Turnips

I have nice patch growing, I was just wondering how cold can they stand. We have a few light frosts here and there still doing good. Just trying to fiqure out temperature to pull them.

consistant low 20's.

We are still only thinning and have been in the mid thirties. Ours are fine, as FD said, down in the twenties. What happens once it gets really consistently cold is the greens start turning red, not putting on new growth and get dried out and tough tasting. Even then the roots are still good.

This message was edited Oct 30, 2011 6:50 PM

They can take a couple mid-30 frosts, with cover, but not a whole string of days in those low temps. We get an occasional dip about 7-9 times during our winter here, and generally not more than a couple nights in a row.

Last year we had 4 nights in a row of low-30s, high 20s, but daytime temps climbed back up to the sunny, mid-40s. I watered my turnips and brassicas down first, leaves and all, then covered them with sheets thrown over my PVC hoop. They've done fine with this method.

Linda

Thank you all for your help.

We have been in the mid thirties in the N. GA mountains maybe a dozen times already. We've been harvesting beautiful turnip greens. The ones we want for roots are bulbing up nicely.

Gymgirl, perhaps your turnips are not as cold tolerant as some other growers because they are not consistently hardened off in cooler weather? Everyone grows turnips until the New Year in the N. GA mountains and we're talking frosts, sleet, possible snow and lots of cold weather. Plants that are well established thrive in cool weather but if planted too late or babied in a greenhouse-type environment they might be more challenging. This is a good reason to plant in situ.

Ditto what Maypop and F-dill said. I tend to harvest the greens nearly all winter here, making sure to get a good start on them. Only when we get super hard freezes do they start turning red then yellow-ish and quality declines. Usually by then the roots are still nice and fresh though. I start picking/thinning for baby turnips as needed once they begin to size up, pick the greens as needed when they are big enough to get a nice "hand hold" (I harvest with a butcher knife). In a small garden I can see using row cover like Linda would but it's really not necessary.

And remember, in the late winter-early spring the plants will flower and have the most delicious flower buds you can imagine. Yumm!

Shoe (Pic is of my neighbors "last greens patch" I sowed for her last year. A mix of greens but with plenty of turnips!)

We use the flowers from all our greens buds. Pak choy buds and stems are especially good as part of a pickle. Our pak choy is starting to bolt here and there. It is a beautiful thing. I was only able to grab a few photos with my 'droid on the way out but here's a pic or two of the one of the greens patches. There's a few sprigs of India mustard (FL Broadleaf) in the foreground. The heavily serrated lead is daikon radish in the lower middle. There's a bit of Scotch kale in the middle (we have it and other varieties in other parts of the garden). The rear is all purple top turnips. This photo is two days old.

A random squash plant is meandering through the turnips. I left it alone. It's a yellow/zucc/ something or other random cross. Very tasty. I've been cutting them and using them in soup. Still putting out some yellow squash sized fruit even in the frosty cold. We only grow a couple hundred square feet of turnips. That's more than enough for us.

Lookin' good to me, Laurel! And I love Fla broadleaf! One of my favorites! I eat it like spinach, sometimes raw in salads, other times steamed/stir-fried/you name it.

Shoe (wish I'd have picked some Chinese cabbage for supper tonight; looking at all these greens pics does that!)

Shoe, you're the man with the field of greens. Wasn't that a movie? It should be.

Hah! Too funny. But close! This past year or so my garden has been the real bona-fide (movie) "Field of Dreams"!

Shoe

Thanks for the tips! I'm seriously guilty of "babying" my seedlings under fluorescents, til I think they can handle to big, bad, garden world!

I'll try to get them outside sooner next season.

BTW, how much plant should I have before I could steal a few leaves off? IV got some pretty huge cabbage leaves. Look.

I realize that perhaps I cannot advise you as you seem to do most (all?) of your growing in buckets. My veggies are all field grown and the fall garden is mostly in situ and in native soil.

