HelpfulGardener.com

Is anyone growing turnips? Has anyone ever grown turnips? Who thinks turnips suck?

Who has cooked & eaten turnip greens? Has anyone eaten fried or boiled turnip greens?

Has anyone noticed a different flavor from purple top turnips compare to other turnips?

Best time to plant turnip seeds in TN is 6 weeks before first frost. Harvest about mid to late April before warm temperatures. Eat the greens all winter & spring they tastes better than spinach. Easy to grow, nothing to do, no bugs in winter. I use grow turnip greens every year but have not grown any in about 15 or 20 years. There are 2 type seeds, greens only and turnips with green tops.

I like turnip greens fried & boiled but never cared much for turnips. I only know how to cook turnips like mash potatoes & I never thought they were good.

Turnip greens boiled with ham hocks are very good. Turnip greens fried in a little hot ham grease is very good too.

I have never tasted mashed turnips mixed with diced cooked turnip greens.

I hope you get some good comments in this thread @Gary350

I have been growing different kinds of turnip and rutabaga as well as long season radish like Daikon.

I harvested a couple that I thought had been left too long — I couldn’t decide if it would be better to leave until frost which is supposed to make them convert some of the bitter/spicy heat to sugar or not, but these have been growing all summer.

>> I trimmed them, then wrapped with paper towels and put in the fridge meatbin for now. I froze the leaves for the time being — don’t know if that will help….

Focusing on the turnip,, I’m going to try blanching the leaves then stewing with some kind of oily meat — your suggestions for smoked meats sound good. Others I’ve read about are chicken thighs and pork. Fish stew with salmon, halibut, shellfish, lobsters, crabs, and/or shrimp is another one (we like daikon, rutabaga and parsnip in the seafood stew, so maybe turnip would work too?)

Turnips develop thick fibrous skin when overgrown and they need to be peeled thick. Or cook, purée and foodmill seem to be the accepted treatment. I would probably combine with mashed POTATOES.

There is a Japanese haute cuisine dish that consists of grated turnip (or maybe mashed turnip) and delicate seafood like shrimp or scallops, and mushrooms folded into stiffly whipped egg whites then gently poached as fluffy mounds in flavorful broth. I looked at the recipe but doubt I will try making it.

Another way I want to try eating turnips is to slice thin and pickle them. This apparently tenderizes the fibrous wall just inside the skin. Sweetened vinegar type brine.

Regional/personal tastes vary. My wife & I don't eat the greens of most root crops, but it seems that's the (only?) part some folks do eat. We use turnip & rutabaga roots mashed with potato as Applestar suggests; also use it in soups & stews or boiled, fried & roasted as a side veg.

I've normally grown only the purple top turnip variety but this year tried some (Detroit?) golden and found them much more productive, maybe a bit less peppery-tasting.

In wartime Britain a family friend claimed to have made a faux apple pie using turnip & sugar; and said that it tasted just like the real thing. A generation later we made it - furtively - and served it as apple pie dessert. The kids' reaction? "Ugh, this tastes like turnip!" And it did: We never made it again.

applestar wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:18 am

I hope you get some good comments in this thread @Gary350

I have been growing different kinds of turnip and rutabaga as well as long season radish like Daikon.

I harvested a couple that I thought had been left too long — I couldn’t decide if it would be better to leave until frost which is supposed to make them convert some of the bitter/spicy heat to sugar or not, but these have been growing all summer.

>> I trimmed them, then wrapped with paper towels and put in the fridge meatbin for now. I froze the leaves for the time being — don’t know if that will help….

Focusing on the turnip,, I’m going to try blanching the leaves then stewing with some kind of oily meat — your suggestions for smoked meats sound good. Others I’ve read about are chicken thighs and pork. Fish stew with salmon, halibut, shellfish, lobsters, crabs, and/or shrimp is another one (we like daikon, rutabaga and parsnip in the seafood stew, so maybe turnip would work too?)

Turnips develop thick fibrous skin when overgrown and they need to be peeled thick. Or cook, purée and foodmill seem to be the accepted treatment. I would probably combine with mashed POTATOES.

