Crop type: Turnips
Brassica rapa (Rapifera Group) ‘Tokyo Cross’ AGM
Common name: Turnip ‘Tokyo Cross’
Crop slug: turnips
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Tokyo Cross’ is a very quick annual turnip making smooth, pure-white, nearly perfect globe roots with crisp texture and mild flavour. The profile gives a harvest interval of 35–60 days from sowing. Its compact clump and rapid uniform roots suit containers, and it holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
Its small clump-forming top leaves room for globe roots to develop.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Fertile soil
- Moisture
- Well drained or moist but well drained
- Soil pH
- Neutral or alkaline
Steady moisture protects the fast-forming roots from woodiness.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H3 — hardy in coastal and relatively mild UK areas, approximately −5 to 1°C
Use a sunny sheltered bed or container.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
| Season | Foliage | Roots |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Green | Pure-white globes developing |
| Summer | Green | Smooth crisp white globes |
The perfectly smooth pure-white globe is the defining visual trait.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Name status
- Accepted
- Award
- RHS Award of Garden Merit
Genus
Brassicas include annual, biennial and perennial food crops with taproots, alternate leaves and cross-shaped flowers.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow March to May for early-summer roots or July to August for late-summer and autumn crops. Use fertile moist but well-drained soil in full sun; containers are suitable.
Propagation
Propagate by seed.
Suggested locations
- Patios and containers
Pruning
No pruning is required.
Pests
Birds, cabbage caterpillars, cabbage root fly, cabbage whitefly, flea beetles, slugs and snails may attack.
Diseases
Black rot, club root, downy mildew, grey mould and leaf spot are listed.