turnips and rutabagas

[12540dumont]

Help, I did some of these last year, and I thought they were awful. Can anyone point me to some varieties that people actually eat?

Any one have any to trade? I'm heavy on leek seed right now...also favas, peas and green beans. (Yes really)

Or have these gone the way of the brussel sprout?

Thanks, Holly

[DiggingDogFarm]

Aug 12, 2011 20:37:39 GMT -5 12540dumont said:

Help, I did some of these last year, and I thought they were awful. Can anyone point me to some varieties that people actually eat?

Any one have any to trade? I'm heavy on leek seed right now...also favas, peas and green beans. (Yes really)

Or have these gone the way of the brussel sprout?

Thanks, Holly

Where did the brussel sprout go?

I love them all

Joan Rutabaga is pretty good.
I like turnips harvested fairly small...no more than 3 inch.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Aug 12, 2011 20:37:39 GMT -5 12540dumont said:

Help, I did some of these last year, and I thought they were awful. Can anyone point me to some varieties that people actually eat?

Any one have any to trade?

If you are basing your criteria on popularity, then you gotta grow "Purple Top White Globe Turnips" and forget about any other type of turnip or rutabaga since hardly anybody eats them.

And eat it raw. No cooking allowed, unless it's the lightest cooking in a stir fry.

I have about a pint bottle of seed that I just harvested. If you'd like some send me a PM with your trade list. There's nothing special about my seed, other than I have selected through two breeding cycles for long storage, and vigorous growth in my arid garden with limestone derived lake bottom soil.

My current wish-list includes:

* Zea diploperennis
* Zea interspecific crosses
* Tripsacum/Zea/Teosinte intergeneric crosses
* Corn from the Tropical Highlands race (Hopi, Posole, South-West, Mexican, Oaxacan, etc)
* C. melo: Cantalupensis, spanspek, chito mango melon, conomon, makuwa
* Cold hardy cactus and succulents (Zone 5)
* Open pollinated broccoli
* True potato seeds
* Winter wheat
* Watermelon
* Gourds
* Sweet peas
* Small early maxima squash
* Short season angiosperma squash
* Dryland wildflowers (No forget-me-nots or other burrs.)
* Genetically diverse land-race vegetables or grains of any kind
* Open pollinated seeds from vegetables or grains grown by sustenance farmers or Indians

I'd also welcome shelling peas, snap beans, or red/yellow/purple podded peas.

[steev]

I mostly prefer Navet des Vertus Marteau turnips, which I get from Baker Creek. They're still good quite large and produce excellent greens. I've not gotten around to raising seed as I've always eaten all I've grown.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

In my garden... First year turnip greens resemble radish leaves or bean leaves: Coarse, hairy, bad-tasting, unpalatable, lacy from being bitten so frequently by flee beetles. Second year leaves resemble cabbage leaves, smooth, tender, good-tasting, ignored by the bugs.

I tried eating first year turnip leaves a few times. It was worse than eating dandelions: At least the dandelions are not prickly! But the second year greens were pleasant to me.

[atash]

Turnips and rutabagas don't taste the same.

Turnips have a very mild flavor, especially when they're young. They grow very fast and there's not all that much substance to them. Sort of like a radish but not quite as watery.

There used to be a Pakistani restaurant in town that made absolutely delicious palaak shalgram. ;D

They don't keep as long as rutabagas either.

If you didn't like the taste, then probably something was wrong. You're not in prime Turnip country; if you tried to grow them outside of fall and winter it might have been too hot and/or dry.

I think rutabagas have a stronger, cabbagey taste, and were never as popular as turnips. Never got very far even within Europe; they are uncommon outside of Scandinavia, Scotland, and Central Europe, though they are popular in Iran where they are eaten as a snack food!

They are more substantial and nutritious than turnips and keep much better. Typically extremely coldhardy.

I haven't tried Joan but I have some seed for it and I will plant it this month. I think it's a good crop for winter storage. My ancestors ate them pretty much daily. Before potatoes existed they were the main staple root vegetable in parts of Europe where they are eaten.

Both turnips and rutabagas are good as brine-pickles aka lacto-fermentation pickles. Add salt, garlic, hot red pepper, and Currant leaves (to innoculate).

[raymondo]

I like them both but not if they're too big. My turnips never get to the kitchen because I eat them straight out of the garden when they're about golf ball size. Sweet and crunchy! Swedes (rutabagas) are delicious steamed then smothered in butter and black pepper. No idea about their keeping qualities because mine are all gone not long after harvest.

[oxbowfarm]

What about the Japanese turnips like Hakurei or Scarlet Red Stems? Fast growing kind of like a radish but sweet and really tender if well grown and picked at golf ball sized or a little bigger.

[12540dumont]

Oh no, not another trial.
I guess I'll have to work on my roots. Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start with the French ones and work my way through the list.

[mnjrutherford]

See what you've got yourself into here Holly? ;o)

[paquebot]

Someone said that rutabagas don't taste like turnips? Apparently hasn't grown Eastham turnip/Macomber turnip. That is a white rutabaga that does indeed taste like a turnip. I like it in slaw and sauerkraut. Have seed for that scarce one if anyone wants some.

Martin

[extremegardener]

Martin - do you know how Macomber compares to Gilfeather? They sound similar.
Gilfeather is white, keeps very well and over-winters without protection, I only use it after it's been frozen, which makes it very sweet.
Also nobody mentioned the golden turnips - they are SUPERB - sweet and tender - and great winter food - they keep very well. I've been enjoying the thinnings in salads the past couple of weeks. But keep in mind I live in perfect turnip growing country - cold and wet

[12540dumont]

Extreme,
Would this be Golden Globe? Or???

[paquebot]

Macomber turnip has a unique taste and is supposedly a cross between a radish and a rutabaga. That's not supposed to happen but it was so long ago that nobody was able to question it. The taste is unique and somewhere between a radish and a rutabaga. They also can get quite large, 8" across.

For a long time, seed availability and popularity was restricted to a small area of New England. It's only been in the past 5 or 6 years that it's been available elsewhere. I was possibly the first to grow it in Wisconsin as a friend connected with growing them sent a packet to try. The following year, a coffee can full of seed was sent to Jung's for their centennial year. Jung's didn't know how they would go over in their catalog so it was listed in Vermont Bean instead. It hasn't exactly proved to be popular but will probably be available from them for a long time. They call it "Authentic Eastham Turnip" since it is indeed the real thing.

Martin

[Alan]

Martin, I would be interested in growing it and giving it a go. I love turnips and rutabegas with a passion. I am particularly fond of Kapulers six root grex turnips, though they need some selection for size of bulbs.