Grow Your Own Turnips and Rutabagas

by Roberta Bailey

Copyright 2004 by the author. For information on reproducing this article, please contact the author through jenglish@midcoast.com.

According to William Woys Weaver, "At one time Americans were as enthusiastic about turnips as they now are about tomatoes..." He surmises that the shift in popularity has to do with the many food choices now available in winter; the fact that we no longer depend on root cellar vegetables; and the fact that soup cookery has fallen out of fashion, the turnip having been a cornerstone of many older soup recipes.

I grew up eating rutabagas. My mother sliced them and served them in lamb stew or raw along with carrot sticks. They were mildly sweet and delicious. As an adult I have come to appreciate steamed turnip and turnip greens as a summer and fall treat. As with all vegetables, they are so much more flavorful fresh from the garden.

What’s the Difference?

Turnips (Brassica rapa) are a hardy biennial native to the Scandinavian peninsula, Russia and Siberia. They grow quickly (about 40 to 50 days), forming a 2- to 4-inch, enlarged root with hairy green leaves emerging from the root crown. The flesh is predominantly white, though some varieties are rose tinted or gold fleshed. They are best picked small, as larger roots become fibrous. Seed catalogs once listed dozens of varieties, the seed often coming from England. Now most catalogs list two or three.

Rutabagas (Brassica napus) most likely originated from a cross between turnip and rape. They are a long season plant (90 to 100 days), quickly developing an extensive, finely branched root system with a 2- to 3-foot taproot. The rutabaga forms above ground as an enlarged root. The leaves, which spring from a somewhat elongated neck, are blue- green and smooth. The roots, which tend to be gold fleshed, are more nutritious than a turnip. Rutabagas are extremely hardy and store well.

Turnips mature quickly and do not store for long periods. Rutabagas are slow to mature, are quite cold hardy and store extremely well. If you want a quick summer crop and lots of greens, grow turnips. For winter storage, rutabagas will keep into late spring.

Planting

Rutabagas and turnips have similar planting needs, with only a few variances. The roots can be grown throughout the country, though heat will make them woody or fibrous. In areas with a long growing season and a hot summer, turnips can be planted as a spring or fall crop, rutabagas as a fall crop.

Choose a sunny location, though partial sun will do. Avoid ground that has had any member of the cabbage family--even radishes--growing on it in the last three years. Neither root crop requires high levels of fertility, but they do need loose, humus-rich, well-drained loam with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0. Heavy clay topsoil can cause root branching. Manure can be turned into the area the previous fall, or well-rotted manure or compost can be dug into the bed or row in the spring.

Fast growing spring turnip crops may need a boost of fertility, especially if the crop is grown for greens. Phosphorous concentrations need to be adequate for root growth. Like beets and other root crops, turnips and rutabagas need trace amounts of boron. If your soils are deficient in boron, amend them with a good compost or add a small amount of agricultural borax or soil amendment containing boron. Brown heart or rotting in the root center is a symptom of boron deficiency. (Note that excessive applications of boron can be toxic to some other vegetable crops; and certified organic growers should visit www.omri.org to determine which boron products are allowed.)

Turnips can be planted as a spring or fall crop. Sow spring crops as soon as the ground can be worked. Fall crops can be sown in midsummer.

Rutabagas need at least 90 days to mature. Sow seeds at least three months before fall frost and harvest. In Maine plant rutabagas in mid-June to avoid the early flea beetles. Some years I still have to protect the tender young seedlings.

Sow seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in a row or bed, spacing seeds about 1 inch apart. If the soil is dry, flood the furrows before seeding. Rows should be 15 inches apart for turnips and 18 inches apart for rutabagas.

Maintaining the Plot

The seed will germinate in three to seven days. Once plants are 4 to 6 inches high, thin them to 6 to 8 inches apart to ensure ample room for root development. The thinnings make excellent cooked greens, and young greens are tender enough for salads.

Weed the crops regularly or mulch to keep weeds down and moisture regulated.

Turnips may need a good weekly watering if conditions are dry. Due to their deep taproot, rutabagas are more tolerant of mild drought.

Top dressing should not be necessary unless you are growing turnips for their greens and the soil is not very fertile; then use a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen.

