When to remove turnips from the garden for storage

Children's question about turnips...

As you know, the truth speaks through the mouth of a baby. That’s how it worked for me. We are reading the fairy tale “The Turnip” at the dacha, and suddenly the granddaughter asks: “And what is this turnip—what is it really like?” That's when I started thinking seriously. Well, it’s necessary, I seem to plant everything in the garden that is necessary (some even without special need - I confess, I was chasing fashion), but our original product is not there. But before the advent of potatoes, people ate turnips, and they probably liked it. In general, I promised my granddaughter that I would not only show her, but also treat her.

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At the end of the growing season, regular and proper watering of turnips determines the yield and quality of root crops. If four weeks before harvesting the plants have never suffered from a lack of moisture, their beautiful fruits will turn out with tender and tasty pulp. After watering, it is always necessary to loosen the row spacing.

I bought turnip seeds only next year. It turned out that they are small, but strong. At first, I still didn’t know what to do with this “new” crop for the garden; I couldn’t find anything intelligible about turnips, so I decided to go through my own trial and error. And it became most interesting. Those seeds, by the way, were of the Petrovskaya-1 variety; I haven’t tried anything tastier until now!

Related link: Growing radishes and their cousins ​​- turnip rutabaga katrana

Nutritional and medicinal value of radish

Radish is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals necessary for human health. The following is the composition of the mineral elements contained in 100 grams of raw black radish:

• sodium – 17 mg;
• potassium - 260-1200 mg;
• magnesium – 28 mg;
• iron – 1.5 mg;
• phosphorus - 26 mg;
• iodine – 8 mg.

All radishes are rich in essential substances. Different types of radish contain from 9 to 50 mg of oils per 100 grams of dry matter. Radish also contains bactericidal and phytoncidal substances.

Composition of vitamins in radish:

• carotene – 0.023 mg;
• B1 – 0.033 mg;
• B2 – 0.03 mg;
• PP – 0.25 mg;
• B5 – 0.18 mg;
• B6 – 0.06 mg;
• C – 30-70 mg.

Since ancient times, radish has been used in medicine as a digestive stimulant and as an expectorant. And doctors still recommend radish with honey for cold coughs.

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Planting turnips

There was no separate place for turnips (what can you do, six acres after all, every meter is planned), so I sowed the seeds for the dill, and even near the gazebo I made a small bed in place of the flower bed with dahlias, so that my granddaughter could observe and grow the turnips herself.

She sowed them like radishes in holes placed in a line across the bed, two centimeters deep. Of course, due to the fact that the seeds are very small, I did not calculate the distance between them, and my turnip sprouted just like a fur coat. Then she pulled it mercilessly: even if there was a little left in the end, it would be at ease for her. And so it happened.

Literally a month later, the turnips became so strong that my granddaughter and I already tried the first root vegetables. It was already possible to eat! Not very ripe, but added to salads without fear. In addition, the turnips turned out to have simply wonderfully juicy tops with a radish flavor - also useful in salads.

And we harvested our first real harvest when root crops began to emerge from the ground. The turnip turned out to be a sight to behold: smooth, clean, the color of melted butter. But she was like that only at the gazebo. In another bed, next to the dill, some of the root vegetables were cracked, or even stiffened. Perhaps I missed the harvesting deadline, but I think the turnips didn’t like the neighborhood, especially since there was also a cabbage patch nearby.

Now I know for sure that you need to sow turnips only in the most open places, and in no case after radishes or cabbage!

Every year I choose well-lit and ventilated areas for turnips; I don’t grow much, but even a small planting is enough for both summer and winter.

Diversity of radish species composition

There were times when gardeners in our country grew only one type of radish - winter black. But times are changing, and now more and more often in vegetable gardens we can find various types of radishes that were previously considered exotic, including sweet radishes. For example, daikon is a sweet Chinese radish. Our daikon radishes are cousins, or even second cousins. It tastes more like radish than radish.

Margelan radish, or lobo, tastes like a cross between daikon and European bitter types of radish. Typically, root vegetables are white or green, round or elongated in shape. The “Red Heart” variety is interesting because under the light green peel there is a watermelon-colored red core.

Green radish has a more pleasant, delicate taste compared to black radish. This native of Uzbekistan is slightly less rich in vitamins, but also has healing properties.

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Turnip care

There seem to be no problems when growing this crop: watering, weeding, fertilizing. Again, not in terms of timing, but depending on how she behaves. I see that the tops have withered a little - in the evening I will certainly water them abundantly.

I cherish the turnips, water them only with warm, settled water, and feed them with herbal infusion.

I loosen it often, the next day after each watering. When sowing and during the growth of the tops, be sure to generously sprinkle with ash and tobacco dust, right up to the gray coating. Turnips are also cruciferous, so prevention against the omnivorous flea beetle is simply necessary.

Now I take a thorough approach to the quality of the beds. I also learned from my own experience that turnips love light soils, so I add a little sand or forest soil.

When to harvest black, white, red radish

Sweet radish with white and red skin is grown for consumption in summer or autumn. Its delicate pulp does not withstand long-term storage. Even late varieties can remain juicy for only 2 months. Therefore, white and pink daikon fruits are collected throughout the summer and eaten fresh. If the root crop is kept in the ground, then voids will form inside it, and the pulp will become hard and tasteless.

Later varieties of white radish are left until September-October. In areas where frosts begin early, you need to have time to dig it up before the cold snaps.

The degree of maturity of the radish is determined by the large size of the root crop and the drying of the tops.

The black vegetable product is planted in June-July, so it reaches technical maturity in mid to late autumn. Dig it up before the first frost.

Any type of radish must be harvested on time. Harvested ahead of time, the crop will wither or germinate faster. There is little benefit from such a product.

Harvesting the summer harvest

To consume root crops in the summer, early ripening varieties are chosen, which are planted in open ground or under film covers in April - early May. After 1.5-2 months, the fruits will reach technical ripeness and can be dug up.

The harvest should not be done immediately, but gradually by pulling the radish out of the ground. They start with large root vegetables, which have already become juicy and tasty. After two weeks, the rest are collected. If they lie in the ground, they will become hollow, with dried out pulp.

See also Review of the best varieties of daikon for open ground and winter storageRead

Specific harvesting dates are determined based on the time of sowing and the variety of vegetable. To make sure that the root vegetable is ready to eat, you need to take 2-3 copies from the garden and taste it. The condition of the fruits is monitored regularly, then the harvest will be harvested on time.

Harvesting autumn varieties

Mid-season radish is a short-day vegetable. She doesn't need a lot of sun. Therefore, you should not plant the seeds early, otherwise the formation of the root crop will occur on hot days. From this, growth stops, and the vegetable produces arrows with flowers. The correct selection of plant variety is important. Growing too long in areas with early frosts will result in crop loss. Early ripening varieties that can be harvested by September are also suitable for autumn if planted in July.

Harvesting winter varieties

For winter storage, black radishes are usually left, less often daikon or green. It is collected depending on the growing region. In the middle zone, in the Urals, in Siberia, the last date for harvesting is mid-October. If regular drops in temperature begin, then you need to do this earlier. Although the vegetable is not afraid of frost, if it freezes, the fruit will lose some of its valuable properties.

Root crops are always dug up not immediately, but selectively. They extract the crop from the ground by pulling it out with their hands or digging it up with a shovel or pitchfork.

For harvesting, you need to choose a fine day to leave the fruits in the garden to dry. Carefully dig out the product without damaging it. After clearing the soil, remove the tops, leaving a stump 1.5-2 centimeters in size. When cutting the stem, you must not damage the skin, otherwise pathogenic microorganisms will enter through the wound and destroy the product.

Checking the saying

We eat turnips in large quantities in the summer, even raw. We’ve already gotten used to its slightly fresh taste, and it doesn’t seem like some kind of fabulous vegetable. Well, how could you not try that same steamed turnip, which is simpler than anything? And here’s where there was a hitch...

No matter how hard I tried to prepare the “simplest” dish in the world, everything turned out contrary to the saying: either it remains raw or it burns. Most likely, the turnips were steamed in cast iron in a Russian oven. I started doing this: I cut the turnips into slices and cook them on a baking sheet in the oven. The pieces shrivel, but bake perfectly.

I also make turnip puree. This is the same as potato, but the taste is much more pleasant, especially if you add unrefined sunflower oil. Just lick your fingers! And turnip porridge with berries or apples cannot be compared at all! The children devour her cold soul for her sweet soul.

In general, turnips are a very convenient vegetable, because I usually harvest two crops per season. We try the first one (I sow the same variety Petrovskaya-1 at the end of April) already in mid-July, I sow the second one in June. Turnips ripen in August-September and are suitable for long-term storage. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of this variety, but the root vegetables are not yellow, but pinkish.

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How to store turnips

I store turnips in plywood boxes from old parcels, cut off the tops to the ground, but don’t touch the tail and small roots so that there are no microcracks.

Turnips are not only an excellent substitute for potatoes, but also a wonderful medicine. Its fruits contain a lot of magnesium, so turnips must be consumed by people with cardiovascular diseases. And the juice helps with coughs, our whole family takes treatment, we don’t take any medicines.

This is how the simple and irreplaceable turnip has found a secure place in our garden.

How to properly dig turnips and store them

It is better to dig up turnips and other root vegetables in dry weather, but if it rains frequently, then you should not leave the turnip in the ground - it may crack or rot. The root crop from soft and loose soil is easy to pull out by the tops. The root crop is removed from dense soil by digging with a shovel.

Medium-sized turnips are selected for storage. Large, too small and damaged skins are set aside for priority consumption. Turnip tops are trimmed with a sharp knife or pruning shears to the root level, without damaging the skin. The long root is also cut off, leaving a tail of 2-4 cm.

If the turnips were harvested in rainy weather, they are dried under a canopy and the adhering soil is removed. The root vegetable must be dried until the cut on the turnip is dry. There is no need to overdry it; the root crop may become flabby.

Store turnips in the cellar at a temperature of +3 +6 degrees and a humidity of 70%. Root vegetables are sprinkled with slightly damp sand or sawdust so that they do not come into contact with each other. You can immerse each fruit in a clay mash and, after allowing it to dry, place it on the shelves. The clay crust will prevent the turnips from drying out.

In a city apartment, turnips can be stored on a glazed balcony or in a cool corridor or pantry. Each root vegetable is wrapped in newspaper and the turnips are placed in boxes.

In the refrigerator, in the vegetable compartment, turnips can be stored for a month.

Growing turnips - readers share reviews and experiences

9 varieties of turnips

Turnip is a native Russian crop, and before Peter I it was one of the main vegetables on the table, which later gave way to potatoes. Currently, a large number of turnip varieties have appeared, including for Siberia. I decided to check out what some of them were and experiment with planting dates.

"Participants" of the experiment

I sowed 9 varieties of turnips,

• Petrovskaya is a mid-early variety, a flat-rounded root crop with a concave bottom, the weight of which reaches 200 g. The pulp is hard, yellow, juicy, and sweet.
• Geisha is an early ripening variety, root weight 60-90 g, flat-round and white in shape. It has delicate skin and dense juicy pulp. It can be grown both outdoors and in protected ground.
• Comet is a mid-season variety that has an original cylindrical root shape with a thickening at the bottom. Weight 90-120 g.
• Golden Ball is a mid-early variety, the weight of a rounded root crop with firm juicy pulp is 60-150 g.
• Luna - the period from germination to technical ripeness is 68-72 days. The weight of the round root vegetable is 130-240 g. It has a thin yellow skin and juicy pulp.
• Russian size - the period from full germination to technical ripeness is 60-70 days. Golden-yellow fleshy root vegetable with an average weight of 200 g.
• Flatbread is a mid-season variety, a flat-round, white root crop, weighing up to 200 g, the flesh is tender, white, juicy.
• Rattle is an early salad variety, a root crop with an average weight of 100 g, round with juicy dense pulp, well stored, resistant to bacteriosis, easy to pull out. FSnezhok is an early ripening variety, a round white root crop, weighing 90 g, with delicate skin and juicy dense pulp.

Checking deadlines

I chose 2 sowing dates - spring (beginning of May) and summer (beginning of July). I did not find any strong differences in field germination between varieties and dates. This figure ranged from 86-93%. Mass shoots appeared almost simultaneously - about 4 days, but during spring sowing the delay was about 2 days. Also, during spring sowing, the formation of root crops was delayed by 6 days - this indicator varied from 28 to 33 days for different varieties.

The time until technical ripeness of root crops was 70-80 days. The varieties Ragremushka, Snezhok and Geisha could be eaten after 45 days. According to biometric indicators (weight and length of leaves, weight of root crops), the varieties Petrovskaya, Snezhok Pogremushka, Kometa and Geisha stood out. During the summer sowing of these varieties, the length of the leaves at the end of September reached 60-70 cm, the diameter of the root crop was 10-20 cm, and its weight was 250-400 g. When sowing in spring, the figures were 1.5 times lower.

Yield and taste

In the conditions of the Tyumen region, the yield declared on the bags was justified; the weight of root crops turned out to be from 250 to 400 g. I obtained medium and high yields from the varieties Geisha, Snezhok and Pogremushka, the weight of root crops reaching 2 kg.

In the spring, turnip seedlings were damaged less by pests of cruciferous crops (flea beetles, flies) than in the summer. This is due to unfavorable conditions for the reproduction of pests, whose activity increases at high air temperatures.

The following can be said about taste. I liked the Snezhok varieties for their softness and sweetness. Rattle, Golden Ball and Geisha.

The obtained indicators depended on the weather conditions of the south of Siberia. In May-June there is less precipitation and average daily temperatures are lower than in July and August. This combination of weather conditions contributes to more intensive growth of root crops during summer sowing.

Thus, in the conditions of the south of Western Siberia, summer sowing of turnips is preferable. If desired, you can create a turnip conveyor. In the spring, grow turnips for summer consumption, and in the summer sow for winter storage,

© Author: Dmitry Litvinov, candidate of agricultural sciences, Tyumen

Is it easier than “steamed” turnips?

I also want to talk about turnips.

Nowadays, it is mainly known only by the title of the tale. Now you can rarely find it anywhere, but in former times it had the same meaning as potatoes. The failure of the turnip harvest in Rus' was considered a natural disaster. It is not only nutritious, but also very useful. The amount of vitamin C is almost twice as high as lemons, oranges, white cabbage, as well as raspberries and strawberries. Its juice was used to treat asthma, diabetes, and loss of voice. By the way, turnip treats cough very effectively. I just grate it and eat it with honey, and the next day I already feel great relief.

Turnips don't have a strong smell or taste like radishes, so I have no problem getting my kids to eat them. I make a salad from the young leaves. They taste very similar to mustard, and they contain more vitamins than the root vegetables themselves. Yes, apparently, it’s not for nothing that people have made up so many proverbs about turnips! The girl is as good as a washed turnip! Turnips are meat, cut and eat. When there is a turnip, then there will be a measure. People boast about turnips and rutabaga.

Growing turnips is easy.

1. The soil should be loose and fertile. Turnip is a light-loving crop, so you need to choose a sunny area.
2. Before sowing, you need to immediately add ash or potash fertilizers. Manure cannot be introduced. I spill the soil with warm water and sow the seeds to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Before sowing, I mix the seeds with sand; they are very small.
3. After planting, you need to immediately cover the ground, for example, with humus.
4. I thin out the plantings regularly. The first time is when shoots appear, then every 7-10 days.
5. Turnips need to be watered generously, sparing no water. If you don't do this, it will grow small and taste bitter. But you can’t over-water it either.
6. I plant it twice. The first time is in the spring, when the air warms up to 15-18°, the second time at the end of August. Turnips do not like heat; at high temperatures they become rough.
7. I follow crop rotation. You cannot grow turnips after other cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, radishes, radishes, mustard).
8. I feed it twice the whole time. The first - immediately after thinning, the second - a month later. I use ash.
9. I harvest selectively every 50-70 days. In the fall I remove everything at once. I dig very carefully so as not to damage the root crops, and cut off the tops at the level of the head. I keep it in the basement - I lay it out in a row and sprinkle it with sand.

© Author: Ekaterina IGNATIEVA Feodosia Crimea

Rutabaga harvesting time

A healthy and tasty vegetable can be eaten 1.5–2 months after germination. Root crops intended for long-term storage are removed from the garden only after ripeness.

When is it time to harvest

Mass harvesting begins 3-4 months after emergence. The best time for digging is September and early October. By this time, the rutabaga stops growing and is completely ripe. The harvest is harvested before frost sets in: frozen fruits quickly lose their taste and are poorly stored.

Factors affecting rutabaga ripeness

Rutabaga is a fairly cold-resistant root vegetable . It continues to grow and accumulate useful substances until the onset of cold weather. Late varieties of vegetables are sweeter and tastier than early ones. The latter are dug in August.

Factors that influence the timing of harvest include::

• ripening period of a particular variety (early ripening varieties are dug earlier than late ones);
• size of root vegetables (large vegetables are removed from the garden earlier, small ones are left longer if weather conditions permit).

Interesting facts about rutabaga:

What is rutabaga, how is it useful and where is it used?

Useful properties and contraindications of rutabaga

Problems associated with growing turnips

©Tatyana KUDRYAVTSEVA. Kovrov, Vladimir region.

On sale today you can find many varieties of turnips, but I prefer to grow the proven Petrovskaya , distinguished by the noble golden color of the roots and excellent taste, as well as the white salad Japanese Geisha, which is extremely juicy and completely without bitterness (but the advertised variety Come on, Pull disappointed in all respects, even appearance).

It is believed that growing this vegetable, as they say, is easier than steamed turnips, because it is quite unpretentious. In fact, everything turned out to be not so simple. Personally, for several years in a row I have not been able to achieve a good and clean harvest. And all because in the garden there are too many people who like to eat turnips: cruciferous flea beetles eat all the leaves, and cabbage fly larvae and wireworms happily gnaw through the root crops. I tried dusting the leaves and soil around the plants with ash, mustard, hot pepper and tobacco dust, but the effect only lasted until the first rain. But I didn’t want to use chemicals, so what benefit would such a turnip provide to me and my grandchildren? But I also didn’t want to give up a healthy vegetable, so I tried to find another solution.

First, I planted the turnips in the furrows, after pouring mustard powder mixed with hot pepper into them. The result turned out to be more effective than dusting leaves: young leaves and root crops, but also self-sowing. When they fade, I cover the perennials with them, and in the spring I remove this cover and burn it.

This time I wasn’t too lazy: I used pruning shears to finely chop up the dry marigold bushes, sprinkle them in a thick layer on the bed and dug them well, mixing them with soil, before planting the turnips. I sprinkled the holes with mustard and pepper - after all, it’s a proven remedy.

The result of such measures was excellent - turnips planted in “velvet” soil remained in the garden bed for a long time, untouched by pests.

Although I don’t recommend waiting until the turnip grows, like in a fairy tale, so big that you can’t pull it out without help - it will be “wooden” and tasteless. Better to eat her young! And to prevent turnips from becoming bitter, you must remember to water them more often.

© Author: Elena, Irkutsk

Don't scratch your turnip, plant a turnip

As you learn interesting details about turnips, you begin to wonder why they are given so little space in our gardens. This vegetable, due to its glucorafinine content, is a good prevention of the development of diabetes and even reduces the risk of cancer. So it’s worth returning turnips to our gardens.

Location and soil

To obtain a good turnip harvest, it is necessary to select soils of light and medium composition with a high content of organic matter and low groundwater levels. Clay floating soils are not suitable for it. It prefers a slightly acidic reaction in the soil environment.

Potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and strawberries are good predecessors for turnips. It should not be sown after related plants such as radishes, dykoy and cabbage. It can be grown in one place for two years.

Preparing the soil for it is usual, the main thing is to get a loose, leveled surface without significant lumps.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers (to avoid their leaching) are applied in the spring for pre-sowing cultivation: potassium-phosphorus - at the rate of 15-20 g/mg. It is better not to overuse nitrogen, since an excess of this element spoils the taste of turnips. Organic matter in the form of compost or humus is added in the amount of half a bucket per 1 m2. In general, you can limit yourself to a mixture of ash and compost. If the soil is acidic, then dolomite flour or wood ash (1 kg/m2) should be added.

Sowing

You can sow turnips in two terms. If you want to enjoy it in the summer, then sow it! in late April - early May, and for winter storage this can be done in late July - early August. Before sowing, it is necessary to warm the seeds by wrapping them in a cloth and immersing them in water at a temperature of 40-60 degrees for 10 minutes.

Since turnip seeds are small, they are sown in a mixture with sand in grooves 1-2 cm deep. The top should be immediately sprinkled with soil, shed with water and sprinkled with ash: it will serve as both a fertilizer and a preventive measure against the cruciferous flea beetle.

When sowing in spring, the bed should be covered with spunbond or mulched with hay or compost. After 2-4 days, shoots will appear.

Care

Turnip crops are weeded as weeds appear, combining this technique with loosening the rows. At the same time, you can thin out dense shoots, since root crops need free space.

Watering should be done once a week, taking into account the weather. It is especially important during the formation of root crops. In well-moistened soil, turnips turn out round and juicy, and in dry soil small and bitter root vegetables grow.

Advice

The best fertilizer for turnips is an infusion of ash - dissolve 120 g (a glass) in a bucket of water in the evening and let it brew. Stirring constantly, pour into pre-prepared grooves, which you immediately sprinkle. After three weeks, repeat feeding.

Harvesting turnips

In summer, turnips are harvested as they ripen. Don't wait long - in large root vegetables the pulp becomes coarse. When harvesting in the fall, try to avoid frost. Dig up the root vegetables with a shovel, remove them from the ground and immediately cut off the leaves as short as possible. If this is not done, they will draw moisture and nutrients onto themselves. Try to avoid mechanical damage.

Storage

After plucking, you need to let the turnips dry for several days in a dry, ventilated area, and then you can lower them into the cellar. For storage, it is best to use wooden boxes with sparse slats, this will allow air to circulate freely.

© Author: Dmitry Ilyich DYAKONOV, agronomist, Gomel region, a/g Ulukhove

My husband pulled out a turnip...

To paraphrase a well-known joke, we can say that if you don’t like some “old” vegetable, then you simply don’t know how to cook it.

Or maybe grow it. But this is a fixable matter - if only there was a desire.

Once my husband and I saw a program on TV that talked about turnips. We really didn’t think about how many healthy substances it turns out to contain! For example, it contains more vitamin C than any other vegetable, and there are also B vitamins, vitamin P and macro- and microelements such as sulfur, iodine, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, manganese, and potassium. Turnips also contain glucoraphanin, a substance that prevents the appearance of new cancer cells and neutralizes existing ones. And even the smell of cut root vegetables is beneficial: since turnips contain a fair amount of essential oil, its evaporation has immune-strengthening and antibacterial properties.

My husband and I looked at each other - but really, why was there no place for such an amazing and at the same time familiar culture in our garden? In short, we even got excited. And my husband was also struck by childhood memories of how he and his tomboyish friends would drag turnips from the beds and gnaw on them, and they were all so sweet and tasty... In general, we firmly decided to plant turnips and went to a large and trusted gardening store to buy seeds. And we bought bags of two varieties there - Petrovskaya

and some other white variety (we forgot the name out of chagrin, but why is discussed ahead). In the spring, as soon as the earth warmed up, I planted all the seeds and began to care for the sprouts that appeared, like radishes: I watered them, fed them with green fertilizer, and mounded them with earth so that the tops of the root crops were not green. And now autumn has come.

And it was then that it turned out that that same white turnip (there was a beautiful photograph on the bag) had almost completely disappeared into the tops. They began to dig up Petrovskaya and saw that her root vegetables had grown strong and of medium size (I personally don’t like large vegetables, because I have to constantly pull them up).

The husband happily rubbed his hands in anticipation of pleasure. I started tasting it and was surprised: the turnip turned out to be sweet-tart and rough. Eating it just like that was tasteless and... uninteresting. I don’t know what caused this. Maybe I didn't look after her the right way? Or were there other varieties before? Or maybe, in the post-war years of famine, everything seemed tasty? But what to do with the harvest now?

The husband thought and thought and said: “We need to steam her. Look, she will become sweet.” But there was no confidence in his words. And it’s a pity to steam root vegetables, because all the vitamins disappear during heat treatment, and in winter there are already not enough of them. But then I started cooking at home

salad and suddenly decided, out of curiosity, to add grated turnip to it. It turned out to be very tasty! That same sweetish tartness gave the dish an unusual taste!

Moreover, turnips do not have the bitterness that radishes have. My husband tried it and was delighted. And now I always add coarsely grated turnips to salads, thereby preserving all the health benefits that are in it. Moreover, in this form it turns out not at all rough. And although I have a sick stomach (and turnips are contraindicated for those who suffer from chronic ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the liver and kidneys), I also enjoy these salads. Am I overusing it? No, you just need to know when to stop everything.

And now I’ll share two of my favorite recipes. First: chop as many tomatoes, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, green onions as your heart desires, add grated turnips and season with mayonnaise. Second recipe: grate apples, carrots, turnips on a coarse grater, add finely chopped dill, parsley and mayonnaise or sour cream. Simple, but so delicious! So plant a turnip and gain health over the winter. Now, on the eve of the new season, I began to read literature about turnips and was surprised at how many varieties there are. And I got the idea to try them out.

© Author: T.A. ZAVYALOVA

Growing turnips in the Samara region - planting and care

Once upon a time, turnips were considered almost the main food, and not because there was no other food, but because the benefits were great. Nowadays she is rarely remembered.

