Vegetable · Brassicaceae
Turnip
Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Sow it cool, water it even, and pull it young, and the turnip gives back roots and greens in one 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, so they're related to cabbage and mustard. People have grown them for both the fat root and the leafy tops for ages, and the real appeal is how little they ask for. Sow a patch in spring or late summer and you'll be eating greens in about a month, with roots not far behind.
Technically the turnip's a biennial, storing up energy in the root one year and flowering the next, but honestly, who waits around for that? Gardeners grow it like a quick annual and harvest well before it ever thinks about blooming. The roots taste sweetest and stay most tender when they fill out in cool weather, which is exactly why midsummer heat is the one stretch to plan around. Aim your sowings at the cooler edges of the season instead.
Most of the game here is just timing and a bit of thinning, and neither is tricky. Give turnips loose, evenly moist ground and steady water, and the roots come up crisp and mild. Let them dry out and then drown them, or leave them sitting in warm soil too long, and you'll trade all that crispness for woody, sharp-flavored roots.
Care
The short version: give turnips full sun and loose, rock-free soil, plus about an inch of water a week so the moisture stays even. Sow direct in cool weather, thin the seedlings so the roots get some room, and harvest them young, before heat or a hard frost shows up.
Light
Turnips are happiest in full sun, though they'll put up with a bit of partial shade. The greens stay nice and leafy even with some shade, but the roots really size up faster and fuller when they get a long, steady run of direct light.
Water
Give them about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water a week and try to keep it even, since that's the kindest thing you can do for the roots. Steady moisture is what keeps them tender and mild, while a swing from bone-dry to a sudden soaking is what leaves them pithy, cracked, or kind of harsh.
Soil
Plant into loose, well-drained loam you've cleared of rocks and kept away from fresh manure, because both can fork and scar the roots. A pH anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5 works great, and keeping the ground near neutral also helps hold clubroot at bay.
Temperature
This is a cool-weather crop through and through, happiest between about 41°F to 77°F (5°C to 25°C). Roots that try to fill out in real heat go woody and sharp, so aim your sowings at spring and fall and let the plants skip the peak of summer.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air is all turnips want, so there's really no humidity to fuss with. Even soil moisture matters far more to the roots than anything the air is doing.
Feeding
Work a balanced granular feed like 10-10-10 into the bed before you sow, and let a soil test tell you how much. Go easy on the nitrogen, though, since too much just pushes leafy tops instead of the roots you're actually after.
Pruning
There's no pruning to bother with here. Just thin the seedlings to 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) apart once they're a few inches tall, then pick the outer greens at 4 to 6 inches and leave the growing point so fresh leaves keep coming.
Size & spacing
Turnip plants grow to about 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) tall and 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) across. Thin them to 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) between plants, in rows 18 to 30 inches (45 to 75 cm) apart, and the roots will have plenty of room to swell.
When to plant
Turnips are built for cool weather and just kind of idle through the heat, so timing really is everything. Sow the seed right into the bed in early spring the moment the ground can be worked, then sow again in late summer for fall. Pull the roots young, ahead of summer heat or a hard freeze, and don't stress about a light fall frost, since it 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
Almost all turnip trouble turns up in one of two spots, on the leaves or down in the root, and the brassica pests save their worst for tender young seedlings. The nice part? Catch it early and it's an easy fix, usually just a row cover or a small shift in timing. Find the picture below that matches what you're seeing and act while the plants are still little.
Little seedlings keeling over with tunnel-filled roots
When a seedling just flops over and there's no obvious reason, pull it up and take a look at the root. Winding brown tunnels and little white legless grubs? That's the cabbage root maggot, the baby of a fly that drops its eggs right at the soil line, though wireworms can leave the same mess in ground that was under sod not long ago. Dig out the affected plants and toss them, re-sow under a row cover tucked in snug at the edges, and space your sowing dates apart so the next batch sneaks past the worst of the 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
Small yellowed plants sitting on lumpy, misshapen roots
Plants that stay tiny, go yellow, and wilt on warm afternoons are trying to tell you something's wrong down below. Dig one up and you'll likely find clubroot, a soil disease that twists the root into lumpy club-like swellings instead of a nice round bulb. There's no saving a plant once it's infected, so lift it along with the soil around it and keep it far away from the compost. After that, give the bed a long break from brassicas and lime the soil back 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
Leaves peppered all over with tiny pinprick holes
See a rash of little pinholes across the leaves? That's flea beetles, tiny shiny black bugs that ping away the second you brush past. They're roughest on spring and fall seedlings, but they're not hard to shut out. Slip a floating row cover over each new sowing, keep the water steady so the young plants power right through the nibbling, and yank any weedy mustards nearby, since that's where the beetles hang out.
