Turnips

Turnips are fast-growing brassicas whose small rounded or flattened roots are usually white, purple, red or yellow. Many are ready in only six weeks and taste best while young, tender and sweet. Their peppery young leaves are edible raw, and larger leaves can be cooked like spinach, making both root and top useful.

Grow in cool conditions in fertile moisture-retentive soil in sun. Sow small batches every few weeks from spring to late summer so roots mature steadily without a glut. Large containers can hold mini-turnips. In parts of the UK the word turnip is also used for swede, but swedes make larger orange-and-purple roots and are a separate crop.

Early turnips are sown from March to June and harvested through summer; Atlantic and Purple Top Milan can begin beneath cloches in February. Maincrops are sown from July to mid-August for autumn. Cultivars differ in root shape, skin colour, leaf quality, bolting resistance and suitability for baby-root or container production.

Recommended varieties

Atlantic AGM

An early purple-crowned, white-based round turnip ideal for baby roots and container crops.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Temari Red AGM

A Japanese salad turnip with small rounded scarlet roots and white flesh blushed red, plus some club-root resistance.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Tokyo Cross AGM

A fast-maturing old favourite making smooth, crisp and mild pure-white globe roots in 35–60 days.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Sweetbell

A neat salad turnip with sweet crisp texture, pink-purple skin and very white flesh; harvest small for raw dishes or stir-fries.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Oasis AGM

A uniform ivory Japanese-type turnip with sweet juicy melon-like flavour, good disease resistance and roots that remain useful across a range of sizes.

Cultivar sourceAllotment Pro variety guide

Choose a sunny site with rich, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil. Incorporate garden compost or well-rotted manure, ideally during the previous autumn, then weed and rake to a fine crumb. In a no-dig bed, apply organic mulch in advance and sow or plant through it.

The main outdoor season runs from March to mid-August. Cool spring soil usually supports quick germination, while hot dry conditions can make establishment erratic. Direct sowing avoids disturbing a developing taproot, although late-winter module sowing can give an earlier harvest.

From March, harden off module-raised plants so the change outdoors does not check growth. Transplant with minimal root disturbance, spacing plants or intact clumps 15–23cm (6–9in) apart. Water them in, protect against slugs and snails and use wildlife-safe netting or biodegradable fleece if birds damage the leaves.

Early roots can mature in six weeks and maincrops in about ten. Lift them while small and full flavoured: beyond tennis-ball size they can become woody and bitter. Harvest late sowings before severe frost. In mild areas, protect roots with cloches or plastic-free fleece and lift through winter, or store autumn roots for several weeks in moist coir or sand somewhere cool and frost free.

Pick tender leaves as a cut-and-come-again crop from spring. Small leaves are peppery and suitable raw; cook leaves up to 15cm (6in) like spinach. When roots are the main crop, avoid stripping too many leaves because this reduces root growth.

Established turnips are generally robust, but young seedlings attract slugs and flea beetles. As brassicas, plants share cabbage-family pests and diseases including caterpillars, cabbage root fly and club root. Netting can exclude pigeons while consistent moisture and crop rotation support healthy roots.

Common problems