How to Grow Purple Turnips for Cattle Grazing

Purple turnips have been a staple of grazing animals for more than 600 years, according to the agricultural department at Purdue University. Easy to plant, the root vegetables grow roots and greens above ground that are easily accessible by roaming herds of cattle. In the 1970s, cattle ranchers discovered the benefits of planting fields of turnips for grazing. Since then, purposeful fields have been planted throughout the nation's cattle land.

heirloom purple turnip seed
land

Instructions

- 1
  Kill all grasses and weeds in the area the turnip will be planted in. Turnips cannot compete with grass or weeds. The target planting dirt must be free of such elements. Use a sod-killing chemical three or more days before seeding is planned.
- 2
  Plant the seeds in rows 6 to 8 inches apart. Use 1.5 pounds per acre of land.
- 3
  Cover the seeds with no more than 1/2 inch of soil. A total of five or six plants per square foot of land is the targeted plant population.
- 4
  Apply a quality fertilizer within three days of planting.
- 5
  Chemically control weeds during turnip growing. Watch for disease typical to purple turnips, including club-root, leaf spot and white rust. Club-root causes roots to become enlarged. In addition, it causes slow growth and wilting greens.

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