How to Plant Turnip Green Seeds
Green vegetables are an inexpensive and tasty source of iron and other vitamins. In the winter, they're one of the only seasonal vegetables for cold climates. Turnip greens are a fresh-tasting and easy-to-prepare green that offers a nice alternative to chard or kale. You can blanch and then saute greens or add them to soups or even omelets. Turnip greens are the edible leaves of the turnip plant, a slightly spicy root vegetable that comes in white and purple hues. While any turnip variety you plant will have edible leaves, you can plant some fast-growing varieties for the greens only. You can plant turnips in the spring, summer or fall, with crops maturing in 30-60 days. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Determine which kind of turnip seed is the best for you and purchase seed at a local garden store. "Seven Top" and "Shogoin" are two varietals that offer quality greens but do not yield edible roots. Varietals with both good roots and leaves include "White Globe," "Tokyo Market" and "Purple Top."
-
2
Prepare your garden bed for planting by removing any weeds, turning over the soil to loosen it and adding any compost or potting soil to enrich your natural garden soil. For winter cultivation, turnip greens need to be planted 60-70 days before the first anticipated frost; spring planting can occur after the last frost danger in your area.
-
-
3
Using your trowel, create long rows in your garden bed, at a depth of 1/2 of an inch leaving 12-18 inches between rows. Sow turnip seeds throughout the row by sprinkling one to three seeds every inch.
-
4
Loosely cover the seeds over with dirt. Soak the garden bed with water to allow the seeds to germinate.
-
5
Water the garden bed as necessary to ensure soil is moist. The plot will require more water in warmer months or periods of intense sun.
-
6
Thin turnip seedlings when they are four inches tall so that they do not compete for resources, leaving one seedling every two inches. You can eat the greens from the discarded plants.
-
7
Continue to water the bed and pull weeds. Your turnip greens will be ready to harvest in one to two months, depending on the variety you planted.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
To determine when to plant turnip greens based on frost advisory, consult a farmer's almanac or the USDA Hardiness Zone map for your area. If you plan to eat the turnip bulb as well as the greens, you can harvest the greens one time before allowing them to grow back and then harvesting the turnip bulb. Stagger the planting of turnip seed rows in your garden by one to two weeks between each row. This will ensure a steady supply of maturing turnip bulbs and greens.
