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How to Harvest and Store Turnips and Rutabagas

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(5 Ratings)

These tasty and hardy cool-season vegetables epitomize fall root crops. Harvest rutabagas from three to four months after sowing seeds, while turnips can be harvested from one to two months after sowing seeds.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Garden Garden Shears
  • Gardening Gloves
  • Shovels
  • Spading Forks
  • Shovels
  1. Step 1

    Harvest turnip leaves for greens before the roots are ready.

  2. Step 2

    Cut the outer leaves, then refrigerate, unwashed, and use as soon as you can. Leave some greens on top to keep root alive.

  3. Step 3

    Loosen the soil around turnip roots when they reach 2 to 3 inches wide. Pull roots from the soil and twist off the tops, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem.

  4. Step 4

    Use a garden fork to dig up rutabaga roots once they reach 3 inches wide.

  5. Step 5

    Serve cooked turnips and rutabagas as side dishes.

  6. Step 6

    Store turnips in a cool damp place, unwashed, for up to three months. Rutabagas will keep in a cool, damp location for up to four months and can also be frozen.

Tips & Warnings
  • Both turnips and rutabagas can be kept in the ground over winter and dug up for use in mild-winter areas where the ground doesn't freeze. Cover with mulch to keep the soil temperature even around them.
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