Beets and Turnips

by Barb Henny

Beets and turnips thrive when cooler weather arrives in the Florida fall. Late October is the time to start planting these chill-hardy crops, and planning meals around tasty root vegetables that will warm you up on a frosty day.

Beets (Beta vulgaris) and turnips (Brassica rapa) are cool-season vegetables. Summer heat causes low-sugar content in beets, whose family relatives are spinach and quinoa. Beets are commercially grown where spring and summer temperatures are cool, in northern areas such as Michigan and Pennsylvania. Turnips, members of the Cabbage family, develop a bitter flavor when temperatures rise. California leads in commercial turnip growing, but Mississippi, North Carolina and Georgia produce this popular southern vegetable during their cool months. Both of these vegetables have a long tradition as popular crops in the home garden, and both are easy to grow.

For all root crops, garden soil should be worked or rototilled to about 8 inches deep so that the development of the root won’t be restricted. Organic matter is good, but must be well composted; allow for drainage to prevent water accumulation and root rot diseases. A pH between 6.0 to 6.8 will suit both beets and turnips. I rake and water the seed beds before planting.

Beet varieties ‘Detroit Dark Red’ and ‘Detroit Supreme’ work best for me. I plant beet seeds about a half inch deep and about two inches apart. Beet seeds are pericarp structures with multiple true seeds inside, so one seed usually germinates several sprouts which can be thinned into singles. Beets take about ten to fourteen days to appear; when the seedlings have four to six leaves, I thin them to four inches apart.

I have tried many turnip varieties, but out of habit, loyalty, easy availability and tradition, I come back to ‘Purple Top’ year after year. I seed turnips and thin them in the same manner as the beets. It’s important to keep beet seedlings and turnip seedlings evenly moist until established.

Neither beets nor turnips suffer from many pests. Watch for caterpillars and apply Bt or Sevin if needed. Rabbits are a scourge; fence them out.

Just after I thin the seedlings, I fertilize one time with liquid 20-20-20 at one teaspoon per gallon of water. Every two to three weeks after that, I lightly broadcast 8-2-8 granular fertilizer. I rinse the leaves to remove fertilizer granules and maintain adequate moisture levels following fertilization. Better to fertilize lightly than risk burning the crop with a heavy application.

Beets and turnips tolerate Florida winter cold snaps very well. Established plants have no trouble with nights in the upper 20s, but if plants are newly germinated or very young, a layer of pine straw or a frost cloth cover is helpful.

Turnips mature in about 50 days; beets in about 60 days. I harvest roots at the three- to four-inch diameter size. Larger beets and turnips are fun to look at, but are woody when eaten. Some varieties of turnips can be left in the ground while greens are harvested multiple times.

A final cooking tip about these delicious roots: Cook beets, then peel. The outer skin of beets slides right off after cooking, just like blanching and peeling a tomato skin. Peel turnips, then cook. Turnips are like potatoes; I peel them first.

Sweet and Sour Beets

• 1½ pounds beets (4 to 6 fresh beets)

• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 Tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup water

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• Cook beets until tender when pierced with a fork, then peel and slice. Set aside. In a saucepan, mix cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add water and vinegar. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Add beets and heat through.

Mashed Turnips ‘n Taters

• 4 medium-sized turnips

• 2 medium-sized white potatoes

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2 Tablespoons butter

• salt and pepper to taste

• Peel turnips and potatoes and cut into uniform pieces. Boil until fork tender. Drain. Add butter and milk, then mash with a potato masher, spoon or electric mixer. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Barb Henny loves turnips and her husband, Dr. Jake Henny, loves beets. They have gardened together in Lake Jem for 35 seasons.

© 2013 Barb Henny. Originally published in Florida Gardening, Oct / Nov 2013. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.