The Best Way to Plant Purple Top Turnips

Although purple top turnips can be used to feed sheep and cattle that are put out to pasture, backyard gardeners grow them as well. Standard purple top turnips are purple and white and take about 55 days from seed to harvest. The plant has a smooth texture and produces globe roots and greens that can be eaten before you harvest the bulb.

Shovel
Rake
Seed sower (optional)
Toothpicks (optional)
Fish emulsion
Compost tea

Instructions

- 1
  Plant the turnips at the optimal time for your climate for best results. Plant in early spring after the danger of frost is gone for a summer crop and plant fall crops 60 to 70 days before the first frost.
- 2
  Prepare a seedbed for your turnips. Loosen the soil, remove any weeds and gently level it.
- 3
  Poke rows of holes about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, about 4 inches apart. Leave 12 to 15 inches between each row.
- 4
  Apply three to seven seeds to each hole by hand or with a seed sower.
- 5
  Cover the sown seeds with soil and mark them with a toothpick if desired so you can differentiate between weeds and the seedlings when they sprout.
- 6
  Water the planted turnip seeds well.
- 7
  Water the turnips every several days, keeping the soil moist but not wet.
- 8
  Mix in compost tea or fish emulsion once every two weeks for best results.
- 9
  Thin the seedlings to 6 inches apart when they grow 2 inches tall and thin them to just 2 to 4 inches apart when they've reached 4 inches tall.

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