Turnips and rutabagas are plagued with many of the same pests as cabbage, broccoli and the rest of the cruciferous vegetables. Flea beetles, which make small holes in the leaves, can severely set back or kill young plants. Cover these plants with row cover or spray dormant oil. I prefer cottonseed-based oil to petroleum-based dormant oils.

Root maggots, which bore into the plant roots and stunt the plants, can be deterred by sprinkling wood ashes along the row or by covering the crop with cheesecloth or spun row cover to prevent the adult flies from laying their eggs on the soil surface.

Harvest

Turnips planted for greens can be harvested as soon as you thin them and for four to six weeks beyond that. Turnips grown for their roots should be left to grow, with only a few pickings for greens. Avoid cutting all the leaves off, as this will severely set back root formation. Dig or pull turnips when the roots are 2 to 4 inches in diameter. Fall crops can be left until a few frosts have hit, as frosts make the plant sweeter, but turnips cannot withstand freezing, so use them in fall and early winter.

Rutabagas can withstand some freezing. Dig roots before the ground freezes. Cut the tops an inch above the root and trim any long taproot. I pull my rutabagas in early October. After trimming, I store them in slightly damp leaf mold, sphagnum moss or sawdust. If your root cellar is dry, cover the roots in damp sand. Store them in a cellar between 32 and 38 degrees F. Roots can also be covered in paraffin or bees wax to minimize drying. Rutabagas store very well; I have kept them into late spring with no problems. Be sure to put the stragglers on the compost pile before the summer heat rots them. I have found few smells to rival the stench of rotten rutabaga.

Commonly available rutabaga varieties include ‘American Purple Top,’ ‘Laurentian,’ ‘Long Island Improved,’ ‘Joan,’ and a white variety, ‘Macomber.’ The most commonly available turnip variety is ‘Purple Top White Globe,’ but many catalogs are including heirlooms, such as ‘Gold Ball,’ ‘White Egg’ and ‘Gilfeather,’ as well as some modern Japanese hybrids, such as ‘Hakurei’ and ‘Scarlet Queen.’

Push back the rows of flashy modern vegetables and make room for some old fashioned rutabagas or a quick second planting of red turnips. Dust off the soup pot and dig out some recipes. Or simply slice them into salad. Surely your root cellar has room for a few rutabagas. Just remember, if you haven’t eaten them all come next June, get them out of the root cellar!

Fermented Foods

by Roberta Bailey

Copyright 2004 by the author. For information on reproducing this article, please contact the author through jenglish@midcoast.com.

When I first came to Maine, I lived in northwest Washington County, close to the Aroostook County border. As in all rural Maine towns, you drive at least a half hour to an hour to get anywhere other than your local gas station/convenience store, which also serves as the post office in the back corner. One of our monthly outings was to our MOFGA chapter meeting. These meetings also tended to be work parties. One month we’d help someone put up a pasture fence, the next would be a shingling party.

One meeting was at the farm of Ruth and Blair Yeoman in Drew Plantation. Blair had the roofing torn off the barn, and we helped him re-roof it with new asphalt shingles. The hemlock boards on that roof were 18 to 24 inches wide, sawn from logs Blair had salvaged from the woods after they had been stripped of their bark for the tannery business. I have never forgotten those wide boards.

At lunch time Ruth sent me to their cellar to fetch some sauerkraut. In a far corner of the granite walled cellar was a thigh high crock, 25 gallons or so, still one-quarter filled with sauerkraut. That kraut was the best I have ever eaten. It was also the beginning of my sauerkraut making.

Over the years I drifted away from making sauerkraut. I made a bit of kim chi, but the crock spent more and more time as a plant holder. Sandor Katz’s book Wild Fermentation (see the Dec. 2003-Feb. 2004 MOF&G) has re-inspired me. Last fall I relocated the aloe and filled the crock with kim chi. Now, as I await a drizzly day to set out cabbage seedlings, I’m thinking of making miso in my new crock. I might need to use plastic buckets for sauerruben and sour pickles. Clean plastic buckets and glass jars work fine as fermenting vessels.

