Turnip greens are not particularly tidy plants, but they yield lots of good "cut-and-come-again" leaves that grow back for multiple harvests.
Turnip greens are extremely easy to grow, especially in fall. As nights get longer and cooler, turnip greens become crisper and sweeter. Best of all, a new flush of tender leaves will grow after each picking, with plants remaining productive at least until the first hard freeze, and sometimes beyond.
They also grow in spring, but plant them early. Lengthening days trigger turnip plants to produce flowers and seeds instead of new leaves. Also, a few days of hot sun can make the greens taste strong and bitter in regions where spring gets hot quickly.
Our pots of turnip greens are thickly sown expressly for greens, although if given the space, plants would also produce turnip roots. We sow them with the greens in mind, but if you harvest your plants by pulling and thinning, you may find some turnip roots in the garden, too, albeit not of prize quality.
Our turnip greens are sown multiple plants to a container, so you'll generally get a cluster of plants too thick to make good turnip roots. Occasionally, one breaks away and grows to edible size. Then you can decide whether to pull and eat the turnip along with your greens, or let it stay to produce more leaves.
Turnip greens are easy to grow in any well-drained soil. Set out turnip green transplants 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost in spring and from late August to October for a fall crop in most areas. In zones 9 and 10 they can be planted throughout fall and winter. Bonnie plants arrive at your local dealer at the proper planting time.
Like collards, kale, and other greens, turnip greens need to grow fast to produce nice, tender leaves. They aren’t too fussy about soil, growing well in a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8, and doing okay even in poor sandy soil. Ideally, you should enrich the ground with compost and fertilizer before setting out transplants, but unless the soil is extremely poor, turnip greens probably won’t disappoint you.
Set the transplant pots 6 to 8 inches apart, and do not try to thin or separate seedlings if there are several in the container. Turnip greens don’t mind growing in small clumps as long as each little group has ample elbow room. Although they are a variety that will make turnips, don’t expect great roots from crowded plants. They are sown with just the leaves in mind.
Turnip greens need steady water more than they need rich soil, so keep them watered during typically dry fall weather. Pull any weeds that appear in your turnip patch. You can sprinkle them with a liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion, liquid kelp, or Bonnie Herb & Vegetable Plant Food to fuel more growth as you harvest leaves.
It is natural for older turnip leaves to turn yellow and wither. Removing older leaves every week or so encourages the plants to grow more greens.
Watch greens for occasional aphids or mites, which are controlled with insecticidal soap spray. Small flower beetles or other chewing insects will sometimes make harmless holes in the leaves, but aphids and mites can ruin your harvest.
Full-size turnip leaves are a foot long and six inches wide. The leaves will cook down a surprising amount, so it takes a several large handfuls of leaves to make a potful or “mess of greens.”
The ideal time to begin eating turnip greens is when nighttime temperatures are in the 40s or cooler to bring out the sweetness in the greens. Greens that grow in hot weather can taste strong and bitter, especially to people who haven’t honed a taste for their stronger side. Turnip greens are a little more pungent than collards. You can pick leaves one at a time, or use a sharp knife to gather big handfuls. Plants that are cut back about 2 inches above the top of the root will grow a new set of tender leaves in only 2 to 3 weeks.
Any plants that should form sizable turnip roots can be cooked along with the greens, though plants that are encouraged to produce big crops of greens often sit atop hard-working yet unsightly roots. However, if you cut away the skin and any imperfections, you will find plenty of crispy flesh to cut into cubes and add to the cook pot.
Wash greens thoroughly, because soil tends to splash up on the leaves. The easiest way to wash them is to put the leaves in a very large bowl or clean bucket of water and swirl it around so that any soil falls to the bottom. Repeat until the leaves are clean. If you grow a bumper crop, keep a big galvanized tub expressly for this purpose.
It is best to cut greens just before you cook them, but they will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few days. Extras can be steamed and frozen.
