Article Directory
Free Online Article Directory. For Article Authors & Publishers

Turnips for your Home Vegetable Garden

Whether you grow them for their greens or the root they are best when harvested in cooler temperatures. You can plant turnips in the midsummer time and have them ready in the autumn months. Turnips also make for a great spring crop in your home vegetable garden.

Turnip seeds are a small to medium sized seed and should be planted no deeper than ½". A ¼" will suffice as it will not be too much soil on top so it can produce enough energy to break through. It is not recommended that you start turnip seeds indoors. In fact you really don't have to. When the fear of frost in your area subsides, start planting.

The soil temperature range for turnips is very wide. Although many experts believe that 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the best temperature for the seeds to germinate, some studies have shown the soil can be as low as fifty degrees Fahrenheit. If you are planting in the early spring where the soil will still be a bit cold, you can heat up the soil by laying a clear plastic tarp over it which allows the sun to warm it up, but prevents the cool winds from hitting it.

Turnips germinate quickly under optimal conditions. What are optimal conditions? Good soil, temperatures in a range that the seeds can tolerate and a pH level, discussed in the next section, that is slightly acidic, and good spacing. When you can meet these conditions you can get your turnip seeds to germinate in as little as 2 days, however for most of us, 5 is more likely.

This is the measurement of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. The scale ranges from zero up to fourteen. Anything below seven is considered acidic and anything above seven is considered alkaline. Seven is neutral. Your turnips like the soil to be a bit more acidic. They will do best in the 5.5 to 6.5 range. Invest in a good pH soil tester. It will help you out immensely.

You will find spacing requirements for your turnip seeds on the back of your seed packets. We only sell one type and those are the purple top white globe variety. They like to be spaced out at least four inches for optimal room to grow.

Turnips do best with a moderate watering that is more even and steady. In other words do not over or underwater. And although they can tolerate light shade, they grow best in full sun.

If you are like me and practice crop rotation and companion planting, avoid following all crops in the cabbage family in a rotation. Turnips grow well next to onions and peas, however avoid potatoes.

So the time has come to harvest the turnips. If you are growing them for the greens, you can start when the plants are still young, although you do not want to take too many of the greens as the root of the turnip will suffer. The greens are great in salads and soups. If you are harvesting the turnip for the root, anytime it is one to three inches in diameter you are ready. If you let them get too big they may develop too strong of a flavor.

If you are a fan of turnips or their greens, and have not grown any for yourself…what are you waiting for! They are easy to grow and because they are a cooler weather crop you can grow them in the early spring and again for the fall.

Author Resource:- About the Author
Michael C. Podlesny is the administrator for the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.
Submitted 2010-12-23 17:00:34
By: Bruce Tucker 29 or more times read
Article Read 73 Times
Article From
Article Listed
[Valid RSS feed]  Bruce Tucker's Author Feed
http://www.articlelisted.com/author-rss-feed.php?rss=779
[Valid RSS feed]  Category Rss Feed
http://www.articlelisted.com/rss.php?rss=93

Related Articles

  • The Various Ways Of Giant Hogweed Removal


    There are actually various giant hogweed eradication methods but there's no single method that will do the job alone. Often, a minimum of two(2) solutions are being used for higher chances of effectiveness. Severing is amongst the widely applied techniques in preventing the spread or killing off of hogweed. Just like many other plants, it grows by its roots and propagates through its seeds. Therefore slicing the roots seems to be the best solution, but this by itself does not guarantee success.
  • Spring is Coming


    The days are getting a little longer. In our Zone 5, Western New York neck of the woods, the sap is running. The arrowwood shrubs are red. The willow twigs are bright yellow. Snowdrops have been peaking through. It can only mean one thing. Spring will be here soon.
  • Rustic Garden Furniture


    The charm of country living is found in the rustic garden furniture. One of many big reasons individuals tend to love rustic garden furniture is as a result of it's usually not made in a manufacturing facility .The rustic garden furniture is exclusive with chairs, tables, benches, and arbors that depict early America.
  • Match Your Honey's Personality To Her Bouquet With The Help Of A Santa Rosa Florists Store


    Many times when people get ready to select a floral gift from their local Santa Rosa florists shop for someone that they care about they have a hard time determining exactly what that person would like best.
  • Why You Should Choose Office Furniture Leasing


    A business is more than just an office space. It is made up of ideas, hard work and determination. However, having an appropriate office space goes a long way towards creating the image you need to project to your clients and customers.
  • Flowers Portland Designers Help You Send Sympathy Bouquets


    You can give an arrangement of sympathy flowers Portland designers help you create. The loss of a loved one is tough to deal with, and expressing your feelings is often difficult.
  • Get Yourself A Swimming Pool For Your Back Garden This Summer Time


    Among the finest methods to take advantage of the warmer summer months is actually by unwinding within your backyard garden.
  • North American Trees Leaf Identification


    We sometimes wonder when we look at trees and say, I wonder what kind of tree that is? The proper way to identify different variations is by looking at their leaves.
  • Red Maple Leaf Identification


    The Red Maple tree is one of the most commonly found trees in North America. It is known for its ability to grow under nearly any conditions, as well as its beautiful leaf colors. These trees are often used in landscaping designs in street landscaping, parks, homes, and community centers.
  • Flower Leaf Identification - How To Know A Flower By Its Leaf


    Springtime brings about a huge variety of newly budding plants. A walk through a flower garden will reveal plants that are common and easily identified by just looking at them.

HTML Ready Article. Click on the "Copy" button to copy into your clipboard.




Firefox users please select/copy/paste as usual
Actions
Print This Article
Add To Favorites


Navigation
select
Home
select
Sign up
select
Login
select
Submit Articles
select
Submission Guidelines
select
learn more
select
Top Articles
select
About Us
select
Contact Us
select
Privacy Policy
select
RSS Feeds
   
Submit Your Articles To Our Other Article Directory
Morefreeinformation.com