Ruth and Blair Yeoman’s Sauerkraut

(a mild kraut with a little less salt)

Time frame: 21 to 28 days

For 5 gallons:

40 lbs. cabbage, red or green
16 Tbsp. canning or sea salt
6 tsp. brown sugar or organic cane sugar

Liz Lauer of Prentiss Township, Maine, uses this method for making kraut in volume:

Shred 5 pounds of cabbage and divide it between two very large stainless steel bowls. Mix 2 Tbsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. sugar with the 5 pounds of shredded cabbage. Let batch one set while you shred the cabbage for batch two. Pack the first batch into the crock, tamping it down hard. Mix the salt and sugar into the second batch, then shred the third batch, and so on, until you have mixed eight batches and tamped them into a 5-gallon crock or bucket. You should still have room for a clean plate and a sterile weight to keep the plate below the brine level. Liz says that the brine may take a day to come out of the cabbage. Let the mixture sit at 60 degrees F. for 21 to 28 days, then taste it. You can keep the sauerkraut in a cool cellar at this point and eat it from the crock, or you may can it, although canning kills the active enzymes and reduces the health benefits of the fermented food.

To can sauerkraut, fill hot, sterile quart jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Cover the sauerkraut with brine. (If more brine is needed, dissolve 2 2/3 Tbsp. of salt into 1 1/2 gallons water.) Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. A 5-gallon crock yields about 19 quart jars.

The following recipes are reprinted, with permission, from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz.

Sour Pickles

Time frame: one to four weeks

For 1 gallon:

3 to 4 lbs. unwaxed cucumbers or other vegetables
3/8 c. (6 Tbsp.) sea salt
3 to 4 heads dill or 3 to 4 Tbsp. dill seed
2 to 3 heads of garlic, peeled
1 handful fresh grape, cherry, oak or horseradish leaves
1 pinch black peppercorns

Rinse cukes, taking care not to bruise them. Scrub the blossom ends off. If the cukes aren’t fresh off the vine that day, soak them in cold water for a few hours.

Dissolve sea salt in 1/2 gallon of water to create a brine solution. Stir until dissolved.

Clean the crock, then place at the bottom of it dill, garlic, grape leaves and black peppercorns.

Place cucumbers in crock.

Pour brine over the cucumbers and place a clean plate over them, weighting the plate down with a plastic bag filled with water or a boiled rock. If the brine doesn’t cover the weighted-down plate, add more brine mixed at the same ratio of just under 1 Tbsp. salt per cup of water.

Cover the crock with a lid or a cloth to keep out dust and flies, and store it in a cool place.

Check the crock every day. Skim any mold from the surface, but don’t worry if you don’t get it all. If there is mold, rinse the plate and the weight. Taste the pickles after a few days.

Continue to check the crock every day and enjoy the pickles as they continue to ferment.

After one to four weeks (depending on the temperature), the pickles will be fully sour. Continue to eat them, moving them to the fridge or a very cool cellar to slow fermentation.

Sauerruben

Time frame: one to four weeks.

For 1/2 gallon:

5 lbs. turnips or rutabagas
3 Tbsp. sea salt

Grate the turnips coarsely or finely as you prefer.

Sprinkle the grated roots with salt as you go. The process will work with more or less salt, so salt to taste.

Add any other vegetable or herb you like, or leave it plain.

Cover and weight the grated roots as for sour pickles (above). Turnips contain more water than cabbage, so they do not take as much pressure or time for the brine to be expressed.

Check the sauerruben after a few days. Wipe away any mold and rinse the cover and weight. Taste the sauerruben. As time passes the flavor will get stronger. Enjoy the evolving flavor over the weeks of warm weather and into the cold months.

Sour Beets

Time frame: one to four weeks

For 1/2 gallon:

5 lbs. beets
3 Tbsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. caraway seed

Process as for sauerruben. Be sure the brine level stays above the plate. If necessary add some brine at a ratio of 1 Tbsp. per cup of water. Eat raw or use to make Borscht.

(Roberta’s note: If you’re not a fan of caraway or you want a change, try this recipe with 1 to 2 Tbsp. grated ginger or 1 tsp. whole cloves instead of the caraway.)

Check the Chelsea Green Web site, www.chelseagreen.com, for information on ordering Wild Fermentation