VegetableTurnip
Seven Top Turnip
Greens
Seven Top Turnip is a cool-season heirloom vegetable that gardeners grow primarily for its lavish dark-green leaves rather than its cream-colored roots. This open-pollinated Brassica rapa reaches harvest in just 40 to 49 days, making it one of the fastest turnips to mature. Hardy across zones 3 through 9, it thrives in full sun and produces upright growth that's easy to manage in beds or containers. While the roots are edible when young and tender, the real treasure lies in the abundant foliage, a trait that sets Seven Top apart from root-focused turnip varieties.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained Loam, Tolerates Poor Soils
Preferred Temp50-75°F
Growth Stats
—
Height
—
Width
2 in
Spacing
40–49
Days to Harvest
PeriodAnnual, Biennial
TypeForb/herb
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
3-9
Size
?in H x ?in W
Growth
Annual, Biennial
Care
High
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
Seven Top Turnip flips the script on what turnips are supposed to deliver. Rather than prizing the bulbous root, this heirloom was bred and preserved for its stunning, dark-green leaves that emerge quickly and abundantly. The roots, when harvested small, offer tender eating, but most growers focus on repeatedly harvesting the greens like they would from a cut-and-come-again lettuce. Its speed, ready to pick within six to seven weeks, and extreme cold hardiness make it invaluable for extending the season deep into fall and even early winter.
Common Uses
Seven Top Turnip is grown almost exclusively for its tender, dark-green leaves, which are prepared like other cooking greens, sautéed with garlic and oil, added to soups and stews, or blanched and finished with vinegar. The smaller roots, when harvested at a young stage, can be peeled and roasted or added raw to salads, though they're considerably less tender and flavorful than dedicated turnip varieties bred for root production. The combination of reliable leaf production and fast maturity makes this variety particularly valuable for cooks seeking a high-yield green that handles cold better than most leafy vegetables.
Growing Timeline
First Bloom
Not Applicable
First Harvest
30-45 Days After Sowing
Last Harvest
60-70 Days After Sowing
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Direct sow Seven Top Turnip seeds outdoors in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or in mid to late summer for fall harvest. Plant seeds in cool weather when soil temperatures are between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for best germination and vigor.
Harvesting
Begin harvesting outer leaves once the plant has established itself, typically 40 to 49 days after sowing. Pinch or cut individual leaves from the base of the plant, working your way outward, allowing the interior crown to continue producing fresh foliage. This cut-and-come-again approach yields multiple harvests from a single planting throughout the season. Smaller roots can be harvested when they reach 2 to 3 inches in diameter by gently lifting the plant; these young roots are far more tender and palatable than larger specimens. For maximum flavor and tenderness in the greens, harvest in cool weather or immediately after a light frost, when the leaves develop a sweeter character.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
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
“Seven Top Turnip is an heirloom variety that represents a deliberate shift away from the root-focused turnips that dominated European gardens for centuries. While exact origins remain obscured by time, this cultivar emerged from the mustard family's broader evolutionary path within Brassica rapa, refined by gardeners who recognized the culinary and nutritional value of turnip greens themselves. The variety's name, 'Seven Top,' hints at early seed catalogs and farming communities that valued the plant for producing multiple flushes of harvestable leaf material, a practical naming convention born from real garden observation. It survives today as a testament to open-pollinated seed saving traditions, preserved by home gardeners and seed companies who understood that not every crop needs to be grown for its underground harvest.”