Vegetable · Brassicaceae
Turnip
Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Sow it cool, water it even, and pull it young, and the turnip gives you roots and greens in a single short season.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
41–77°F · 5–25°C
40–60 days
Overview
Turnips are a cool-season root in the brassica family, the same clan as cabbage and mustard. People have grown them for both the swollen root and the leafy tops for a very long time, and the plant earns its keep by being quick and undemanding. From a spring or late-summer sowing you can be eating greens in about a month and roots not long after.
The plant is technically a biennial, storing energy in the root one year and flowering the next, but gardeners treat it as a fast annual and harvest long before it ever blooms. Roots stay sweetest and most tender when they size up in cool weather, which is why the heat of midsummer is the one stretch to plan around. Sow into the shoulders of the season instead.
Most of the work is in the timing and the thinning. Give turnips loose, even ground and steady moisture, and the roots come up crisp and mild. Let them dry out, then flood them, or leave them in warm soil too long, and you trade that crispness for woody, sharp-flavored roots.
Care
The short version: full sun and loose, rock-free soil, with about an inch of water a week to keep moisture even. Sow direct in cool weather, thin the seedlings to give the roots room, and harvest young before heat or hard frost.
Light
Turnips crop best in full sun but will take a little partial shade. The greens stay leafy in some shade, though the roots size up faster and fuller with a long stretch of direct light.
Water
Give about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water a week and keep it even. Steady moisture is what keeps the roots tender and mild, while a swing from drought to a soaking leaves them pithy, cracked, or harsh-flavored.
Soil
Plant in loose, well-drained loam cleared of rocks and free of fresh manure, which forks and scars the roots. A pH from 6.0 to 7.5 suits them, and near-neutral ground also helps keep clubroot at bay.
Temperature
This is a cool-weather crop that runs best from about 41°F to 77°F (5°C to 25°C). Roots that size up in heat turn woody and sharp, so aim the sowings at spring and fall rather than midsummer.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all turnips ask, so there's no level to manage. Even soil moisture matters far more to the roots than anything happening in the air.
Feeding
Work a balanced granular feed such as 10-10-10 into the bed before sowing, guided by a soil test. Go light on nitrogen, since too much pushes lush tops at the expense of the roots you're after.
Pruning
There's no pruning to do. Thin the seedlings to 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) apart once they're a few inches tall, and pick the outer greens at 4 to 6 inches, leaving the growing point so the tops regrow.
Size & spacing
Plants reach about 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall and 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) wide. Thin to 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) between plants in rows 18 to 30 inches (45 to 75 cm) apart so the roots have room to swell.
When to plant
Turnips are built for cool weather and stall in the heat. Sow the seed straight into the bed in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked, then sow again in late summer for a fall crop. Pull the roots young, before summer heat or a hard freeze, since a light fall frost only sweetens them.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: direct sow in early spring as soon as soil can be worked (around mid-April in the Upper Midwest), and again in late summer (around August 1) for a fall crop
- Harvest: harvest roots at about 2-3 inches in diameter before hot weather or hard freezes; flavor sweetens after light fall frost; greens harvestable at 4-6 inches tall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 2–9
Temperature: down to -46°C
Troubleshooting
Most turnip trouble shows up on the leaves or down in the root, and the brassica pests do their worst on young seedlings. Catch the signs early and a quick row cover or a change of timing usually settles it. Match what you see below, then act while the plants are still small.
Young plants wilt and collapse with tunneled roots
When a seedling flops over for no clear reason, pull it and check the root for winding brown tunnels and small white legless grubs. That's the cabbage root maggot, the larva of a fly that lays eggs at the soil line, though wireworms can do similar damage in ground recently under sod. Dig out and destroy the infested plants, re-sow under row cover sealed tight at the edges, and stagger your sowing dates to slip past the peak egg-laying.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infested plants and roots
- Re-sow under floating row cover sealed at the edges
- Delay or stagger sowing to miss peak fly egg-laying
Stunted, yellow plants with swollen, clubbed roots
Plants that stay small, yellow off, and wilt on warm days are flagging trouble below ground. Dig one up and you'll see clubroot, a soilborne disease that twists the root into irregular club-like swellings instead of a clean round bulb. There's no rescuing an infected plant, so remove it with the soil around it and keep it out of the compost. Stop growing brassicas in that bed for several years and lime the soil toward neutral before you plant the family there again.
Fix:
- Remove and discard infected plants with surrounding soil (do not compost)
- Stop growing brassicas in that bed for several years
- Raise soil pH toward neutral with lime before replanting brassicas
Tiny round shothole pits across the leaves
Those little pinholes are the work of flea beetles, shiny black specks that jump when you brush the plant. They hit spring and fall seedlings hardest. Cover new sowings with row cover, keep the young plants growing fast with steady water, and clear out any weedy mustards nearby that shelter the beetles.
