23 Types of Turnips | Best Turnip Varieties to Grow

Sheri Dorn is a versatile homesteader and culinary artist with a strong focus on organic and heirloom gardening. Holding a Master's degree in Culinary Arts, she combines her love for cooking and gardening in a unique way. Sheri is an active contributor to online gardening communities and enjoys quality outdoor time with her family and pets.
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Select the best turnip varieties for your garden or container from these 23 Types of Turnips and enjoy this low-calorie root vegetable fresh in your cuisines!

Turnips are an ancient root vegetable that has been grown for over 3000 years! It comes in different shapes, sizes, and colors, and you can grow it in both fall and spring seasons. Growing turnips is super easy, whether you are growing them in containers or the garden! Here are some of the best Types of Turnips you can grow!

Check out some of the best types of Radishes to grow here


Best Turnip Varieties

1. Purple-Top White Globe Turnips

Purple top turnips get mature in 50-55 days and form a 4-6 inches, white-colored, round root with a purple top. You can store them in a cool and moist place. They have a spicy flavor that tastes best in stews and braises.

2. Scarlet Queen Turnips

If you want to add colors in salads, then you must consider using bright red scarlet turnips! They are slightly flat in shape and mature in 40-45 days, with sweet and crispy flavor and taste great when paired with carrots, parsley, lemon, and honey with other ingredients, making it one of the best Types of Turnips!

3. Baby Bunch Turnips

Baby bunch turnips are small and grow up to 1-2inches in diameter. They have crunchy flesh with white, purple, gold, and pink tops. It has a mixed flavor of tart apple and radish.

Commonly, turnips are harvested while they are young, but baby turnips are pulled when they are much smaller than common turnips. Also, they do not have cellar vegetable storage qualities.

4. White Lady Turnip

You can harvest this hybrid variety in 30-35 days. The taste of the white lady turnip is mild, as compared to the purple top turnips. It grows 2-3 inches in diameter with pure white skin and flesh. The tender greens are also edible and can be used in dishes as well.

5. Gold Ball Turnip

The gold ball turnip grows in a golden-yellow flesh and skin, with a mildly sweet, almond-like flavor. It grows up to 5-6 inches in diameter and has a mellow taste if harvested early, at 3-4 inches size, like regular turnips. Though it gets mature in 40-45 days.

Note: Use gold ball turnips with carrots in soups or stews as they taste amazing.

6. Manchester Market Turnip

Manchester market turnips produce 3-5 inches, globe-shaped, creamy-white root with a light green top and edible leaves. This variety is super easy to grow. Harvest them when it grows up to the size of a tennis ball and use them in stews for a peppery flavor. They are one of the best Types of Turnips you should grow!

7. Tokyo Cross Turnip

Tokyo cross turnip is an award winning hybrid variety that gets ready for harvest in just 30-35 days. It produces 3-6 inches, white globe with mild, sweet and crispy flesh. You can grow this variety from spring to fall in your garden or in containers as well.

Note: Turnip ‘F1 Tokyo Cross’ is the winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

8. White Egg Turnip

You can harvest white egg turnips in 40-45 days; it grows to 4-5 inch, egg-shaped roots with white flesh. The white egg turnip has high water content, which makes it juicier as compared to the other turnips. The flavor of the flesh is sweet, tender, and crispy, which is perfect for soups and stews.

9. Red Round Turnip

Red round turnip has the size of a tennis ball with red skin and white flesh that can be harvested in 50-55 days. It has a crispy delicious sweet flavor and you can use them in soups, stews, and curries. They are one of the best Types of Turnips that are colorful!

10. Gilfeather Turnip

Gilfeather turnip is an heirloom variety and a hybrid of turnip and rutabaga and can be harvested in 70-75 days from sowing seeds. The inside flesh of this turnip variety is white with a sweet taste that slightly resembles with potato. Though the taste largely depends on the quality of the soil you are using for growing.

11. Seven Top Turnip and Topper

Both topper and seven top turnips are mainly grown for their nutritious greens. The plant reaches up to 18-22 inches long. But for the best taste and flavor, harvest the leaves when they are young and tender. You can harvest seven top turnips in 40-45 days and pull topper turnips in 30-35 days.

12. Royal Crown Turnip

This hybrid variety grows in a 4-5 inch diameter, of slightly flattened roots, with the purple blotch on the top. It has a sweet, mild flavor, perfect for souffle and soups. You can harvest royal crown turnips in 50-55 days.

13. Hidabeni Turnip

Hidabeni is a traditional Japanese vegetable that is grown in the Hida region. It grows in slightly flattened, semi-spherical roots, with white flesh and mild flavor. You can harvest this turnip variety in 45-50 days.

14. Orange Jelly Turnip

Also known as the ‘Golden Ball’ or ‘Robertson’s Golden Ball’ is salmon-colored and not exactly orange in shade. The inside flesh is yellow that has a hint of bitter almond taste. You can harvest them in 45-65 days. If you want an early crop, then you can pull turnips in 35-40 days as well.

15. Top Star Turnip

The root of this hybrid variety is not of any use as top star turnips are grown for their tall, lobed, long green leaves. This variety can be harvested in 30-35 days, but you can pick the leaves anytime when they are about 3-4 inches long. You can use these Types of Turnips in soups, salads, and stir-fries as well.

16. Hinona Kabu

Hinona kabu is a mild-flavored, long, and slender Japanese turnip, that grows 1-2 inches wide and 10-12 inches long. The root has a white color with a purple top that matures in 40-45 days.

17. Nozawana

Nozawana is a Japanese turnip that is primarily grown for its delicious, long, and dark green leaves. It can be harvested in 30-40 days, though you can harvest them earlier for best taste, especially when it reaches 2-3 inches in diameter. It has a mild flavor and is mostly used for making pickles, stir-fries, or steamed.

18. Komachi

Komachi is a slow-bolting, Japanese hybrid turnip, that produces 2-3 inches diameter, white spherical roots. You can harvest them in 40-45 days, though harvest them when the bulb is only 1-2 inches in diameter. Use Komachi turnips in salads or eat them fresh as a snack.

19. Sweet Scarlet Ball

Sweet scarlet ball turnip, produces 3-4 inch diameter root in dark purple-pink skin, with sweet-flavored white flesh, having an aftertaste of a radish. It matures in 45-50 days and can be used in salads or eaten raw as a snack.

20. Hakurei

Hakurei is a white color, hybrid variety with a hairless green top. Harvest the root in 35-40 days when it grows up to 2-3 inches in diameter. You can use them in salads for their crispy, delicious, and raw flavor, or eat them in dishes with the greens for natural sweet taste.

21. Just Right

Just right has won an All American Selection award for the first hybrid turnip that has maintained quality at a large size. It grows in 5-6 inches diameter, semi-globe shape, in a smooth white color. You can harvest them in 60-70 days. Use this hybrid turnip variety in salads, soup, or in pickles. Also, munch them raw for best taste.

22. Oasis

Also called as ‘Oase,’ it is a one of the best tasting Japanese hybrid variety that produces 4-5 inches diameter semi-globe shape root with late bolting and late pithiness. It has a juicy, sweet melon-like taste; you can eat them raw or use in salads. You can harvest them in 50-55 days.

23. Shogoin

Shogoin is one of the oldest traditional Japanese turnip variety that produces 6-8 inches wide large globe-shaped root. The plant grows up to 18-20 inches tall. You can harvest shogoin turnip root in 55-70 days and snip off the greens in 30-35 days. You can use both roots and greens in the preparation of soups and salads.

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