VegetableTurnip
Purple Top White Globe Turnip
Root Vegetable
Purple Top White Globe Turnip is a classic American root vegetable that combines practical productivity with genuine culinary appeal. The distinctive bicolor roots emerge white below the soil and crowned with deep purple above, making them as striking as they are functional. Maturing in 50-59 days from seed, this open-pollinated variety thrives in cool seasons across zones 3-9 and rewards gardeners with not just the roots themselves but nutrient-dense greens that rival many dedicated leafy crops. Both parts store impressively well, transforming a single spring or fall planting into months of winter provisions.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
High
Soil
Fertile, Well-drained Loam; Consistent Moisture
Preferred Temp50-75°F
Growth Stats
12 in
Height
12 in
Width
6 in
Spacing
50–59
Days to Harvest
PeriodAnnual, Biennial
TypeForb/herb
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
High
Zones
3-9
Size
12in H x 12in W
Growth
Annual, Biennial
Care
Moderate
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Highlights
Purple Top White Globe earned its place as the standard American turnip by delivering on every front: speedy maturity, dual-purpose harvests from root and leaf, and outstanding storage capability. The roots stay sweetest when picked at 3-4 inches in diameter, and the greens pack carotenoids, B-complex vitamins, and vitamin K that make them nutritionally superior to most garden vegetables. Its cold hardiness and straightforward growing requirements make it equally at home in a spring garden or a late-summer planting destined for winter eating.
Common Uses
Both the roots and leafy tops serve at the kitchen table. The small roots are best sautéed or roasted whole, while larger specimens can be braised, mashed, or added to soups and stews. The tender greens are excellent sautéed with garlic or incorporated into soups, prepared much like collard greens or kale. Roots store brilliantly for extended use, making them valuable for winter cooking when fresh garden vegetables are scarce. The greens, by contrast, are best consumed fresh or within days of harvest, though they can be blanched and frozen.
Growing Timeline
First Bloom
Does Not Bloom Typically In Cultivated Conditions
First Harvest
6-10 Weeks After Sowing
Last Harvest
Late Fall
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Direct sow in spring as soon as the ground can be worked, or in early August for fall harvest. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep directly into the garden row. Succession sow every 2 weeks up to 8-10 weeks before your average first fall frost date for continuous harvests. In mild climates, sow in fall for cool-season crops.
Harvesting
Roots are sweetest and most tender when harvested at 3-4 inches in diameter; harvest them at this size to enjoy the best flavor and texture. Larger roots become woody and less palatable. Greens can be picked when young and tender, either harvested whole before the root reaches full size or selected leaf by leaf. Fall-harvested roots store much longer than spring harvests when properly cooled. Handle roots gently at harvest to avoid damage that would shorten storage life.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Brassica rapa L.
Family
Brassicaceae
Genus
Brassica
Duration
Annual, Biennial
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)HI (I)CAN (I)GL (I)
History & Origin
“This variety emerged from the Purple Top Flat Turnip, first documented in the 1881 D.M. Ferry Catalog as a globe-form improvement on that established type. Ferry's catalog noted its beautiful appearance and excellent quality for both table and stock use, predicting it would eventually rival its flat-topped parent in popularity. By 1927, it appeared in Burrell's Seed Catalog, confirming its adoption as a standard market variety. The lineage reflects deliberate horticultural refinement: breeders selected for the globe shape that stores more efficiently and presents more uniformly than flat types, while preserving the purple-top coloring that made its ancestor recognizable in the field.”