About Turnips & Rutabagas

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Best of all, turnips and rutabagas are easy to grow and store and are relatively pest-free. Much of the crop's success depends on timing.

What and How to Grow

Like those other brassicas, cabbages and Brussels sprouts, turnips and rutabagas are cool-weather crops. The rutabaga is actually a horticultural cross between a turnip and a cabbage; it was created by Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin in the seventeenth century, though it didn't arrive in this country until 1806. Rutabagas are commonly called fall or Swedish turnips or simply Swedes. (Because of their liking for cool, glacial soil, they're widely grown and eaten in Sweden and other northern countries.) Additionally, rutabagas can tolerate frost better than turnips, and the roots can be stored for up to a year.

Whether you're growing turnips or rutabagas, these underground brassicas should be planted about three weeks before the last frost date in early spring or, for a (usually better) fall crop, in midsummer. They also are a winter crop in the warmer sections of the South.

If you want to keep these root crops growing quickly, water is the secret.

The main thing to keep in mind is that these vegetables require temperatures of between 50° and 70°F to mature, so select a variety with growing needs that correspond to your local climate. (The soil must be at least 40°F for seed germination, which generally takes from seven to 14 days.) Hot weather will turn the leaves rank and make the roots woody and bitter.

The most popular turnip is the fine-tasting, fine-storing Purple Top White Globe, which matures in 55 to 58 days and is best for a fall crop. The Japanese, however, have come up with several varieties that mature much faster. For example, the hybrid Just Right (40 days) is remarkable for its tender greens and roots, while the two-inch root of virus resistant Tokyo Cross is ready to eat in only 35 days. Shogoin (30 days), another Japanese offering, is cultivated primarily for its thick, delicious foliage, and if you can nurture your crop for 70 days, its roots are tasty, too. Some turnips, such as Seven Top, are grown only for their greens. Turnip roots can be white or yellow, and, though turnips are classified according to the shape of their roots-flat, round or cylindrical-shape doesn't make a great deal of difference in their taste. Their tops come in shades of green, red, purple and gold. Certain white varieties with green tops have proved to be the hardiest.

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