When to plant a turnip: features of agricultural technology

Known since ancient farming, turnip is probably the most Russian vegetable, replacing our ancestors with grains during the famine years. The appearance of potatoes displaced the turnip from the pedestal, but Russian plant growers still grow this popular culture, which has established itself as a delicious dietary and medicinal product, valued for its rich vitamin composition and unpretentiousness. When planting a turnip, what conditions to create for a better root crop growth, as well as other issues related to the farming of this crop, will be discussed in the article.

Soil preparation

Before to find out, when to plant a turnip, we will understand, where it is better to sow it. Optimal for lowly turnip are light and fertile sandy loam well-moistened soils with acidity at pH 6.0-7.0. Since clay soils can cause infection of the whale and significantly reduce the taste properties of the root crop, it is not profitable to cultivate a turnip on such sites.

Deciding when to plant a turnip and radish, vegetable growers carry out presowing cultivation of the garden. The soil is dug by introducing on a square meter 3-5 kg of humus or overgrown manure, 200 g of ash and 15 grams of carbamide, superphosphate and potassium fertilizers. It is important to remember that fresh manure can not be made immediately before planting. Its use is possible only in the autumn treatment. It is not necessary to plant a turnip at sites where other representatives of cruciferous cultures - cabbage, watercress, etc., were previously cultivated. Precedents such as peas, beans, beans, tomatoes or zucchini are preferred.

When to plant a turnip in an open ground

Turnip is a cold-resistant crop that perfectly ripens even in shaded areas, which allows vegetable growers to harvest two crops per season even in temperate climates. When to plant a turnip? The first time the seeds are sown as soon as the snow comes down. Roots planted in the spring and intended for summer use, are unsuitable for laying for storage in the winter. The second (summer) planting vegetables are good for keeping quality. When you plant a turnip again, determine by the weather conditions in the region, but do it no later than in early July. The main rule of the second crop is that seeds are sown 70-80 days before stable frosts are established. Root crops will mature and gain enough qualities that increase their safety.

Agrotechnics of cultivation

Determining over time, when planting a turnip in the open ground, the seeds are processed - they are heated for half an hour, soaking in hot water (50-52 ° C). After this procedure, the seeds are slightly dried. Because they are small enough, they are mixed with sand or sifted wood ash for ease of planting. On the prepared plot, the root crop is sown in rows with an interval of 20 cm. The seeds are sown into grooves, deepening them 1-2 cm, and then carefully closed and watered, trying not to wash the soil.

Caring manipulations for planting turnips are common: regular weeding, loosening and watering. With the appearance of 3-5 leaves, the rows are thinned, leaving 6-8 cm between the sprouts. Mulching of peat crops will greatly facilitate the care of the vegetable grower: the need to loosen and remove the weeds will disappear, a good moisture level and an optimal microclimate around the shoots will remain.

Watering and pest control

A prerequisite for the qualitative growth of a plant and the formation of a root crop is to provide it with a sufficient amount of water. With its lack of turnip grows stiff and bitter. A bed with this moisture-loving culture should not dry out. Root crops should be watered often - both during the period of initial growth, and during its full formation. The watering rate is 10 liters per square meter.

Unfortunately, plantings of turnips are very attractive for many dangerous pests, the most common of which are cabbage bugs and flies, undulating fleas that can kill shoots in a very short time. Prevent their attack during the digging of soil, adding ash or tobacco dust. Seeds with planted turnips periodically "powdered" with mustard powder or pepper.

Thus, having understood the question of when it is possible to plant a turnip, we learned effective agricultural practices that allow us to grow a double crop of an excellent healing root.