Do turnips have specific mineral requirements?

I plant turnips every year, spring and fall, but have never had one bulb up. The tops grow just fine. The spring planted turnips bolt and the fall planted ones produce plenty of greens but what is the deal with the not bulbing?

Have no idea, unless you are planting a greens only variety. Most of the time you can just broadcast the seeds in any tilled area and have more than you need. Very non demanding plant. They do need space, some varieties more than others. They do need to be 3-6 inches apart for good turnips. White egg for instance absolutely will not bulb if crowded. They do not tolerate heat, but that should not be a problem in Washington State even for spring planting.

Patti47,
Send me some of your seeds, if they aren't bulbing. I actually LOVE the green tops, and would appreciate growing more of them. I could save seeds from them, if they're an heirloom variety!

Linda

Seven Top is an old standby in the south, I can't imagine a feed and seed store not carrying it. There are newer varieties like Topper. In my opinion the greens are not as tender as the equally venerable Purple Top/White Globe. They are a great advantage when faced with cabbage root maggots which do a number on bulbing turnips. The hard woody roots on the greens only varieties seem to deter them.

Thanks, Farmerdill!

I have used a different seed each year, twice a year, for many years now and have never had a bulb. Yes, I do enjoy the greens but I want the bulb. I really think there is something missing. I get results with other root vegs.

Patti, try less nitrogen and provide a source of phosphorus, that should help bulb up those roots. A good compost for friable soil will go a long way, too, keeping your soil from compacting which could be a factor as well.

I grow Purple Top and they are relatively easy to get nice roots from.

Shoe

I get what you're saying Shoe about less nitrogen since that encourages top growth. What organic source of phosphorus would you recommend. Typically I fertilize with fish, seaweed and worm tea. Potatoes grew where I planted the turnips. The soil was soft and deep. I really want to get to the bottom of this. Years of failure with turnips is bugging me.

We do need to feed our plants. They eat just like we do. I use Compost tea to feed my plants. The compost should be a mixture of brown material, green material, & some food scrapes. I use mostly decayed food scrapes. That seems to have less nitrigen then the brown materials.

I hear your frustration, patti! At least I hope you are enjoying the turnip greens you've been getting though.

Your soil friability sounds like it would be perfect for root crops. As for a phosphorus source compost can be fairly good, depending on ingredients with hopefully manure being one of them. Phosphate rock is also good and doesn't need to be applied yearly, plus it tends to not leach away like other forms of phosphorus. Bone meal is also good but rather slow acting so adding it several weeks to a month before sowing your turnip seeds would be a good. "Steamed" bone meal works a bit faster (not much!) but is something I would look for over simply dried bone meal, and remember it will also offer a bit of calcium.

Overall, for phosphorus to really be released and utilized by plants you really need some organic matter in the soil to help break it down to a form the plants can use. In your case I'd also check your pH...I wonder if that is a problem you may have, especially since you can grow spuds but not turnips. Spuds will grow at a lower pH but turnips would prefer something a bit higher, around 6.7 to 7.0

Hope this helps!
Happy Gardening!
Shoe

Great Shoe, thank you. I will definitely look into the pH thing. I appreciate your suggestions for sources of phosphorus.
As far as organic matter, it will be better next year since I piled on at least 6 inches of leaves recently. So maybe this is the time to add phosphorous and let it work with the leaves? Definitely if I use bone meal it will be steamed. I have read about that. The leaves are some kind of ash, by the way, in case that matters.

Brown leaves have a lot of nitrogen.

"Brown leaves have a lot of nitrogen. " No, behillman, leaves do not have a lot of nitrogen. I think you may be confusing "greens" and "browns" in your composting, which is easy for the beginner to do. E.g., "greens" (grass, manure, veggie scraps, etc) tend to be higher in nitrogen than "browns" (leaves, straw, sawdust, paper, etc).

Exceptions would be that coffee grounds may be brown in color but yet contain a decent amount of nitrogen; also green leaves will have more nitrogen than brown leaves but most people usually have access to leaves when they drop in the fall/winter. Keep in mind that the color of an ingredient doesn't necessarily dictate whether it is a source of nitrogen or carbon (as in the example of the coffee grounds).

