Turnip Green Question

This looks like the first year I will have a really good crop of turnips.

Question: Should I cut the tops in order for the roots to get large? The tops are eating size.

BB

No. Picking the greens may slow root development a bit, but unless you get carried away, not enough to worry about it. They regenerate leaves fast. Spacing is really the major factor in root development, some cultivars (White Egg for example) will not form good turnips when crowded.

OK. I probably do need to thin them out.

What is your spacing suggestion?

Thanks
BB

3- 6 inches.

Thanks, Farmerdill!

I've got purple top turnip seeds I'm about to sow this weekend in a little flowerbed that's rich with composted leaves, black kow composted manure and coffee grinds. and it's full of earthworms, too. really rich medium. I'll be sowing probably 2 rows of turnip seeds. How far apart should the rows be? Also, can I sow the Chioggia Beet seeds, too? Maybe I should only sow one row of each for good spacing? LMK. Thanks, again.

Linda

I like to sow mine either in 16 inch beds broadcast or 4 rows to the bed if I am using a mechanical planter. I allow about two feet between beds to allow room for me to move through and pick them. I choose 16 inches because that is an easy distance for me to reach across without strain. I am getting old you know, I thin as I pick greens, giving the plants room to develop turnips. The Purple Top/White Globe can get very large with 6 inch spacing, but they are best at about baseball size.

Farmerdill:

Can you bareroot transplant them to another location as I do with collards?

BB

Yes, when the plant is small they transplant well. Whether it is worth the labor is another question.

Thanks

Hey BB: I got a great crop of turnips that I forgot about. I just threw some seeds in one of my beds and totally forgot about, and one day at the garden while I was weeding, I pulled up a giant turnip and saw that I had tons of them, way more than I knew what to do with them. What are you going to do with all your turnips? Any suggestions would be great!

Ship some of 'em to me in Houston?

Hi Kanita:

Long time no hear.

MrsBronx usually cooks up a pot of the greens and we can some of them up. You can freeze them as well.

Do you eat veggie ferments? I am experimenting with some and I am going to add turnips to the next batch.

You can peel and flash freeze the roots for later use. Just lay chop and then layout on a cookie sheet in your freezer overnight. Then bag up the next day. Easy to pull out and use for soups stews etc.

Hey Gym!

How are you doing?

BB

Can I ship veggies Gym? Cause if so you can have some parsnips too.

BB: Thanks for the info. I haven't tried freezing. I used to use turnips in my beef stew and thats about it.

Turnip greens, yummy! I eat way more of the greens than I do the root, although both my DD and I will happily pull up a plant, stand in the garden and chow down on the root! Great flavor when fresh-picked!

Although I never can the greens I've been known to freeze them, usually if I cook too big of a batch and don't want them to go to the chickens. Where I live you can pick the greens fresh all Winter long so no need to preserve them.

Normally I cook them with a bit of bacon or side meat but lately I've been splurging and cooking my greens with a delicious smoked turkey leg in it. So delish!

Shoe

The roots actuall have more varied usage than the tops, altho turnip greens with ham hock is the standard use in the south. Like Shoe I eat a lot of them in the fall season, before the collards come in.

Roots,: I like boiled turnips. simply sliced and boiled with soil pork and seasoning.
Mashed turnips, Boiled and mashed with white potatoes , milk, butter, and seasonings. baked in oven. Lot of variations on this one, some use only turnips, some use brown sugar. some use crisp bacon crumbled in the turnips
Turnip fries. just sub the turnip for an Irish potato
Turnip puffs
Turnip soup Just sub turnips in cabbage soup recipe.
This one I have not tried but sound s interesting. Turnip Sweet potato swirl.

Hmm..haven't tried the SweetPotato swirl either, F-dill. Right now I'm thinking of your turnip fries though, sounds like something I'd do!

Thanks!
Shoe

Thanks Farmerdill! I thought I remembered my great-grandmother saying you could make turnip mashed potatoes.