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 coming up tough, spongy, or way too spicy
Slice one open and you'll spot spongy white pith and a stringy, fibrous inside where you wanted crisp, dense flesh. Good news, though: it's heat and timing, not some disease. Roots that bulk up in hot weather, hang around past their prime, or ride out a jump from bone-dry to soaking all go coarse and sharp. Pull whatever's left at 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) across, cook the tender tops as greens, and sow a fresh round in late summer so the next crop finishes 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
You can relax here, because turnips are food and safe for people and pets alike. Both the root and the greens are eaten with no special handling, and the plant isn't listed as toxic to cats or dogs. The one little footnote is for grazing livestock, where weeks of heavy raw brassica forage can have a mild effect, which just never comes up at garden scale.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Turnip's totally fine for cats, so a nibble of cooked root or a bite of green won't cause any trouble. That said, cats are meat lovers, so don't be surprised if yours just isn't interested.
Dogs None
There's nothing here that'll hurt a dog. A bit of plain cooked turnip makes a nice once-in-a-while treat, just keep it small, because a big serving of any veggie can upset the stomach.
Horses None
Both the root and the leaves are safe for horses to munch. Just chop the bigger roots into pieces first so nothing gets stuck on the way down.
Rabbits None
Rabbits are welcome to the leafy tops and a little of the root, no worries there. Ease the greens in slowly, the same way you'd offer any new fresh food.
Livestock None
Turnip roots and tops make good forage and there's no poison in them at all. The only thing to keep in mind is grazing: weeks of living on heavy raw brassica greens can nudge the thyroid a bit and cause mild bloating, but that never comes up with what a home garden grows.
Birds None
Chickens and other backyard birds are happy to peck at turnip greens and chopped root, and all of it's safe for them.
People None
For people, turnip's a kitchen staple from root to leaf. Roast or mash the roots and cook the greens like any other cooking green, and there's no part you need to skip.
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 sort out loosely into root types, greens types, and the quick little salad turnips. Here are the ones you'll bump into most.
Purple Top White Globe
This is the classic heirloom most folks picture, with round white roots that turn purple where they poke above the soil, plus dependable greens to boot.
Hakurei
A speedy salad turnip whose small, smooth white roots are so mild and sweet you can slice them straight into a salad raw.
Golden Ball
A yellow-fleshed heirloom that takes about 60 days, and it pays you back for the wait with a mild, faintly sweet flavor.
Seven Top
This one's grown for its big pile of greens, not the root, which stays small and woody and is honestly best just left in the ground.
Just Right
A hybrid that hands you greens in about 28 days and white roots in roughly 60, so one sowing takes care of 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 grow straight from seed sown right where they'll mature, since they'd rather not be moved, and that makes them dead simple to start. All you need is a seed packet and a patch of loose soil.
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 like to grow right where you sow them, since they really don't enjoy being moved. Pop the seed in 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 show up in about 10 days, greens are ready to cut in roughly 4 weeks, and the roots fill out in 40 to 60 days. Want a steady supply? Just sow a fresh row every 10 days.
Myths
A rutabaga is nothing more than another word for a turnip.
Nope, they're two different crops. The turnip's Brassica rapa, with quick roots that are usually white-fleshed, while the rutabaga's Brassica napus, with bigger yellow-fleshed roots that want a longer season and more elbow room. So sow and space them like the separate plants they really are.
Leave turnips in the soil past the first frost and they're done for.
A light fall frost actually does the opposite and sweetens the roots. It's only a hard freeze that hurts roots left in the soil, so the real move is to harvest before a hard freeze hits, not before that first gentle one.
Turnips are only a fall crop.
Turnips are a cool-season veggie with two sowing windows, one in early spring as soon as you can work the soil and another in late summer for fall. The only thing worth dodging is letting the roots try to size up in the heat of midsummer.