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Of all the wonderful veggies that I grow in my small vegetable patch I am very proud of my large turnips. The greens are wonderful and their green tops in the bleak days of winter are a welcome sight.
My first time to see a turnip seed in my hand I was a little boy living in rural Oklahoma. Down the road from the parsonage lived a man named Mr. Freeman. When it was too cold to fish for catfish any longer it was time to plant the turnips in the bed that held potatoes in the early parts of the year. Crawling on hands and knees in the cold, freshly tilled soil we helped plant each and every seed. The care given to each seed is something I still use to this day and I still leave a little room for the humble turnip.
Not the most popular of vegetables, the humble turnip is really one of the oldest and most interesting vegetables in history. Its roots are muddled in history with people claiming its origins in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We know it was well known in the ancient world but its popularity has risen and fallen. Used for army food by the Roman army at times and banned for anything but animal fodder in other times, this is not always a vegetable on anyone’s top ten list. But the funny thing is this wonderful vegetable is still here and still eaten today.
This wonderful veggie loves to dig into loose rich soil and can be planted twice a year in the deep South. On the whole, you plant in the early summer when the days are warm and longer if you want to eat the greens. If you are looking to eat the roots, then plant when it is too cold to fish for catfish, or, for most of us within six weeks of the first good frost. This will give you tender roots that will be ready to eat when ever you get the winter urge. In zone 6 or so north you can plant in the cool months about the time of the last frost. You need the cold time. The roots will not reach the size they can in the lower South but the green and roots will add wonderful flavor to your life.
So you grew them, now what? Well you have three choices –
Eat the greens! Chop the greens up and boil in water with a little salt for 5-10 minutes. I serve it up with a little butter.
Eat them raw! You can cut them up and peel them and eat them with dip when they are still young and tender. There are some out there that will eat them fresh like apples, but I have never tried it myself.
Cook them! In soups or alone, boil them for how ever long you like. Really this is the big thing here. You have to try them like potatoes to see when they are to the crisp level you enjoy. You can also fry them up if you slice them really thin and fry in a little bit of oil and salt – in the same way you fry up summer squash.
So get out there and plant a little loved, ancient, healthy vegetable. You will be rewarded with a wonderful and healthy plant that will give back to you much more then it takes. Go out there and enjoy a turnip!
Image thanks to Big_Red
About M Fitzgerald
I am a pentecostal preacher, gardener,husband, and a father. I love natives, daylilies, iris, and roses. I love teaching others, be they children or adults, about the garden and plants.
Posted by darlindeb (from Claremore, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 2:49 PM:
This year we did a fall garden. I found the turnips easy to grow. I also transplanted some and they did fine, too.
What variety of turnips are your favorite? What other plants do you include in your fall garden?
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 2:52 PM:
I just grow farm turnips... from old seed that was once my grandfathers seed. So I dont know the name but all turnips from what I have tasted and traded are wonderful! My fall garden also grows Kale, Mustard, cabbage, broc., garlic and onions.
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Posted by girlgroupgirl (from Atlanta, GA) on December 31, 2007 at 5:09 PM:
Good timing with your great article Mitch! I made turnip soup yesterday! It's one of our favorite cool weather treats!
girlgroupgirl
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 5:09 PM:
Thank you - soup does sound good.
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Posted by darlindeb (from Claremore, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 8:29 PM:
Wow, girlgroupgirl I've never heard of turnip soup. What all do you put in it?
I had never heard of frying turnips either til Mitch's article.
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Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 8:50 PM:
So glad you bothered to write this article! We love turnips and boil them just like potatoes and mash them with butter. Yummy good!
My friend who is on a diabetes diet says that the turnip is listed in the top 10 foods for good nutrition.
I have to confess that when I cook the greens which I love, I cheat and put bacon grease in the water with lots of salt.
Thanks for a good article
gail
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Posted by docgipe (from NORTH CENTRAL PENNSY, PA) on January 1, 2008 at 12:06 PM:
The most expensive gormet dinner I ever ate was blessed with mashed turnips fancied up a bit with some rosemary greens butter and red pepper. That was in a beautiful beachside Long Beach hotel some forty years ago.
