The term for sowing turnip seed material depends on the variety and purpose. If consumption is planned in the summer, then the seeds are sown in open beds at the end of April and until the first days of June. To get fresh products constantly, gardeners sow turnips every 15 days.
Frost-resistant varieties germinate even at zero air temperature. They can be sown before winter. Saplings withstand frosts down to -2 degrees. For turnips, in general, a soil temperature of 3-5 degrees Celsius is suitable.
To get the fruits early, you can use the seedling method. Seeds for seedlings are sown 7 weeks before planting on the beds.
How to grow a turnip
Turnips are not terrible light frosts. It can be grown in different regions of the country. Seed material should be carefully filtered, throwing out empty and damaged seeds. Good seeds are treated in saline. You need to take 100 ml of water and 5 g of salt.
The disinfection process implies that the seeds are placed in a gauze cloth, then lowered into a thermos with water at a temperature of up to +55 degrees. There the seeds should stay for 20 minutes. Next, the fabric is taken out and placed in cool water for several minutes. The procedure can be replaced by seed treatment in a manganese solution. For 100 g of liquid, 2 g of manganese should be taken. The seed material is kept in solution for 20 minutes. Then it is soaked in water for a couple of days.
Seeds can be planted in peat pots. The hot sun should not fall on the containers. When sprouts appear, you need to remove the film.
Turnip seedlings can be stored on a balcony or loggia. It is important to water it in time, loosen and fertilize. Harden off the seedlings two weeks before planting. Seedlings are recommended to be taken out into the street or placed near an open window.
Territory preparation
The beds are prepared in the fall. It is important for turnips that the soil is well aerated. The land can be improved with straw, sand, ash, brick chips. If the soil is acidic, add lime. Up to 150 g of lime will be required per 1 square meter. You can also use dolomite flour or wood ash.
The best predecessors of turnips are beans, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes. You should not plant it where it previously grew: horseradish, lettuce, daikon, radish and the turnip itself.
Planting seedlings
Adult turnips are not afraid of frosts down to -4 degrees. Plant it in the open area in the third decade of May. There should be a distance of about 30 cm between seedlings. To get a good harvest, planting should not be made too thick.
Irrigation Features
If the summer is hot, then turnips are watered twice a week. Up to 30 liters of water are spent per 1 square meter. Seedlings can be watered with a hose with a diffuser. In the absence of moisture, the turnip becomes covered with cracks, the fruits are too dense, and the taste becomes bitter. It is important to water the plant regularly when the fruits are actively forming.
top dressing
If the soil is sufficiently nutritious, then top dressing is not too necessary. But in order to get a bountiful harvest, you can fertilize the plant with bird droppings or rotted manure. Also an effective top dressing is a solution of boric acid with a concentration of 0.1%.
Wood ash can be applied to the ground. If the soil is not too nutritious, then top dressing is applied every ten days. For 10 liters of water, you should take 10 g of double superphosphate, potassium chloride and ammonium nitrate.
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