How to Grow a Turnip on a Windowsill
Turnips are vegetables that can be grown for their greens or edible roots. These cool-season crops are commonly planted outdoors during early fall or spring. If your Bay Area home lacks the space for a vegetable garden, you can grow them indoors, on a windowsill. Growing turnips indoors can be a fun hobby, it can save you money, and you won't have to worry about soil-borne diseases or poor soil conditions.
Select a 2-gallon container to grow the turnips. Use a container with drainage holes, or use a knife to make holes along the side of the container approximately 1/2 inch from the bottom.
Line the bottom of the container with a 1-inch layer of coarse gravel. The gravel helps to improve drainage and keeps the potting mix from clogging the holes.
Fill the container with a well-drained, sterilized potting mix.
Plant the turnip seeds in the container. Sow the seeds 1/2-inch deep and at least 4 inches apart so there's sufficient space for them to grow. Avoid overcrowding the container, because this interferes with the development of the roots.
Water the turnips with cool water once a day. Avoid using warm water, because this may slow down the root development. Aim to keep the potting mix moist -- not wet.
Place the container on a sunny windowsill. If the drainage holes are at the bottom of the container, elevate the container from the windowsill surface with wooden blocks. Place a tray below the container to catch the water and to prevent damage to your windowsill. As an alternative, use commercial elevated or hanging containers.
Fertilize the turnips with a water-soluble fertilizer. Wait for the seeds to germinate. When the plants are at least 4 inches tall, use the fertilizer according to the packaging instructions.
- Harvest turnip roots after approximately 50 days, when they are about 2 inches in diameter. Harvest turnip greens after approximately 40 days, when they are about 4 inches tall.
Kimberly Caines is a well traveled model, writer and licensed physical fitness trainer who was first published in 1997. Her work has appeared in the Dutch newspaper "De Overschiese Krant" and on various websites. Caines holds a degree in journalism from Mercurius College in Holland and is writing her first novel.