Kuokkala turnip
Price range: $4.00 through $10.00
(Brassica rapa)
A landrace turnip from northern Finland whose most striking feature is its coloration: a yellow base layer with stripes and speckles of purple, sometimes so dense as to be nearly all purple, sometimes with almost none. Flesh can be white or yellow. Flat-round shape, good storage life, and traditional turnip flavour – in fact, all the traditional turnip flavours included in its variability! Some more sweet, some a bit bitter, some mild, some very strong… that’s how landraces sometimes are.
NordGen accession # NGB 31783
For summer harvest, plant several weeks before frost-free date. For fall harvest and winter storage, plant 45-50 days before first fall frost. Sow ¼-½” deep, 1” apart in rows 15” apart. If soil is dry, flood furrows before seeding. When plants are 4” tall, thin to 6” apart (eat thinnings). To prevent root maggot, sprinkle bed with ashes just as seedlings emerge. Harvest after a few light frosts but before a hard freeze, when roots are 3” in diameter.