Leaves are more loaded with nutrients such as minerals and trace elements more-so than nitrogen. Think calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc, keeping in mind also that different kinds of leaves offer different "goodies".

Leaves usually need a nitrogen source added to them to encourage breakdown. A pile of leaves will take a long time to decay by itself but when a nitrogen source is added the decay/breakdown speeds up dramatically.

Shoe (enjoying winter after an entirely too hot summer)

Shoe, the spuds that grew there were somewhat misshapen. The brussel sprouts that I planted in that area also did not form the sprouts. The leaves are healthy looking like the turnip greens. So right now I have turnips and brussels sprouts growing without fruiting where I had misshapen potatoes growing. Is there a further clue here somewhere? I'm getting the feeling this is pointing to a pH issue in particular. I will add coffee grounds to the leaves. Starbucks here I come.

Hmmm, mis-shapen spuds tend to happen in compacted soil. But if your soil is nice and loose it will also happen when they get too dry, then get water again, causing them to start putting new growth on the tubers, like a "potato with a potato" growing on it. Did they ever get any decent size on them, by the way?

As for Brussels sprouts, sheesh, they seem to take forever to make "sprouts". Last year I wasn't harvesting any until January and February. Cold weather really slows them down even more. I wouldn't give up on them cus the ones I was able to pick were delish! (A quick steam/stir-fry in olive oil then hit with a judicial amount of butter with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Yumm, ain't nuttin' better!)

I wonder if ya'll have free soil sampling in your state. That would sure help out determining what your soil may need, even if you just use it as a guide and not necessarily the "whole truth and nothing but the truth".

Shoe (back out to enjoy the sunshine)

Sorry Shoe about the brown material. I'm trying my best to get everything straight. I have read that root veggies need different nutrients then the leaf producing veggies. Would I be correct to say that leafy veggies need lots of nitrogen & the root veggies need lots of Phosp.

Howdy, behill...

No need to apologize, I see your posts and read your enthusiasm. That in itself, enthusiasm, is one of the best ingredients for a great gardening experience. You rock, as the kids (and some of us adults) say! I can tell you are doing what it takes to learn, to benefit from it all, and also to tell/teach others. Go for it! I think teaching is one of the best ways to learn, by the way. Everybody wins!

And yep, you're right on the mark with the leafy greens vs root crops. I tend to use a higher nitrogen food/supplement for the plants that we eat their foliage, i.e., lettuces, cabbages, collards, spring onions, kale, turnip greens (note "greens"), endive, leeks, spinach, etc.

The root crops benefit from phosphorus as well as potassium for "that end of the plant" but also remember some of those root crops need a good top growth to aid in developing their underground parts. (I'd give onions as an example for that, the better the top growth then the more photosynthesis and energy they can send to their bulbing part.)

In my talks I share I tell folks it is easy to remember what phosphorus does...simply mis-pronounce it! Call it phosphor-roots. (Or Phos-For-Roots.) And that is just the tip of the iceberg, it is also of great benefit in other areas

Looking forward to more of your posts, Behillman. I'd love to hear more garden reports and how things are going for you in the gardening world.

Best to you and yours.
Happy Gardening!

Shoe (heading back out before I lose my daylight....)

About the potatoes Shoe, yes lots of them did get a good size. I'm glad you said to be patient with the brussels sprouts. They are like candy to me, of all the vegs, my favorite. This is a "lasagna bed" that was sod several years back. There is really no hardpan in my garden. 6 inches down past the black soil is soft red soil.

"This is a "lasagna bed" that was sod several years back. There is really no hardpan in my garden. 6 inches down past the black soil is soft red soil"

Good. Sounds like you have good loose dirt then. I'd say your spuds grew a bit, got into a dry spell, then took off again adding new growth to the already formed taters, which is common.

Shoe (off to enjoy the overcast and soon-to-be-raining day)

Love your input Shoe, thanks. Yes, rain or shine, let's enjoy it.