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| Allotment Growing - Turnips |
When sowing fine seed like Turnips its quite difficult to get them evenly sown and spaced.
The results is often dense growth of seedlings that crowd each other out and prevent good sized plants from developing.
So they need to be thinned out by pulling out some seedlings leaving the stronger ones more space to grow on.
Oddly - I always find it slightly painful and counter-intuitive to pull out healthy young plants - but it needs to be done to get a good crop. So that's what I've just done with my turnips sown a couple of weeks ago.
The result is fewer but better spaced plants that will get more light, air and water. I've left in a few more than I will eventually grow. I will see which develop best and then thin out again, if needed, in two or three weeks time.
They should now grow on quickly and produce a nice crop soon. Turnips are best if picked when fairly small - between "golf ball" and "tennis ball" sized. Having said that - you can grow them on much larger. They will be tougher and less sweet - but absolutely fine for soups and stews.
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