Does anyone here have experience growing, or attempting to grow, turnip seeds in the deep south, or in sub-tropical ecosystems?
If yes, can you give us some pointers?
Edit to add: What about other phenotypes of Brassica rapa like bok choi and napa cabbage?
I tend to just ignore them. I water when they need it but that’s basically it. I have turnips growing right now and they’re doing better than anything else I’m growing right now. I don’t even bother to weed them. My roots are never great but I’m working with heavy clay soil and rock.
Thanks Kristy.
How far south are you? Do they require cold temperatures before flowering? How much seed do they make?
Plant in the fall (as soon as the brutal heat breaks but the ground is still warm), make sure they have enough moisture. Eat. The only brassica I find easier are some of the Chinese cabbages (also b Rapa), and I’m playing with crosses between them with favorable initial results.
I should have also asked about Komatsuna, napa cabbage, bomdong, bok/pac choy, or rapini, because they are turnips that are grown for leaves instead of roots.
I can answer this question next year when I find out whether or not my turnips produce seed or not.
I plant them when most of the insects disappear so I can hopefully get some leaves. Sometimes it warms back up and the insects come back and pillage anyways. I managed to get 2 harvests before the insects made them unappealing this time.
If anything, I have trouble with them bolting prematurely (especially some of the extra cold hardy Chinese types) because they think it is summer. When they bolt prematurely, they are tiny plants with a dozen pods. Otherwise, plenty of seed.
Oh, and inland Los Angeles County. We might get a whiff of frost every 10 years.
Sorry for taking months to reply, but they usually produce a lot of seed. I’m in South Central Alabama. They don’t seem to need the cold before they flower. A few of my plants bolted very early. I planted a few weeks before the first frost and they flowered just before the frost.