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 11, 2008 at 7:49 PM:
Turnips and red peppers sound delightful. Funny thing is, it never would have crossed my mind. Gotta try that dish. Thanks for the idea.
My mother served them boiled with their roots chopped and simmered for several hours. Nice to know they're more versatile than what I grew up on. And, it needn't take several hours to prepare them. Hmmm, interesting.
This message was edited Feb 11, 2008 6:50 PM
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Posted by docgipe (from NORTH CENTRAL PENNSY, PA) on February 11, 2008 at 10:49 PM:
The question was.....Why to grow them. The answer is: Because they are.
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Subject: TURNIP GREENS
Posted by SudieGoodman (from Broaddus, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 11:01 AM:
Zone 8b, Sam Rayburn Lake, deep, southeast, TX
Mitch, I like your taste!
From now on, I will have a raised, Turnip/Mustardgreen bed!
Thanks for most interesting/helpful article on the grand greens!!
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 11:23 AM:
Glad you like them - I just love them,,,, have to have them!
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 31, 2007 at 6:16 PM:
Mitch, thanks for bringing these greens to the forefront - are they good or what!!
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Posted by docgipe (from NORTH CENTRAL PENNSY, PA) on January 1, 2008 at 12:11 PM:
Under two inches of new fallen snow there are turnips and parsley peeping out as if to say we belong together. This is day one and all is well. They shall make it this day to raise the bar up on the traditional pork and kraut dinner.
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Subject: Frying, yet!
Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on December 31, 2007 at 8:46 AM:
I never heard that before! So now I must fry a turnip.
Thanks for info!
Fitsy
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Posted by frostweed (from Arlington, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 9:36 AM:
I love Turnips Mitch and Rutabagas too, they are delicious.
Josephine.
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Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on December 31, 2007 at 9:55 AM:
Thanks for a nice article on a much-maligned vegetable.
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 10:28 AM:
Thank you - we always have them here and love them!
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Posted by virginbred (from Edisto Island, SC) on December 31, 2007 at 10:36 AM:
thanks for the info on the turnip...would have never thought of frying...planted for the first time this year and of all my winter crop is the only thing doing well...a beautiful show of greens...how many days to maturity???
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 10:47 AM:
depends on you really - this is one of the best veggies - you pick when ready! They will grow all they way into the heat of summer when they will stop. I pick some leaves all winter and the veggie in the mid spring time
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Posted by mamalou (from Pearland, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 11:04 AM:
Thanks, Mitch, I enjoyed the article and the posted remarks from all. I wrote about different ways we've cooked turnips. Somehow my message disappeared. So will wait to see if it reappears! I was trying to make a correction, so don't know what I did to cause it to be lost.
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Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 11:28 AM:
Can't wait to get the vegetable area prepared so I can grow turnips and carrots.
My mother always cooked the two together and then rough mashed...add just a smidge of sugar and the now banned "bacon grease". uuummmm good.
The greens can't be matched if eaten when they are fresh.
Thanks, Mitch.
Christi
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 11:31 AM:
Now that does sound good... we still eat the bacon grease here when the mood is right.
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Posted by LouC (from Desoto, TX) on December 31, 2007 at 11:35 AM:
That is one of our culinary secrets. Greens just scream for a big chunk of "salt pork" and a little sugar, garlic and vinegar. I'm going to have the food police after me.
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Posted by MitchF (from Oklahoma City, OK) on December 31, 2007 at 11:38 AM:
We eat a lot of greens... turnip, mustard, you name it!
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Posted by fancyvan (from Calgary, AB) on December 31, 2007 at 7:03 PM:
Wouldnt be without them in my veggie garden - actually I grow Rutabagas which are somewhat larger . Perhaps next year I will try the smaller turnips.
I have a dog who loves them too and I have to protect them from her once they start to mature as they usually stick partially out of the ground and she will get in there and chomp away although she cannot pull them out like she does with the carrots.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on December 31, 2007 at 8:06 PM:
I tried them as a kid and didn't like them, but I may have to try other recipes. Especially since I found this nutritional info on them: [HYPERLINK@www.great-workout.com]
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Posted by andidandi on December 31, 2007 at 11:49 PM:
