home is turnips.

Turnips are a great addition to any garden. They are also highly nutritious and very versatile.

In this article, we will discuss how to grow turnips from seed to harvest.

Growing Turnips

Turnips are a cool-weather crop. For a fall harvest, plant them in early August.

Additionally, when preparing your garden, keep in mind that turnips need full sun but can tolerate partial shade.

Rake and hoe the soil in the garden bed to thoroughly mix it. Next, sprinkle the seeds and gently rake them in. However, ensure the seeds are sunk about ½ inch deep.

Once the seeds are planted, water them right away. After they begin growing, thin the seedlings so that they are about 4 inches apart. This will provide them with ample room to form healthy roots.

Pests

Turnips can be affected by several pests. It is essential to be aware of these pests so that you can take steps to protect your crop from damage.

Below are some of the most common garden pests that affect turnips.

1. Caterpillars

Caterpillars that feed on foliage enjoy turnip greens. The most common caterpillar pests are cabbage loopers, beet armyworms, imported cabbage worms, and diamondback moth caterpillars.

You can get rid of them by spraying the plants with Bacillus thuringiensis or by hand-picking them off. Organic pesticides such as Spinosad and AzaGuard can also help eliminate these pests.

Additionally, cutworms feed on tubers, roots, and the leaves and stems of young plants. If you plow your garden before planting, you can eliminate the eggs and larvae of the moths.

Beneficial nematodes can also kill cutworms and other harmful soil-based pests.

2. Aphids

Aphids are active pests of this vegetable. These tiny critters have soft bodies, but they can cause significant damage to plants.

For treatment, mix a solution of 4-5 teaspoons of organic liquid soap in one quart of water and spray the plants. You can also apply Ecoworks following the package instructions.

3. Whiteflies

Whiteflies are sap-feeding insects that attack a wide range of crops. They are tiny and resemble moths.

They produce honeydew, attracting sooty mold that can disrupt photosynthesis in turnips.

Treat whitefly infestations with either horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. You can also blast them off your plants with a jet hose.

5. Maggots

Cabbage maggots and seed corn maggots are hard to distinguish. These small larvae burrow into certain plant roots and live in the soil.

They enjoy feeding on newly sprouted plants, but not on mature roots.

Cabbage maggots will tunnel in and out of the turnips. Scouting for eggs in the soil, as well as releasing nematodes to help get rid of larvae, is a great start.

Plant Diseases

Turnip crops can be affected by root-knot nematodes, leaf spot, white rust, scab, clubroot, anthracnose, and mosaic virus.

Some of these diseases can lead to crop loss. However, crop rotation can help.

To lessen the severity of or prevent infections from these diseases, do not grow in the same spot for more than two years in a row.

Harvesting

You can harvest turnip greens early. When they are young and tender, the leaves are at their best.

Harvest any size leaf you like; however, the smaller, younger ones are more tender. For fall turnip roots, harvest just after a light frost but before a hard freeze, as they’ll have a sweeter taste.

Types of Turnips

Here are some of the most common varieties of turnips:

White Lady (35 days to reach maturity)
Purple Top White Globe (matures in 50 to 55 days)
Royal Crown (matures in 52 days)
Just Right (70 days)
De Milan Rouge (35 days)
Golden Ball (60 days)
Scarlet Queen (43 days)
Oasis (55 days)
Seven Top (45 days)
Red Round (55 days)
Hakurei (38 days)
Nozawana (40 days)
Shogoin (30 to 70 days)
Tokyo Cross (30 to 35 days)

Takeaway

Whether you’re planting turnips at home or purchasing them at the supermarket, this is a delicious vegetable.

Consider growing them in your backyard garden. By doing so, you may have an abundant supply, enough to share with friends or even sell.