How to Grow Turnips {Start to Finish}

If you plan on growing your own turnips for Thanksgiving dinner now is the time to plant them. We planted 2 packets of Purple Top White Globe Turnips this morning and if all goes well, we’ll be swimming in them by late November.

Brief description:  Turnips are a root veggie that make great fall crops because they can withstand cooler temperatures.  You can also eat the tops:  turnip greens.

Where to Plant Turnips:  Plant in a well-drained sunny place.

Planting Seeds:  For fall harvest {which usually yields sweeter turnips} plant about 2 months before average last frost.  Plant in a sunny, well-drained area.  Plant 1/4″ deep about every 3″ apart.

Growing Tips:   Keep the soil evenly moist for best growth.  At about 5″ tall, apply a mulch to protect the plants.

How to Harvest:  If you are harvesting the greens, pick only 2-3 leaves per plant at a time.  For the turnip roots, pick when they reach 2-3″ in diameter {they taste better when they are smaller}.  Harvest the roots like you would a potato or rutabaga, being careful not to damage the turnip.  

How to prepare turnips to eat:  Turnips are a great substitution to the more starchy potato.  They don’t have quite the carb load, so if that matters to you, you can still get the potato flavor without the sugars.  Turnips can be mashed, diced, sliced, roasted, and even eaten raw.  Turnip greens can be cooked or eaten raw too.  Turnip roots store for a long time–don’t wash them, just cut off the greens and place them in a single layer in a box.  Then store the box in a cool, well-ventilated area.

Fun Fact: According to the Botanical Interests website, the Irish used to hollow out turnips and put and ember in them–which is where the idea for Jack O’ Lanterns came from.

Are you ready to start your garden but you’re not sure when you should plant your seeds or set out your transplants? Head on over HERE and you’ll be taken to a handy dandy chart that is broken down into what vegetables should be planted {or transplanted} each month in your area.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Gardening books hold kind of a special place in my heart. I wouldn’t be the gardener I am today {or maybe not a gardener at all} if it weren’t for a few gardening books I picked up years ago. I spent almost the entire winter of 2008/2009 reading up on gardening. I found some incredible reads that taught me so much and made me realize how much I didn’t know. So I’ve never stopped reading gardening books.

Here are just a few of my favorites, although if we’re being honest, narrowing this list down was virtually impossible. Gardening books are right up there with the bible {okay, not quite, but you get the idea!}.

My Favorite Garden Books:

• Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting
• The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
• Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
• Sugar Snaps and Strawberries 
• The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food
• The Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook