Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
hobbiest

Turnips at zero

hobbiest
10 years ago

I live in E TN.

We had one night at around Zero degrees. The next night it was 9. The third night 30. Tonight maybe 40.

The leaves on the turnips look sick. I don`t have much hope that they will come back. Am I right?

I didn`t have them covered the whole time either.

Comments (5)

  • Beeone
    10 years ago

    Grown turnips take a lot of cold, but those temps should have been enough to freeze the "bulb" which will prevent the leaves from regrowing. If the "bulb" remains firm after it thaws and didn't freeze solid, then the leaves may regrow.

  • cheapheap
    10 years ago

    I think that the leaves are gone too. With the freeze damage they probably look cooked. Do you have a lot? When were they planted? I would have thought that they would have been ready a few weeks ago.

    Even if the leaves resprout, they will just be harming the quality of the root - if it has not already froze (like beeone said) . With warmer weather and longer days the plant will be gearing up to go to seed and the quality of the root will be declining.

    With reliably cold temps, large crops, and snow or mulch for cover people have good results storing in the ground. We do not have consistantly cold temps here ( S. Oregon) so I have not tried it, I would think that without a very large crop it would just be easier to dig and store them anyway to prevent possible damage from rodents.

    Hope this helps, best of luck!

  • hobbiest
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I put the seeds in around the end of September.

    It is a small plot in the yard and only had a few rows growing.

    Last year I covered them in leaves and that seemed to help insulate them from cold weather.
    This year I didn`t.

    From what I have found in the past is that when the soil freezes, it locks up water available to the roots and then the plant ( bulb ) begins to rot from the center. I knew extreme cold weather was coming in last weekend and picked all of the larger bulbs that I knew would be good to eat. They look way passed toast now. I still have a few out there that could be picked and may do so soon.

    Turnips are the only thing I have grown in the late Fall months and had any success with in the cold winter months. It is funny to go out and pull a few up in late January with ice on them, bring them in and eat them! :)

    Main problem is, we haven`t had extreme cold like this since I have started gardening.

  • glib
    10 years ago

    Was there any snow on the ground? We had -14 to -16 for three nights in a row, but with significant snow I know the soil never goes below 26F or so. And that is a temperature at which turnips may stay unfrozen. They certainly sweeten a lot after a first ground freeze.

  • hobbiest
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    They are definitely toast. Just noticed a little while ago that the turnips were soft. So ends last years garden.

    I can`t wait until spring! LOL!