Growing and caring for turnips in open ground, planting dates, how long it grows and when it ripens

This nutritious vegetable is rich in vitamin C and other micronutrients. It is so unpretentious that even a beginner can grow and care for turnips in open ground. Of course, if he listens to the advice of experienced vegetable growers.

Characteristics and features of turnips

Turnips are native to Western Asia.The age of the root crop, according to experts, is at least four thousand years. In any case, the ancient Romans, who belonged to the poor classes, were well aware of the existence of turnips. Simple agricultural technology ensured good root crop yields. It was baked, boiled, steamed, stewed, stuffed...

The turnip rhizome, a fleshy root vegetable, is eaten. On the high stem of the plant there is a lot of foliage: at the root they grow coarsely hairy, long-petiolate and pinnately incised, and higher up they are serrated and slightly pubescent (or bare).

In the first year of turnip life, only its rhizome and basal foliage actively develop. Flowers with golden-yellow petals appear only in the second year. Short pods develop from the flowers, inside which dark red seeds ripen, shaped like irregular balls.

Feed turnip varieties are called "turnips".

Useful properties of the plant

Traditional healers of ancient times used turnips as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. Today the plant is widely used for preventive purposes and to cure colds. The expectorant and soothing properties of turnips are no less known.

Important! The main wealth of this root vegetable is glucoraphanin. This antioxidant can prevent the formation of malignant tumors.

Turnip is a source of mineral salts, acids, vitamins and other microelements. Its root vegetables are especially rich in potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, carotene and magnesium.

What kind of turnips will we plant?

All varieties of turnips are divided into table and fodder. A special place in the list of the first is occupied by the group of salad vegetables. If the edible part of table species is only the rhizome, then salad species are used entirely - both the tops and roots are suitable for food.

According to the ripening period, turnip varieties are divided into early (they become suitable for eating after one and a half to two months), mid-ripening (ripen in two to three months) and late (ripen in more than 90 days). Each type has its own taste.

Below is a list of the most popular varieties:

1. White Night. The so-called white turnip (it got its name due to the corresponding color of the pulp), bred by Czech breeders. Average weight - 0.5 kilograms.
2. Petrovskaya-1. The fruits are yellow, slightly flattened, and sweetish. Suitable for long-term storage. Medium grade.
3. Snow Maiden. An early salad thin-skinned root vegetable (its average weight is 60 grams or less). The distinctive characteristics of this variety are juicy pulp and tender leaves.
4. Geisha. Early ripening and cold-resistant salad turnip. The average weight of a round rhizome can reach 200 grams. The root and foliage of this variety lack the bitterness characteristic of Russian turnips.
5. Sapphire. Salad root vegetable with tender leaves.
6. May yellow greenhead. Not used for storage, “early ripening”. Popular due to its juicy pulp.
7. Golden ball. Average weight - 150 grams. The root crop is yellow, round, smooth. Early variety. Under the delicate skin there is juicy pulp.
8. Snow White. Can grow and ripen in shaded areas. The leaves can be used for salads. The root vegetable is white, juicy. The average weight can reach 80 grams. Early variety.
9. Purple early ripening. The weight of the root crop at the moment of full ripening can reach 65-90 grams. The diameter of a ripe specimen is 8-12 centimeters. This variety can be distinguished from others by its purple tip. The juicy pulp of the root vegetable is white.

When to plant the crop?

The timing of planting turnips and its ripening depend not only on climatic characteristics, but also on the purpose for which planting is undertaken.

For example, in the Moscow region, seedlings are planted in the ground in the last days of April or early May in order to enjoy turnips in the summer. Planting of specimens, which should serve as supplies for the winter, is carried out in open ground from late June to mid-summer. In Siberia and the Urals, the planting deadline is the first week of July.

Experienced farmers know that seeds of early varieties will germinate 2-3 weeks earlier than expected if they are sown before the onset of winter cold. With the arrival of spring, young shoots will appear from underground, even if the thermometer does not rise above 5 °C.

If the soil temperature warms up to 18 degrees, the first shoots will appear in just a couple of days.

It has been noticed that when planting fresh seeds, turnip care can be minimized. The vegetable will exhibit such properties as excellent germination, provided that the seeds were soaked in warm water (or a weak solution of potassium permanganate) before planting and then completely dried.

Growing turnips in open ground

Some gardeners, taking into account the small size of turnip seeds, consider it necessary to mix them with sand before sowing at their country house. As a result, seedlings do not germinate in close proximity to each other. A teaspoon of seeds requires half a glass of sand. Seeds prepared in this way are sown in two thin paths, keeping a distance of 20 centimeters between them.

The traditional sowing method is slightly different from the method discussed above.To grow a root crop, before planting the seeds, the soil is first loosened, compacted, and then two parallel grooves 1 or 2 centimeters deep are drawn. The grains are sown in such a way that there are two seeds per centimeter. The distance between the grooves is 20 centimeters.

Important! Some gardeners, given the small size of the seeds, glue them with paste to paper tape.

Sowing seeds

Sow seeds before winter and do this before the onset of cold weather. The depth of the furrows is slightly increased, and the crops are covered with sand or pre-prepared peat. Covering the seeds with frozen soil is strictly not recommended. During the winter months they will be subjected to a kind of natural selection and the most persistent of them will germinate with the onset of spring.

The sowing lines are marked with poles, and as soon as the ground is covered with snow, it is thrown in an even layer onto the “paths” with the seeds.

