When To Pick Turnips

Knowing when to pick turnips is the key to getting the best flavor and texture from your crop. Picking them at the right time ensures you enjoy sweet, tender roots instead of woody, bitter ones. This guide will give you all the tips you need for perfect harvest timing, whether you’re growing classic purple-tops or colorful heirloom varieties.

Turnips are a wonderfully fast-growing crop, offering both roots and greens. But their quick growth means the window for peak harvest can be narrow. Harvest too early, and you get tiny roots. Wait too long, and they become pithy and strong-tasting. By paying attention to a few simple signs, you can master the timing for a succesful harvest.

This main heading covers your overall timing strategy. The best time to pick turnips depends on what you plan to use them for—the tender young roots or the mature storage roots. Here’s your core timeline.

For “Baby” Turnips: You can begin harvesting as early as 30-40 days after planting. These will be about 1-2 inches in diameter, incredibly sweet, and perfect for eating whole.
For Full-Sized, Mature Turnips: Most varieties reach prime size 50-60 days after sowing. Check your seed packet for the “Days to Maturity” for your specific type.
The Fall Harvest Deadline: Turnips sweetened by a light frost taste amazing. However, you must pull all roots before a hard freeze (below 25°F) which can damage them in the ground.

Key Signs Your Turnips Are Ready to Harvest

Don’t just rely on the calendar. Your plants will give you clear visual and physical signals that they’re ready.

1. Check the Root Shoulder

This is the easiest method. Gently brush away soil from the base of the greens. The top of the root (the shoulder) will bulge up and become visible at the soil line. When this shoulder is 2 to 3 inches wide for standard varieties, it’s usually ready.

2. Assess the Size

Size is a reliable indicator. Most maincrop turnips are best harvested when they are between 2 and 4 inches in diameter. Roots larger than 4-5 inches often become tough, woody, and develop a stronger, sometimes bitter, flavor.

3. Feel the Texture

A ripe turnip should feel firm and solid when you gently squeeze the visible shoulder. If it feels spongy or soft, it may be overmature or have pest damage.

How Weather and Season Affect Timing

Turnips are a cool-season crop, and temperature greatly influences their growth and quality.

Spring-Planted Turnips: These grow as days get warmer. Harvest them promptly at maturity, as heat can cause them to become pungent and bolt (go to seed).
Fall-Planted Turnips: These are the sweetest. Cool, frosty temperatures convert the roots’ starches into sugars. You can leave them in the ground longer in fall, harvesting as needed, but always before the ground freezes solid.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Harvesting

Follow these simple steps to harvest your turnips without damaging them.

Water the Day Before: Moist soil makes pulling roots much easier and prevents breakage.
Loosen the Soil: Use a garden fork or trowel to gently loosen the soil around the root, keeping a few inches away from the shoulder to avoid spearing it.
Pull Gently: Grasp the base of the greens firmly and pull straight up with a steady motion. If the greens break, use your trowel to carefully lift the root from the loosened soil.
Trim Immediately: Twist off or cut the greens about half an inch above the root crown. This prevents the greens from drawing moisture and nutrients from the root during storage.
Clean Gently: Brush off excess soil. Wash just before use, as dampness can promote rot in storage.

Harvesting Turnip Greens: A Bonus Crop

Don’t forget the greens! They are a nutritious harvest in themselves.

Young Greens: You can snip a few young leaves from each plant throughout the growing season without harming the root, as long as you don’t take to many.
Final Harvest: When you harvest the root, you get the whole bunch of greens. Smaller, younger leaves are more tender; larger leaves can be sautéed or used like collards.

Storing Your Harvested Turnips

Proper storage keeps your turnips fresh for months.

For Short-Term Use (1-2 Weeks)

Place unwashed roots in a perforated plastic bag in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer. Store the greens separately in a different bag.

For Long-Term Storage (Several Months)

Ensure roots are completely dry and undamaged.
Remove all but a tiny stub of the greens.
Pack them in a box or bin layered with slightly damp peat moss, sand, or sawdust. Make sure the roots do not touch eachother.
Store the container in a cold, humid location like a root cellar, basement, or garage where temperatures stay between 32°F and 40°F.

Common Problems if You Harvest Too Late

Waiting too long leads to several issues that affect quality.

Woodiness: The root develops a tough, fibrous core that is unpleasant to eat.
Bitterness or Pungency: Overmature roots, especially those grown in warm weather, develop a strong, often bitter flavor.
Cracking or Splitting: Roots can split open if they recieve uneven water (like a dry spell followed by heavy rain) or are left in the ground too long.
Bolting: The plant sends up a flower stalk. Once this happens, the root’s energy goes to seed production, making the root woody and inedible.

FAQ: Your Turnip Harvest Questions Answered

Can you leave turnips in the ground over winter?
In mild climates with winters that don’t freeze the ground solid, you can. In colder zones, a heavy mulch of straw or leaves might offer protection for a longer fall harvest, but it’s risky. It’s generally safer to harvest and store them.

What happens if you harvest turnips to early?
Harvesting early isn’t a problem—you’ll get delicious “baby” turnips. They are tender and mild, a real treat. Just be sure they’re at least an inch in diameter.

How do you know if a turnip has gone bad?
Discard turnips that are soft, spongy, slimy, or have a foul odor. Large black spots or extensive mold also mean they’re spoiled.

Do turnips get bigger the longer you leave them?
Yes, but only to a point. After reaching their ideal size (2-4 inches), they primarily become tougher and more fibrous, not better. Flavor quality declines as size increases beyond maturity.

Can you eat turnips after they flower?
Once the plant bolts (flowers), the root is usualy too woody and bitter to enjoy. The flowers themselves are edible, but focus on harvesting the roots before this stage.

By following these practical tips on when to pick turnips, you’ll maximize your garden’s yield and flavor. The simple act of checking the shoulder size and feeling for firmness takes just moments but makes all the difference. With good timing and proper technique, you’ll be enjoying homegrown turnips from your garden all season long.