The fastest way to sort through turnip varieties is by purpose: some are bred for tender roots, some for the greens alone, and a handful do double duty. Once you know which job you need done, most of the guesswork disappears. This roundup covers all 15 turnip varieties worth planting, organized so you can match the plant to the plate.<\/p>\n
Most home gardeners default to Purple Top White Globe because it is the only one they have ever seen in a seed rack, which is fine, but it is not actually the best all-around choice for small gardens or fast harvests. Experienced growers tend to quietly favor a different type for baby turnips, one that almost never gets mentioned on seed packet fronts. And number 13 on this list is the one most people plant expecting a root crop and end up growing something else entirely.<\/p>\n
Stick around for the final entries and the simple method for choosing your own, both saved for the bottom of this list.<\/p>\n
These are the all-purpose types bred primarily for the swollen root, the ones you roast, mash, or drop into a stew.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The one everyone already knows<\/strong> and for good reason: it is reliable, matures in 45 to 55 days, and produces a 3 to 5 inch globe with a purple shoulder and white base. It handles both spring and fall planting and stores decently in a root cellar, though its flavor turns sharper as roots size up past baseball size.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A yellow-fleshed heirloom<\/strong> with a milder, sweeter flavor than the purple-top types, especially when pulled small. It matures in about 50 to 60 days and holds its texture well even if you let it go a little larger, making it more forgiving for gardeners who forget to check the bed daily.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An egg-shaped, all-white root<\/strong> that grows fast, often ready in 45 days, and stays smooth-skinned and mild even at full size. It is a good pick if you want a turnip that does not turn woody the moment you miss a harvest window.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A cold-hardy older variety<\/strong> with yellowish flesh and a firmer texture than most, which makes it a strong choice for fall crops meant to sit in the ground through a light frost or two. Flavor sweetens noticeably after cold exposure, which is the whole point of planting it for autumn.<\/p>\n Root types get you dinner, but the leafy types below are grown for a completely different reason.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bred to bolt slowly and throw abundant leaves, these are for gardeners who want the tops more than the roots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A greens-only variety<\/strong> that puts almost no energy into the root, which stays thin and fibrous, but produces heavy, dark green, cut-and-come-again foliage for months. It is extremely cold-hardy and is the classic choice across the American South for winter greens beds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A hybrid greens type<\/strong> bred for uniform, fast regrowth after cutting, usually ready for a first harvest in about 35 days. It tolerates heat better than most turnip greens, so it is one of the few that can be seeded a bit earlier in spring without bolting immediately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A smooth, glossy-leafed hybrid<\/strong> that resists the bitterness some greens varieties develop in warm weather. It regrows quickly after cutting and is a common choice for gardeners running successive cuttings through a single season.<\/p>\n If you want a plant that gives you both jobs at once, the next category is where the real value is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These varieties were bred so the greens and the root are both worth harvesting, not just a root with edible-but-mediocre tops.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Japanese heirloom<\/strong> with tender, mild greens and a round white root that stays sweet even at a larger size. It is heat-tolerant for a turnip, bolting later than most, which makes it one of the more forgiving choices for a slightly late spring planting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The quiet favorite among experienced growers<\/strong> for baby turnips, and the one most beginners overlook because it is not the type sold at the grocery store. It matures in as little as 35 to 40 days, stays crisp and sweet even when pulled small, and the greens are tender enough to eat raw in salads.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A hybrid bred for size consistency<\/strong>producing uniform roots with mild flavor and tops sturdy enough for a real greens harvest. It holds in the ground longer than most without turning woody, which buys you a wider harvest window.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A purple-topped hybrid<\/strong> similar in look to Purple Top White Globe but bred for smoother skin and slightly sweeter flesh. It performs well in both spring and fall plantings and produces usable greens along the way.<\/p>\n Beyond the dual-purpose types, a few varieties exist mainly for texture, novelty, or a job you might not expect.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This group covers the varieties grown for a particular texture, color, or a use outside the usual roast-and-mash routine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Japanese salad turnip<\/strong> famous for being sweet and crisp enough to eat raw, skin and all, straight off the plant. It matures in about 38 days, stays small on purpose, best picked at 1.5 to 2 inches across, and is the variety most likely to convert a turnip skeptic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the one most people plant expecting a fast turnip and end up growing something closer to a rutabaga instead. Seed racks sometimes label large, dense, long-storing yellow-fleshed roots as turnip when they are genuinely rutabaga crosses that need 80 to 90 days rather than 45 to 55. The tell is the maturity date on the packet:<\/strong> if it says anything close to 90 days, treat it and grow it like a rutabaga, with a longer season and cooler finish, not a quick spring turnip.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A bright red-skinned turnip<\/strong> with white flesh, grown as much for how it looks sliced into a salad as for flavor, which is mild and slightly peppery. It matures in about 45 days and holds its color well even after light cooking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A French heirloom<\/strong>cylindrical rather than round, with a dense, fine-grained flesh that holds up well in braises and gratins. It is slower to mature than the salad types, closer to 55 to 60 days, and rewards patience with a texture that stays firm rather than watery when cooked.<\/p>\n With all 15 on the table, the last piece is matching one to your actual garden and your actual plans for it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fifteen varieties, four real jobs: roots, greens, both, or something in between labeled a little loosely.<\/p>\n Pick the job first and the right turnip picks itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The fastest way to sort through turnip varieties is by purpose: some are bred for tender roots, some for the greens alone, and a handful do double duty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"lfe_reviewer":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1752,1751,5],"class_list":["post-2993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vegetables","tag-turnip","tag-turnip-varieties","tag-vegetables"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2994,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions\/2994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifehacksmag.com\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Golden Ball (Golden Perfection)<\/h3>\n
3. White Egg<\/h3>\n
4. Amber Globe<\/h3>\n
Greens-Focused Turnips<\/h2>\n
5. Seven Top<\/h3>\n
6. Alltop<\/h3>\n
7. Topper<\/h3>\n
Dual-Purpose Turnips<\/h2>\n
8. Shogoin<\/h3>\n
9. Tokyo Market (Tokyo Cross)<\/h3>\n
10. Just Right<\/h3>\n
11. Royal Crown<\/h3>\n
Specialty and Heirloom Turnips<\/h2>\n
12. Hakurei<\/h3>\n
13. Turnip Rutabaga Hybrids Marketed as “Turnips”<\/h3>\n
14. Scarlet Queen<\/h3>\n
15. Navet des Vertus Marteau<\/h3>\n
How to Choose the Right One<\/h2>\n
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