I planted a small patch of turnips several weeks back, just to fill in an empty raised bed. It got overrun with weeds pretty quickly as I proceeded to neglect the bed, but surprisingly I still got a nice harvest of good-enough sized turnips. They definitely would have done better had I thinned them out.
In my defense, I did notice that the flea beetles were doing more damage to particular weeds than to my crops, which is why I left some of these weeds in the beds.
I was heading out of town for several days just as they were ready to be harvested. We’d never eat them all in time, so I looked up how I might preserve them. Several people recommended removing the tops from the roots and leaving the turnips in the ground until you are ready to eat them.
But how exactly should you leave them in the ground? Do you just cut the tops off and leave the roots where they are? Or do you pull up the turnips, cut the tops off, and then bury them again?
Since I couldn’t find the answer in any of my books or online, I decided to experiment for myself.
I took a kitchen knife to the tops of the majority of my crop, and laid the greens around the roots to act as a mulch. Yes, I could have eaten the greens, but I was literally on my way out the door for our trip.
Next, I uprooted just a couple of decent sized turnips, cut the tops off, and reburied them where they’d been growing. I wished them luck and was on my way. I thought for sure the bugs would destroy them or they would rot before we got back home.
About a week later, I went to check on the turnips to see what happened, and was surprised to find that the tops were growing back on the ones that I hadn’t uprooted.
Which totally made sense once it hit me! I watched our cabbage do the same thing this summer as I cut the heads from the stems and they regrew little cabbage leaves. Why hadn’t that occurred to me?
The turnips I’d uprooted and buried looked surprisingly fine! As a matter of fact, it’s going on two weeks now and they still look exactly the same as when I first buried them.
Something else I find interesting is that the turnips that are regrowing their tops are growing in very nice and green, without any insect damage so far. Perhaps now that I’m home we’ll get a chance to enjoy some turnip greens after all!
Now… how long will the buried turnips last in the ground before they rot or are eaten by bugs? That answer is yet to be determined.
UPDATE: 7 Weeks Later…
The turnip greens have grown back completely on the plants I never uprooted, and the turnips themselves are still looking very healthy and happy in the ground! I think it’s best just to store them where they grow, without pulling them up.
The overnight frosts have killed the weeds growing all around the turnips, but the turnips themselves are still going strong. I’m wondering if the roots will be tough. I need to pull some up and try eating them soon.
Do you have any experience storing root crops right in the garden? What advice can you share?
A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
Can you cut one so we can see how it looks inside. I left white, silky softer turnips in the ground until end of July ( planted in April) and they lost mass on the inside, looked like they were drying out, lots of lattice work on the inside. They smell ok and wonder if they are ok to eat.
Turnip fries are soooo yummy! I wish we had planted some this year.
We grow turnips every year and like Don, we just leave them in the ground until we’re ready to pick. Often they stay there for six months. You will reach a point when they’re not good to eat but you have many months before that happens. You don’t have to do anything to them, just leave them in the ground.
Depending on where you live (all of the south) you can just leave them in the garden all winter and harvest the greens and the roots. In very cold temps the greens may get damaged but the roots will survive all winter. You can pull them up as needed to eat. In the spring they will grow greens again. And you can eat them. Once it gets warm they will start to seed and get bitter. If you just leave them in you raised bed new ones will come up from the seeds they produce and on goes the cycle. Bottom line, greens and or turnips are edible for about 7 or 8 months a year. I grew up on a homestead and it was one of our most nutritious go to crops.
That’s very good to know, Don! Thanks!
Hey Kendra, I would think you could store them like radishes by submerging them in a lightly damp sand and store them in a cool place. Or better yet, just cook them and can in a jar like potatoes. Yum turnips. Didn’t plant any this season.
That’s something I haven’t tried yet, Elizabeth- canned turnips. When I get some time I’d like to try that.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your results. 🙂