Turnips Still Have Time in a Victoria Garden. Here Is How to Grow Them and Cook Them.

If your fall garden has an empty spot, there is still time for turnips. In a Sept. 12 Gardeners' Dirt column, Victoria County Master Gardener Becky Hensley writes that turnips grow well in the Victoria area and can be planted into December.

Why turnips

Turnips grow fast, Hensley writes, taking 40 to 60 days. They tolerate frost and some freezing temperatures. The whole plant can be eaten, roots and greens, so little goes to waste. She notes they are high in fiber, vitamins C and B6, folic acid, calcium and potassium.

How to plant them

• Sow seed according to the packet. (If you use transplants, she says to have them in by Sept. 15, so seed is the way to go now.)

• Pick a spot with 6 to 8 hours of sun, where you have not grown broccoli, cabbage or other Brassica crops in the past 3 to 4 years. That helps keep down pests and disease.

• Work in slow-release fertilizer or compost before planting. That should carry the crop through the season.

• Plant seed half an inch deep, 2 to 3 inches apart. Thin as they grow and eat the thinnings as microgreens or salad. Plant closer if you mostly want greens.

• Sow a little more about every week for a longer harvest.

• Water steadily, or the turnips can turn bitter. Containers at least 12 inches deep with good drainage also work.

Varieties to try

For this area Hensley suggests 'Tokyo Cross', 'White Lady' and 'Purple Top White Globe'. For greens without roots, try 'Shogoin'. Adventurous gardeners can try Japanese heirlooms such as 'Tokinashi', 'Aji Kojane' and 'Asuka Akane'.

Pull the roots at 40 to 60 days, when they are 2 to 3 inches across. You can keep picking greens, but take no more than a third of them if you want roots.

From the garden to the table

Turnips can be roasted, eaten raw, steamed, boiled, mashed, pickled or fried. Hensley remembers her grandmother, who raised a family during the Depression. She boiled turnips and their greens together with fatback or bacon and served them with cornbread.

Hensley also suggests planting several varieties, saving some seed for spring and sharing it with your neighbors.

If you want to try a pot like that at home, here is a simple, general way to do it: wash the greens well, peel and cube the roots, and simmer them with fatback or bacon until tender. Serve with cornbread to soak up the pot liquor. It is cheap, filling and wastes nothing. For more fall planting ideas, see our Brazos Valley fall garden guide.

Hero photo: Miya via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.