There is a Japanese haute cuisine dish that consists of grated turnip (or maybe mashed turnip) and delicate seafood like shrimp or scallops, and mushrooms folded into stiffly whipped egg whites then gently poached as fluffy mounds in flavorful broth. I looked at the recipe but doubt I will try making it.

Another way I want to try eating turnips is to slice thin and pickle them. This apparently tenderizes the fibrous wall just inside the skin. Sweetened vinegar type brine.

My father loved turnips he planted seeds in fall then pulled them up 1 by 1 soon as he could & ate them raw, he sliced them thin and ate them standing in the garden. They have an interesting sweet flavor & its a bit like eating raw slices of potato. We lived in central Illinois then winter was brutal then, I was in grade school. We had 12" of snow all winter with 6 ft snow drifts.

Traditionally way to cook turnip greens is to use any type pork as flavor. Fry meat in a skillet then stir in the greens. Boil meat in a pot then stir in the greens. I don't like greens in bacon grease or sausage grease. Pork chops cooked golden brown both sides are good with greens. City ham not good, country ham is very good with greens. Ham hocks boiled with greens are very good. That is the only way I know how to cook them.

People in Mississippi boil turnips & greens together with ham hocks then chop turnips & greens it looks like chopped potatoes in salad. I have never tried it.

I have not planted turnip greens where we now live because of winter mud. I need walkway boards laying on the soil to go out to pick them. Purple top turnips are very hardy it needs to get below 5 degrees F to kill the tops but bulbs in the soil are still good.

I have heard Zackntosh turnips are very sweet with very good different flavor.

If you don't harvest turnips in spring they get bitter/spicy and hard/woody in summer. When winter cold weather comes again bitter/spicy goes away. Most of the woody turnips get soft & sweet again.

Gary350 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:02 pm

I like turnip greens fried & boiled but never cared much for turnips. I only know how to cook turnips like mash potatoes & I never thought they were good.

Your need for a board walkway reminds me of the one I threw together so that I can get from the carport out to a garden bed where I have a pit with carrots, parsnips and celeriac. No, no turnips - for the same reason re: liking the greens but not the roots.

Brassica rapa is quite a large group of vegetables. There are bok choy, choy sum and Chinese cabbage. Also, Italian broccoli raab. I like these just fine and have even eaten canola plants, straight out of a farm field and cooked .

Most of these greens we eat stir-fried and the leaf turnips work for that.

Steve

I've grown turnips before for my mom. I do Purple Top White globe in which I never did get a good sized turnip root. So one year I grew Seven Top which doesn't produce roots and my mom said she did not like them. This year I'll be trying purple top again.

TomatoNut if you want bigger turnip roots you could try the golden ones. In my garden they've put the white top purples to shame.

TomatoNut95 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:03 pm

I've grown turnips before for my mom. I do Purple Top White globe in which I never did get a good sized turnip root. So one year I grew Seven Top which doesn't produce roots and my mom said she did not like them. This year I'll be trying purple top again.

Grow several varieties of turnips & greens in winter to learn what grows best for you and which ones taste best. If you grow turnip greens with no bulbs plants only need nitrogen. If you grow turnips with bulbs plants need P & K for large bulbs. When I lived in Arizona winter was perfect weather, 23 degrees at night, 65 degrees in the day, perfect for, trunips, cabbage, napa, lettuce, beets, carrots, potatoes, garlic, onions, chard, spinach, greens. Turnips grow good in beds or rows. I like to toss about 250 turnip green seeds out in a 4'x4' area then rake them into the soil they are easier to grow than spinach & no bugs in winter.

Turnip comparison White Top Purple vs Golden (same age, pulled today)
These were growing in side-by-side rows.

(Edited to add:) They were same age but the Gold one was woody and didn't taste good, as if left too long in the ground. The Purple top was fine. A younger gold one (Jaune Boule D'or) had good crisp texture but little flavor. I don't think I'll grow this variety again.

I've edited my previous post to say I'm not so keen on the gold turnips after all .

If you grow turnip greens you get tops only. 7 tops are small bulb turnips with green tops. Purple tops are large bulb turnips with tops.

