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How to grow turnips

Frost-hardy · Cabbage family

When to sow and plant

  • Sow outdoors 22 March – 5 April
  • Sow outdoors 29 March – 5 April

Based on: average for Germany, last frost 19 April, safe from 6 May

Planting calendar for your area
Where the dates come from

The weeks come from our sources; the dates use the average frost in Germany. Enter a German postcode to get dates for your area.

  • Sow outdoors: 2–3 weeks before the last frost (USU Extension: How to Grow Rutabagas and Turnips in Your Garden)
  • Sow outdoors: 2–4 weeks before the last frost (Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide)

Good and bad neighbours

We don’t know any sourced neighbours for this plant yet.

Crop rotation

After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years).

  • The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.
  • Example: grown here in 2026, again from 2031.
  • If clubroot has appeared in the bed: no plants of the cabbage family for at least 7 years, not even mustard as green manure.

At a glance

Family
Cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Frost
Hardy, tolerates frost
Spacing (row × plant)
13 × 13 cm (5 × 5 in)
Plants per m²
59.2
Per square foot (30 × 30 cm)
4 plants
Life cycle
Annual
Harvest
After 40–75 days

Spacing according to Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide. Other sources: 38 × 9 cm (15 × 4 in) (USU Extension: How to Grow Rutabagas and Turnips in Your Garden).

Questions and answers

When can I sow turnips?

Sow outdoors, average for Germany: 22 March – 5 April. Enter a German postcode above for your area, or your own frost date in the planting calendar.

How far apart should I plant turnips?

13 × 13 cm (5 × 5 in) (row × plant), according to Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide.

How long a break do turnips need in the same bed?

After the cabbage family, leave the bed free of it for at least 4 years (sources: 4–5 years). The same species should go back to the same spot after a break of 3 years at the earliest.

More from the cabbage family

Sources

Show 8 sources
  1. Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720: Vegetable Planting Guide
  2. Purdue Plant ID Pal: turnip
  3. USU Extension: How to Grow Rutabagas and Turnips in Your Garden
  4. UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Tulare & Kings: Square Foot Gardening Plant & Seed Spacing
  5. UMD Extension: Radishes, Rutabagas and Turnips
  6. Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
  7. Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)
  8. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (über die GBIF-API, species/match)

Retrieved on 23 October 2026. Facts in our own words, one source per value.