What plants are you looking to steal leaves off of? The turnips? Not the cabbage for sure. There are some turnip varieties grown for leaves only and some for roots where the leaves can be harvested. We usually eat leaves off the thinnings only and mix them with other greens such as mustards. I am mainly interested in the roots on this veggie since there are other greens in the garden (multiple chards and kales, collards and arugula, mustards and endive). When the turnip roots start to swell we let them go and pull roots with greens. Here in the South they throw out most of the roots in favor of the greens. I cook and eat fresh or freeze all the turnip greens and use the roots roasted, mashed, sauteed, stir fried or steamed. They are fantastic as classic tempura or beer battered and fried. I do this as hors d' oeuvres with horseradish cream.

"They are fantastic as classic tempura or beer battered and fried. I do this as hors d' oeuvres with horseradish cream."

I gotta remember that. I've only baked turnip roots or cut them up and cooked them in a pot of greens. Hmm.... more tasty recipes to work with. Thanks, Maypop.

Linda, in your pic, it looks like something other than cabbage at the forefront, with long stalks, and I can't make out what it is. But as for cabbage I just wait and pick the whole head when it forms; you'll need the lower/side leaves for good growth/photosynthesis so leave them be.

Shoe

Ok. Thanks! Those are Brussels Sprouts and Broccolis in the pic, too!

Ahhh, those are Brussels sprouts I see then. It'll be quite a while before you'll be picking any of those.

Your plants are looking nice and healthy though. Finally, cooler weather and a bit of rain, makes your day doesn't it!

Shoe

When you bake the do you make gratins? They are so good baked with onions, potatoes and cheese this way. The timing of the roots makes this a good dish for TG.

Now I'm off to pick some coconuts and star fruit and get a tan in Miami. I made the tan part up 'cause I wear sunscreen. lol Happy turniping!

Laurel

MAYPL,
Baked turnips? I need that recipe.

Ubershoe,
This is the weather we've been waiting for now, for 2 months! Except, tonight we're predicted to have severe thunderstorms with high winds, and the temps will go from our highs of 70 today, to around 40 degrees by the morning. And then, stay there for the next three days....

I'm gonna switch the hoop cover to my longer black sheeting, and anchor it down on the sides with some 2xs, so it won't blow off the frame.

My plants are gonna need counseling after this season is over...bi-polar disorder for sure...

Hugs!

Linda

Don't worry, 40º will have no ill effect on those cabbage/broc/Brussels plants. Matter of fact they'll love it! I'd be tempted to let them enjoy it. "Black sheeting"...is that black plastic? If so that'll block sunlight and also heat up too much.

Shoe (Have fun in Fla, Maypop!)

Ubie,
The hoop isn't for the temps -- it's for the high winds in my yard!

My home is situated on a natural wind tunnel through my yard, and with the addition of tornadic gusts from the thunderstorms, my poor plants were getting whipped all over the place! That wind could cause far more damage than the cooler temps.

After my cabbages had been under the hoop for approximately 36 hours, protected from the winds, almost evey cabbage started heading! Like they were struggling so hard against the wind, they couldn't settle down to form heads.
And the Brussels Sprouts have put on new growth very fast.

Rich,
These plants love the cold weather, and it's warmer under the hoop than it is outside...I think it's that they finally get to draw their leaves up to head, rather than have them whipping open and threatening to be broken or snapped in the high winds. I pulled the cover off the hoop.

We woke up to the mid-50s this morning, with full sunshine, and everything under the hoop was calm, cool, and saluting the sun! I think I'm going to have to extend the length of my hoop, and start spreading the plants out more, too. They're kind a' close in there.

Also, I think the bug spray worked. No new cabbage worm holes far as I can tell...hurray!

Well, "tornadic winds" will have an effect on any plants but fortunately those kinds of winds aren't the norm. If you want a good windbreak you could use the hoops and put reemay or something over them instead of plastic. If plants are well hardened off they can handle higher winds than you might expect.

"Far more likely they are responding to the temperature difference under the hoops."

Rich, I agree. Either that or it was their proper time to start forming heads.

"I think it's that they finally get to draw their leaves up to head, rather than have them whipping open and threatening to be broken or snapped in the high winds. "

Linda, that's not how it works. They don't "draw up their leaves to head". The heads are formed separately from the leaves, growing much tighter together.

All in all, sounds good to me, your plants are doing well, saved from the winds, and now heading up! Congrats!

Shoe

This message was edited Nov 9, 2011 8:21 PM

Ok.