But this is where healthy eating and the fight against excess weight begin, which our favorite potatoes so generously give us...

So I wanted to write about turnips. How I didn’t grow it well before and also got “oaky” root crops. I pulled out the first two - they were a delicate yellow color, sweet and soft to the teeth. And then I think: let them grow some more (I planted the Petrovskaya-1 variety in May), and when at the end of summer I pulled out the turnips, they all turned out to have voids inside and were hard and rough. They fed it to the chickens. It turns out I kept it in the ground for too long. This is how I learned that you need to adhere to the deadlines indicated on the packet of seeds.

Here at T.A. Zavyalova suffered the same misfortune. Young, 3-4 cm in diameter - tender and sweet, with a special aroma, which is how her husband T.A. remembered her. Zavyalova. Previously, no one waited for it to grow big: there was a root of 3-4 cm - they pulled and ate everything that was edible. And we were like that in childhood: when the carrot grows a little, we start pulling it. We use a piece of glass (we find broken glass in the yard near the rubble) and eat it. We went into the forest to pick up hogweed, and all sorts of things happened...

In general, all root crops for food should be grown in two sowings (spring and summer), and for winter storage they should be sown in mid- to late June (carrots - before Trinity). If the summer is hot, you can sow in mid-July.

This applies to Margelan radish and all Japanese daikons, but the black one must be sown in June, no later: it grows slowly. And as soon as it sprouts, protect it from fleas - immediately cover it with lutrasil. I cover it like

I’ll just plant it, otherwise you might not see it sprout, because it will take three or four days, and the flea will gnaw it off in one night, leaving only the stumps. I replanted last year. And it was like this.

I planted it, it sprouted, I sprinkled ash all over it, but it didn’t help - the fleas ate everything overnight! A week later I planted it again (I spent a week thinking about whether to plant it or not - after all, August had already begun), sprinkled ash on top and covered it with lutrasil - two beds in one piece 5x4 m, pressing the edges tightly with boards. Three days later everything came up again, I watered it, closed it and watered it with lutrasil. Two weeks later I opened it, replanted it, added more ash, closed everything again and opened it only when it was already frosty.

Yes, no large root crops have grown, but that’s for the best. The radish (lobo and Russian black) has grown to a diameter of 4-5 cm - just enough for one time: prepare a salad. It is stored perfectly in the cellar until May.

Cabbage stones

Now about Chinese cabbage: it also grows quickly, and for winter consumption I also plant it in mid-June or a little later. Just four or five seeds and there will be enough harvest for the whole winter.

The summer was hot, and it grew under my lutrasil. I watered it at the root once every three days, generously, and covered it again with lutrasil.

It is not advisable to water it from above - it may rot. What about the rain, you ask? But rain has a completely different water structure, and it does not harm cabbage.

Rain is living water, and what we heat in barrels is heavy, as if compacted water (its molecules are linked into chains), it is advisable to water it with such water using a watering can with a sprinkler - then the chains break, and the water becomes available to the plants. Have you noticed how the plantings look after the rain, even though we watered them before? Here it is, the power of “moving water”!

You can’t overcook kohlrabi cabbage either - you’ll get stones in the literal sense of the word. It will only be possible to chop it with an ax to get to the middle, and only then to feed it to the chickens. It may, of course, be possible to peel and grate it, but this is not the pleasure that you will get from the young and tender fruit of this cabbage. There is a time for everything - don’t miss the deadlines, and everything will be in order.

Dear summer residents! Don't lose hope and create miracles at your dachas! Good luck to everyone and, of course, health. I even gained more strength when the sowing season began - there was a meaning in every day, otherwise in the winter we somehow lay around, gained weight, and now you get up in the morning - and to the window: well, how are you here, who has grown up, who has hung up leaves? In short, a new day has arrived. Go!

By the way

Turnip is an excellent skin care product; all the beauties of Ancient Rus' used it. The juice from this vegetable not only cleanses and tones the skin, but also saturates it with beneficial microelements. Turnip is an excellent whitening agent that effectively removes freckles. It is also suitable for problem skin, but its main property is the ability to give tired skin a healthy, radiant look.

With respect to everyone who cares about Mother Earth,

© Author: Lyubov Samara region

GROWING TURNIPS (PETROVSKAYA): VIDEO

TURNIP - growing Peter's turnip

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