Fix:
- Cover new sowings with floating row cover at seeding
- Keep plants growing fast with steady water so they outgrow damage
- Remove nearby weedy mustards that host the beetles
Roots turn woody, pithy, or sharply hot-flavored
Cut one open and you'll find spongy white pith and a fibrous, stringy texture instead of crisp dense flesh. This is heat and timing, not disease: roots that size up in hot weather, sit in the ground past maturity, or ride out a swing from drought to heavy rain all turn coarse and strong. Pull what's left at 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) across, cook any tender tops as greens, and re-sow in late summer so the next crop matures in cool fall weather.
Fix:
- Harvest remaining roots promptly at 2-3 inches diameter
- Use affected roots' tops as cooking greens if still tender
- Re-sow in late summer so roots mature in cool fall weather
Toxicity
Turnips are food, plain and simple, and safe for people and pets alike. Both the root and the greens are eaten with no special handling, and the plant is not listed as toxic to cats or dogs. The only footnote is for grazing livestock, where weeks of heavy raw brassica forage can have a mild effect, never an issue at garden scale.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Turnip is safe for cats. A nibble of cooked root or a bit of green won't hurt, though cats are meat eaters and rarely show much interest.
Dogs None
No toxin here for dogs. Plain cooked turnip is a fine occasional snack; just go easy, since a sudden pile of any vegetable can loosen the stomach.
Horses None
Both the root and the leaves are safe for horses to eat. Cut large roots into pieces so they go down without the risk of choking.
Rabbits None
Rabbits can eat the leafy tops and a little of the root with no worry. Introduce the greens slowly, the way you would any new fresh food.
Livestock None
Turnip roots and tops make good forage and carry no poison. The one caveat is grazing: living for weeks on heavy amounts of raw brassica greens can nudge thyroid function and bring mild bloating, which never comes up with the quantities a home garden produces.
Birds None
Chickens and other backyard birds happily pick at turnip greens and chopped root, and all of it is safe for them.
People None
Turnip is a kitchen vegetable from root to leaf. Roast or mash the roots and cook the greens like any other cooking green; no part needs avoiding.
No special handling needed. Like other brassicas, very large raw quantities can cause gas, and goitrogenic compounds in brassica forage are mainly a concern for livestock grazed heavily on it, not for household pets or people eating normal amounts.
Varieties
Turnips split roughly into root types, green types, and the quick salad turnips. These are the ones you'll meet most often.
Purple Top White Globe
The classic heirloom most people picture, with round white roots that blush purple where they push above the soil and reliable greens to match.
Hakurei
A quick-maturing salad turnip with small, smooth white roots so mild and sweet you can slice them raw into a salad.
Golden Ball
A yellow-fleshed heirloom that takes about 60 days and rewards the wait with a mild, faintly sweet flavor.
Seven Top
Grown for its heavy crop of greens rather than its root, which stays small and woody and is best left in the ground.
Just Right
A hybrid that gives you greens in about 28 days and white roots in roughly 60, so one sowing covers both.
Companions
Turnips do best next to cool-season plants that share their schedule without sharing their pests, and worst beside their own brassica cousins, which trade flea beetles, root maggots, and clubroot back and forth.
Plant near
peas: Cool-season legume sown on the same early-spring schedule; fixes nitrogen and does not compete heavily with the shallow turnip bed
onions: Alliums make compact, pest-light neighbors in the root bed and are not hosts for brassica pests
Keep apart
cabbage and other brassicas: Closely related cole crops share flea beetles, root maggots, and clubroot; clustering or rotating them in the same bed builds up these pests and diseases
How to propagate
Turnips are grown from seed sown right where they'll mature, since they sulk if you try to move them. A packet and a patch of loose soil are all you need.
SeedEasy
Direct sow in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, and again in late summer (around August 1) for a fall crop; turnips do not transplant well and succession sowings every 10 days extend harvest · Seedlings emerge in about 10 days; greens are cuttable in about 4 weeks and roots reach harvest size in roughly 40-60 days
Turnips grow straight from seed sown where they'll mature, since they don't take to transplanting. Sow a quarter to half an inch (0.5 to 1 cm) deep, an inch or two apart, in rows 18 to 30 inches (45 to 75 cm) apart, then thin the seedlings to 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) and eat the thinnings as greens. Sprouts break ground in about 10 days, greens are ready to cut in roughly 4 weeks, and roots size up in 40 to 60 days. Sow a fresh row every 10 days to keep the harvest coming.
Myths
Turnips and rutabagas are just two names for the same vegetable.
They are separate crops. The turnip is Brassica rapa, with quick-growing roots that are usually white-fleshed, while the rutabaga is Brassica napus, with larger yellow-fleshed roots that need a longer season and more elbow room. Treat them as different plants when you sow and space.
Turnips have to come out of the ground before any frost or they are ruined.
A light fall frost does the opposite and sweetens the roots. Only a hard freeze actually harms roots left in the soil, so the right move is to harvest ahead of a hard freeze, not ahead of the first light one.
Turnips are only a fall crop.
Turnips are a cool-season vegetable with two sowing windows, one in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked and another in late summer for a fall harvest. The single thing to avoid is letting the roots size up in the heat of midsummer.