Growing seedlings

Seeds for seedlings are germinated in peat tablets or containers filled with soil mixture purchased at a specialty store.

Before planting the grains, the tablets must be prepared - soaked in water and waited for the peat mixture to swell. You can germinate up to 4 seeds in one tablet. This kind of “incubator” is wrapped in polyethylene and left out of direct sunlight. Recommended room temperature is 10-15°C.

From time to time, the film is lifted, providing ventilation to the crops and moisture to the soil.

After the cotyledons open, the seedlings are thinned out, removing weak and non-viable seedlings. Further care of the sprouts comes down to watering, fertilizing and loosening the soil.

Two weeks before planting, the seedlings are hardened: they are systematically taken out into the air, gradually increasing the duration of stay. If the temperature allows, the seedlings are left outside to “spend the night.”

Soil preparation

Turnips “prefer” light clay neutral soil. In this regard, highly acidic soil is mixed with lime.

The root crop will take root well in beds where cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes previously ripened. Land plots on which horseradish, daikon, watercress, radishes, radishes, all types of cabbage and... turnips were grown are strictly unsuitable for planting turnips. The ban is explained by the presence of common enemies among the listed cultures and their susceptibility to the same diseases.

The terrain in which this moisture-loving root crop will thrive should be flat or low-lying.

Turnip picking

The seedlings are so tender that picking after planting in open ground can become a painful procedure for them. Therefore, the best option for germinating seeds is to use peat tablets.

In the second half of May, the tablets are buried in the garden bed along with the seedlings, keeping a distance of 30 centimeters between plants.

Neighborhood with other plants

It is not recommended to plant turnips in close proximity to “related” crops belonging to the cruciferous family. Absolutely all members of this huge “family” are plagued by the same pests - flies, bedbugs, cabbage fleas, aphids, moths, weevils, cutworms, and so on.

Regarding the compatibility of crops in the garden, experienced gardeners advise planting turnips with peas, lettuce, marjoram, parsley, and celery.

Proper crop care

This vegetable is unpretentious and not demanding. It is easy to care for.The process involves the usual thinning, watering, loosening and fertilizing. By following all the recommendations below, the gardener will receive a fairly generous harvest - about four kilograms of turnips per square meter of land.

Top dressing

You can fertilize turnips with both mineral and organic compounds. Fertilizing is carried out a maximum of twice during the entire growing season.

Organic fertilizers suitable for feeding include compost, wood ash and manure.

If the soil in which the root crop is planted is sufficiently fertile, you can refrain from additional fertilizing.

Watering

Turnip is a moisture-loving plant, so it needs to be watered regularly and abundantly, especially if we are talking about a young root crop. For seedlings to appear on one square meter of land, you will need 8-10 liters of water.

During the period when the plant is in the stage of root formation, water consumption is increased to 10-12 liters.

As the root crops mature, water consumption is gradually reduced to prevent cracking of the roots. Turnips are watered twice a week, and even less frequently if there is regular rainfall.

The optimal time is early morning and late evening. Irrigation of young shoots is carried out using a watering can with a fine sieve. Grown and strengthened root crops are treated with a hose. Water intended for irrigation should not be too cold.

Irregular irrigation affects the taste of the pulp and the general condition of root crops: they become noticeably coarser and bitter. Excessive growth causes plants to rot and lose their ability to resist attacks from harmful microbes.

Thinning and weeding

The soil in which turnips grow must be regularly loosened, removing weeds along the way. Otherwise, a crust will form around the plant, impeding the natural ventilation of the soil. To save themselves from the need to loosen the soil after the next watering, some landowners mulch the rows with straw.

On the eve of the first loosening, experienced gardeners recommend sprinkling the garden bed with mustard or ash to protect newly hatched seedlings from attacks by cabbage flea beetles.

Soil care

The soil in which turnips ripen is fed with slurry and a weak solution (0.1%) of boric acid. After watering, it is allowed to add wood ash.

If the soil in the garden is fertile, you can do without additional care.

Pest and disease control

The cruciferous flea beetle and cabbage fly pose a particular danger to turnips (especially at an early stage of development). To repel these insects, after each watering the bed is treated with mustard, ash and tobacco dust, and then the rows are loosened. In particularly critical cases, the beds are sprayed with insecticides, for example, Karbofos.

Among the diseases to which turnips are susceptible, clubroot, fomoz, bacteriosis, black leg and rot occupy a special place. Plants affected by the disease are removed, and surviving root crops are treated with decoctions of tomato and potato tops or a soap solution. If the disease does not recede, more aggressive agents are used, for example, Fundazol or Topsin.

Cleaning and storage

The main task of a gardener who has grown a large harvest is to harvest it correctly and preserve it for as long as possible. Harvesting time depends on the variety and climatic characteristics of the region.To preserve for the winter, choose root vegetables whose diameter is equal to or greater than 6 centimeters.

Having carefully dug or pulled out the root vegetables (the fruit must remain intact), they are shaken off the ground and dried in a cool, but not damp, room. Dried root vegetables are laid out in boxes, sprinkled with sand. The tops are cut off, leaving a centimeter “tail”.

If the turnip storage temperature does not exceed 3°C, the root vegetables will not spoil for at least three months. You can also store turnips in the refrigerator, after wrapping them in plastic. In such conditions it will not deteriorate within a month.

If turnips are stored indoors at room temperature, they should be consumed within two weeks. After this period, ripe root vegetables will begin to lose their taste and wither.

Turnips frozen as a result of a significant drop in temperature (for example, during unexpected frosts) cannot be stored.