Japanese Turnip
Tokyo Market Turnip is a Japanese heirloom that lives up to its name with remarkable speed and dependability. Ready to harvest in just 35 days, these small roots mature to about 4 inches wide and 12 inches tall, making them perfectly sized for fresh eating or storage. What sets this variety apart is its uncanny ability to thrive even when conditions seem less than ideal, frost barely matters, cool-season growing is its specialty, and the roots stay tender and sweet no matter the challenge. Grow it in full sun to partial shade, space plants 4 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, and you'll have a crop that's as versatile as it is fast.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-9
12in H x 4in W
Annual, Biennial
Moderate
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Tokyo Market Turnip delivers speed without sacrificing quality. This variety handles the unpredictable early and late season with grace, producing roots that remain magically tender and sweet despite harsh conditions. It's equally at home as a quick spring or fall crop, and its ability to sow late in the season means you can extend your harvest well into winter. The compact size and rapid maturity make it ideal for succession planting, allowing continuous harvests throughout the growing season.
Tokyo Market Turnips are harvested young for their tender roots, which are excellent raw in salads, quick-pickled, or lightly braised. The greens are equally edible and can be harvested alongside the roots or grown separately. Their small, delicate size makes them ideal for whole roasting, adding to stir-fries, or serving as an elegant side dish.
Sow Tokyo Market Turnip seeds directly into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring. This variety tolerates cold soil and can even be sown as late as early autumn for a winter crop, making it one of the most flexible turnips for succession planting.
Harvest Tokyo Market Turnips at 35 days when roots are young and tender, typically about 4 inches in diameter. Larger roots can become woody, so check plants around day 30 and harvest as soon as they reach eating size. Pull the entire plant or carefully loosen soil to lift roots without damage. Greens can be harvested at any point for eating alongside the root, or the entire plant can be pulled when roots are ready.
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“Tokyo Market Turnip carries the refinement and precision of Japanese vegetable breeding, where compact, quick-maturing crops have been cultivated for generations to meet the demands of urban markets and home gardens alike. This variety represents that tradition of selecting for reliability and consistent quality under variable conditions, traits that Japanese growers perfected over decades of breeding.”