Hope a short story fits in here regarding why turnips have a cultural component. I grew up in S. FL with northern parents and a dad in the produce business. We had turnips the way Farmerdill describes as part of a mash or, more often, as a hearty winter soup additive. So when I came more northward to Atlanta, but really more deeper south, I was with a friend one afternoon who was "fixing a mess of turnips". We were chatting away and she was busy cutting greens and I noticed the roots were going in the garbage. At some point I mentioned the problem and asked why she was salvaging the wrong part of the plant. LOL I had never eaten the greens. She only saved a few of the roots to cook with the pot likker. She made the best greens. Live and learn.

I'm a convert. Some collards from last week
Laurel

My mother cooked the turnips with about 1/3 carrots, bacon drippings, salt, pepper, and just a tad of sugar. Rough mashed the mix and we never left a spoonful.

My favorite ways to eat turnips:

- boiled (not too soft) with a little black pepper & some butter
- raw
- boiled soft then run thru a ricer and add butter & sugar

What does a turnip root taste like? What would you compare it too? Guess these another southern veggie I don't know yet.

Probably closest to Kohlrabi, similar to rutabaga, reminiscent of cabbage.

A fresh crunchy turnip root is far better than many beautiful but mushy and tasteless apples I've paid dearly for. Another treat is the raw core of a cabbage with salt.

We cut the young turnip roots up and use them like radishes in salads. We also eat them raw, just wash, slice and eat.
Like Texasrockgarden, I like them cooked, then served with butter and pepper.
Farmerdill, you described them perfectly!

Thanks for all the cooking ideas, I have enough turnips to try them all but can't. I have been giving them away to other members of the garden.

Just in case anyone is stuck for an original holiday turnip recipe, this month's Southern Living magazine has a turnip green dip! Why not?

Of course. There has been a spinach dip forever. Would think turnips would just as good. I also use thin sliced raw turnip as a crudite for dipping. That would make a great combo.

You story is too funny MayPop! I always get funny looks at the FMs when I ask for the spare turnip greens that others discard. I do like the leaves better than the root.
We do the steam and mash routing on the roots occasionally, usually mixed with other root that are sweeter.

If I am going to cook the whole turnip, here is how I like to make it:

Ingredients

• 500 gm. or 4-6 turnips. If turnips have fresh green leaves, they should also be added to the dish
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 tbs. cooking oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 small pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. chilli powder (or hot paprika for a milder dish)
• 1 tsp. of coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
• 1 tbs. of chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and chop turnips into 1-2 cm, small pieces. Clean and chop turnip leave and tender stalks into 4 inch pieces
2. Peel an finely chop/grate ginger.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida powder and let the seeds splutter.
4. Add ginger and stir fry for a minute. Do not let it burn.
5. Add turnips and stir well.
6. Add turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt.
7. Stir well, to coat all pieces with spices.
8. Turn heat down to minimum, cover and cook, stirring from time to time. No water is required, if turnips are fresh. However, if the vegetable begins to catch, sprinkle a tablespoon or two, as necessary.
9. Stir in garam masala.
10. Add half the coriander leaves and mix, garnish with remaining half before serving.
11. Serve with hot Parathas or other flat bread.

Garden_mermaid,
Is your turnip recipe of Indian or cultural flavor? I'm not familiar with those spices. Thanks!

Had my first batch yesterday. They were very good.

BB

Yes, that's sounding Indian. Your recipe sounds delicious, Garden_M. We were planning a curried veggie dinner in a few nights. I'll add this recipe. Thanks.
Laurel

Yes Gymgirl, that is an Indian style recipe for turnips. Asafoetida is used by many cultures, but is most often associated with indian cuisine. The plant is in the same family as cumin, fennel, dill, caraway etc (Umbelliferae), but instead of using the seeds, the root and stem resin is used. Asafoetida is known as Hing in Indian Markets. Many other markets will also carry it. It you can't get it, you can substitute a mix of onions and garlic.
Garam Masala means "warming spices". There are many different recipes for this mix, (just as there are varying recipes for "poultry seasoning" or "fine herbes"). It is usually a mixture of cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper etc.
All of these spices are used in European cooking as well.