Tonight's cooking show do research how to cook turnip greens and how do people like them cooked and what else do people eat with turnip greens. Most people eat turnip green tops. Most people like greens cooked to death until limp & very soft. Some tops are cooked whole with the stems & leaves. Some people slice & dice stems & leaves into small pieces. Some people remove stems & cook only the leaves. Grandmother & mom cooked turnip greens soft like spinach.

I like turnip greens cooked with ham hocks or ham the TV show says most people like it this way. I like turnip greens cooked with country ham too, TV say said, many people like it this way. TV show cooked turnip greens with sausage & found few people that like it cooked this way. I had turnip greens cooked in sausage once but didn't like it.

Most people like corn bread & pinto beans with turnip greens.

TV said, Everyone has their own way they like corn breads, some like it cooked in a hot cast iron skillet with a hard crispy crust, some people like corn bread muffins or spoon bread. Some like corn bread cooked soft like cake. I like soft as cake style corn bread that is how grandmother & mom made it.

TV said, Pinto beans cooked all day with ham & a bone makes very best beans. Cook until most of the bone dissolves into the liquid after cooking 8 hours liquid gets thicker like a thin gravy that is when it gets good. Cook with onions & garlic near the end. No salt or beans get tough.

Farmers Co-op has no turnip green seeds, I need to order some on ebay. Wife has no gallbladder anymore she can't eat, greens, beans, cabbage, lots of things I like to eat so I have not grown turnip greens in many years, if I cook it I have to eat it all. It it easier for me to eat a Cracker Barrel than cook my own greens & beans. My oldest son cooks greens & beans with country ham.

We are having a mild winter its not too late to buy turnip green seeds they always germinate in a few days & grow good all winter 5 degrees is no problem. We have lots of 50 & 60 degree weather all winter.

I was eating Siberian kale with my dinner tonight and thinking about this thread.

Earlier, some things were said about rutabaga. Brassica napus. Siberian kale is also in this species. I was thinking how it reminds me of a mild turnip green. Wrong species but I can't fully account for tastes .

On a side note: only in the 2020-21 winter have I tried to keep a kale other than Scotch alive through the winter. It was a remarkably warm winter here and, not only didn't we see any sub-zero weather (which happens but infrequently), but the thermometer didn't come close. Italian, Portuguese and the Siberian all died. Only a few plants of each and they had already lived through a long season. Perhaps, it wasn't the best of trials but the Siberian dying really surprised me. I've just read a North Carolina State University horticulturalist writing that it is hardy to 10°f. Weelll, that doesn't sound like a Siberian winter to me !

Anyway, Siberian kale really should be more popular, IMO. I prefer it to Scotch. BTW, Russian kale is a sibling but there seems to be a preference to call the red varieties Russian and the green ones, Siberian. Shrug ... I still prefer Siberian but admit that I have a "thing" about colors of vegetables and their names. It effects my enjoyment of them at the table. I mean "red greens?" Come on!

Steve
and this is a guy who puts young beet greens above all others in preference

digitS' wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:22 pm

I was eating Siberian kale with my dinner tonight and thinking about this thread.

Earlier, some things were said about rutabaga. Brassica napus. Siberian kale is also in this species. I was thinking how it reminds me of a mild turnip green. Wrong species but I can't fully account for tastes .

On a side note: only in the 2020-21 winter have I tried to keep a kale other than Scotch alive through the winter. It was a remarkably warm winter here and, not only didn't we see any sub-zero weather (which happens but infrequently), but the thermometer didn't come close. Italian, Portuguese and the Siberian all died. Only a few plants of each and they had already lived through a long season. Perhaps, it wasn't the best of trials but the Siberian dying really surprised me. I've just read a North Carolina State University horticulturalist writing that it is hardy to 10°f. Weelll, that doesn't sound like a Siberian winter to me !

Anyway, Siberian kale really should be more popular, IMO. I prefer it to Scotch. BTW, Russian kale is a sibling but there seems to be a preference to call the red varieties Russian and the green ones, Siberian. Shrug ... I still prefer Siberian but admit that I have a "thing" about colors of vegetables and their names. It effects my enjoyment of them at the table. I mean "red greens?" Come on!

