Purple Top Turnip

Heirloom · Open-Pollinated · 50–55 days from direct seeding

Meet This Plant

Purple Top Turnip doesn't get nearly enough credit. It's fast, it's easy, it gives you two harvests from one plant, and it tastes significantly better than most people expect. The roots are globe-shaped with white bottoms and purple tops. The greens are just as good as the roots and ready weeks before you pull anything out of the ground. Fall frost makes both noticeably better. This is the kind of crop that converts people.

What it tastes like: Sharp and a little spicy when raw, but sweet and mellow when cooked. The greens are earthy and mild, like a gentler collard. After a frost both the roots and greens soften and sweeten considerably.

How to Grow It

• Depth¼–½ inch
• Spacing1–2 inches, thinning to 4–6 inches for roots or 2–3 inches for greens
• Row Spacing12–18 inches
• Thinning4–6 inches for bigger roots. 2–3 inches if growing primarily for greens.
• Germination5–10 days
• Days to Maturity30–40 days for greens · 50–55 days for roots from direct seeding

Grow Friend Tips

You're getting two vegetables for the price of one seed

The greens are ready in 30–40 days, long before the root matures. Start harvesting outer leaves when they're a good size for eating, taking no more than 2–3 leaves per plant at a time. Pull too many and the root won't develop properly. Young greens are mild and good raw. Larger leaves are best cooked like collards or spinach.

Frost makes everything better

Both the roots and the greens improve noticeably after a frost or two. The cold converts starches to sugars and takes the edge off any bitterness. If you can grow a fall crop and let frost hit before you start harvesting heavily, you'll get a completely different and better tasting turnip than you'd get in spring.

Harvest roots on the smaller side

Purple Top Turnip has the best flavor and texture at 2–3 inches in diameter. Leave them too long and they get woody and lose their sweetness. The top of the root pushes up above the soil line as it matures so you can check the size without digging anything up.

Space them based on what you want

Closer spacing produces smaller roots and more greens. Wider spacing produces bigger roots. If you want both, aim for 4–6 inches and thin properly. Don't skip thinning because crowded turnips won't bulb up.

They're faster than most root vegetables

At 50–55 days to root maturity and 30–40 days for greens, turnips are one of the quickest root crops you can grow. Plant them as a gap filler between slower crops or succession sow for a continuous harvest right up to hard freeze.

Harvest & What to Do With It

When it's ready

Greens are ready in 30–40 days when they're a good size for eating. Roots are ready at 50–55 days when they're 2–3 inches in diameter. The purple top will be visible above the soil line so you can check the size without digging. Don't wait too long, because roots past 4 inches get woody and lose their sweetness fast.

How to harvest

For greens, snap or cut outer leaves at the base and leave the center intact. For roots, grab the greens close to the root and pull straight up with a gentle twist. If the soil is dry, water first to loosen it. Trim the greens to about an inch above the root right after pulling.

Yield

A short row gives you a generous harvest of both roots and greens. Succession sowing every 3 weeks keeps a steady supply coming through the season.

Short-term storage

Remove the greens, brush off loose dirt, and refrigerate. Keeps 2–3 weeks. Greens store separately and are best used within a few days.

Long-term storage

What to cook

Raw and sliced thin in salads or on a veggie tray where the spice is the point. Roasted until caramelized and sweet. Mashed on their own or blended with potatoes. Added to soups and stews where they hold up better than most root vegetables. The greens braised low and slow with garlic and a splash of something acidic, same as you'd treat collards or mustard greens.

Seed Storage & Saving

Storing unused seeds: Keep somewhere cool, dark, and dry. Viable up to 4 years.

Seed saving: Turnips are insect-pollinated and will cross freely with other turnip varieties and related brassicas nearby. Isolate by at least half a mile for reliable purity, or grow only one variety at a time. Turnips are biennial, so they set seed in their second year. Let a few plants overwinter, then let them bolt and flower in spring. Once the seed pods are dry and papery on the plant, cut the stalks, bring them inside to finish drying, then crush the pods by hand to release the seeds. Store in a cool, dark place.