About Turnips & Rutabagas

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Rutabagas generally take 90 days to mature. Macomber (80 days) and American Purple Top (88 to 90 days) are old favorites.

Turnips and rutabagas are fairly tough crops that can be grown in almost any type of soil, but they thrive best in loose, organically rich, stone-free, water-retentive but well-drained earth that's been worked deeply. The pH should be between 6.5 and 7.0. Phosphorus (try ground rock phosphate and granite dust) encourages root development. Too much nitrogen will produce thick leaves but puny roots, so don't fertilize with unrotted manure.

Because turnips and Swedes are such light feeders, they can be rotated with heavy feeders like corn or squash. But don't plant your crop near mustard greens, which will inhibit its growth, or near other brassica cousins such as broccoli or cabbage, since all family members are susceptible to the same diseases. Turnips and rutabagas can, however, tolerate partial shade, so some people like to grow them between climbing peas. Any type of pea is a good companion plant to these crops.

Neither of these root crops transplants well, so sow your seeds where you intend to grow them. (One seed packet will plant a 50foot row and will produce 25 pounds of leaves and 50 pounds of roots; the germination rate is over 70%, and the seed will store from two to five years and can be sprouted.) Sow your spring crop 1/4 inch deep; plant fall crops 1/2 inch deep two months (three months for rutabagas) before the first expected frost. Seeds may be broadcast and later thinned to three or four inches apart, or they can be planted in rows 18 or more inches apart. Give rutabaga plants six inches in which to grow. (Use the tender thinnings in salads.)

Keep down weeds and aerate the soil with hoeing and hand-cultivating, and never, at any stage, allow the bed to dry out. You want to keep these vegetables growing fast and continuously, and water is the secret. Constant moisture will produce a good, well-flavored, tender crop, while lack of moisture will make the roots fibrous and strong-tasting and will force the plant to send up a seed stalk. When the leaves are about five inches long, you can mulch the plants to keep weeds down and moisture in.

What to Watch For

You'd expect turnips to be susceptible to all the pests and diseases that attack other brassicas. Theoretically, they are, but scientists have found that the turnip plant has an insecticidal chemical compound in its system that helps ward of such insects as aphids, spider mites, houseflies and beetles. Therefore, root maggots are the most likely cause of problems. They can be discouraged by scattering wood ashes liberally around your plants. Should aphids or flea beetles attack, use hard hose sprays, sticky traps, garlic sprays, diatomaceous earth, wood ashes or ladybugs (for aphids) to get rid of them.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print