Steve
and this is a guy who puts young beet greens above all others in preference

I have grown Russian Kale several times nothing kills it. LOL. How is a person suppose to eat it when it is frozen solid in ice in 5 degree weather. When it is under the snow it can't be found. LOL. When I first moved to TN 43 years ago I lived a the edge of the city limits there was nothing there but farm fields and cows & me. Somehow I learned music will makes plants grow better probably from my long hair hippie freak friends. I put my stereo & speakers in the garden & blasted the plants with loud music, not sure if it worked but it sure seemed like FUN back then. If I was 1/4 mile from town now, I would do it again with a, camp fire, tent, pillow, mattress, blankets & good wine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ffIJ7ZO4U

Gary, when I lived in the sticks it was about 500 feet higher in elevation than the 2,000 feet where I had lived before (& where I live now ). The winters were quite a bit colder and more snowy out there.

It had finally come to pass that enough years had gone by since Mom had stood over me at the table and "guided me" through the eating of the Scotch kale that she had put on my plate. We ate quite a lot of those kind of veggies when I was a kid but I'd had my own garden for several years, read my Organic Gardening magazines, and learned that kale was best during the winter. So, I planted some.

The plants without having a single leaf harvested through the summer were huge, bigger than any that I have had since. There they were - at the very end of my 150' vegetable garden, which was 15' beyond the perennial beds inside the garden gate, which was about 35' from my back door. And, the snow began to fall.

It was a very snowy winter. By the first of the year, there was over 3' of snow. And, there were my Scotch kale plants, 200 feet from my kitchen through this winter wonderland! I can still remember my trail out to them ... No, I didn't shovel my way.

These days, I shovel my way to the carport and garage about 35' feet from my backsteps. Once in the carport, I take a hard left. Unfortunately, that takes me out under the carport metal roof where snow can pile up fairly bad, and freeze! Shoveling through that "wall," the 3 backyard garden beds are only 20' long with some kale plants beside the paths. It ain't half the challenge as year's ago. Thank Heavens!

In 2021, the Siberian kale was in the distant, big veggie garden. The tractor guy will show up there soon. I suppose that I gave up on the winter hardiness trial too soon but, I have the Scotch here at home, along with 2 Portuguese kale plants (a favorite). Whatever is out there in the big veggie garden can stay out there!

Steve

I am thinking of growing turnips for the first time. I do grow daikon, some people call them radish, others call it a turnip. I think of it as a radish. It is a little late, so I don't know how they will do. It is one of the few short season crops I can underplant the beans with.

I am going to try to grow Tokyo cross turnips. I was looking for shogoin, but I could not find those seeds. It is supposed to be ready in 50 days, so it will finish before the really hot weather sets in. It is a small turnip only 2 inches, so more like a radish, only it is supposed to be less pithy. Has anyone tried growing these before?

imafan26 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 10:00 pm

I am thinking of growing turnips for the first time. I do grow daikon, some people call them radish, others call it a turnip. I think of it as a radish. It is a little late, so I don't know how they will do. It is one of the few short season crops I can underplant the beans with.

I am going to try to grow Tokyo cross turnips. I was looking for shogoin, but I could not find those seeds. It is supposed to be ready in 50 days, so it will finish before the really hot weather sets in. It is a small turnip only 2 inches, so more like a radish, only it is supposed to be less pithy. Has anyone tried growing these before?

Turnip greens are very popular in TN farmers Co-op sells seeds very reasonable price 1/4 lb bag $4. I think your right turnips are a type or radish & there are several different types. My father was the only one in the family that grew turnips I was 5 years old, I never learned how to grow turnips until I moved to TN. If you find seeds that say, Turnip Greens, they are tops only they do not grow a turnip bulb. Tops are very good cooked like spinach or in a salad or sandwich. Turnips are best planted in fall about 6 weeks before first frost, they grow all winter and survive down to about 5°F. Seeds are usually 100% germination plant them now keep them warm a few days they germinate in 3 or 4 days. If plants get bitter in hot weather wait 6 months cold weather makes them sweet again. Turnip bulbs that are a little bit RED color seem to be the most popular people slice them thin & eat them raw I see them in restaurant salad bars. Cut greens off with clippers to eat, plants grow new tops over and over for years if you keep plants that long. If BIG leaves get bitter cut them off new sweet leaves grow back.