How To Grow Turnip Microgreens in 5 Easy Steps

When you think of microgreens, you may not imagine that a bulky root vegetable would be an option – yet here we are! Turnips make excellent microgreens! They’re lesser known for no good reason because turnip seeds are some of the fastest-sprouting vegetables around. You can grow a crop of turnip greens in just a week.

Turnip cotyledons, harvested long before the fleshy root forms, are plump and crunchy. Their flavor is all over the place; some gardeners describe it as a non-spicy radish, while others argue that it’s a cabbage or kale flavor. Either way, we can agree that turnip microgreens taste like typical Brassica plants.

Like all microgreens, turnip greens have an amazing nutritional value. They contain around ten times the amount of nutrients in mature turnips. Among those are high levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, phosphorus, potassium, and beta-carotene. These vitamins and minerals offer health benefits including increased mood, better sleep, regulated blood sugar levels, and even a reduced risk of cancer.

So, by growing turnip microgreens, you’ll be improving your health, kitchen game, and gardening skills. For the rest of this article, we’ll fill in the cracks on just how to grow these simply great greens.

What You’ll Need

If you’re new to growing microgreens, you’ll need some very specific supplies. Microgreens aren’t sprouted in the garden like regular turnips – they need their own indoor setup. 

Seed

You can use any variety of turnips for your microgreens. They don’t have to be labeled for microgreen growing, although buying in bulk for microgreen growing is likely best. Perhaps the most common variety is ‘Purple Top White Globe’ turnips. Add something like the premium Japanese salad turnip ‘White Lady’ to the list. Whichever you choose, ensure the vegetable seed hasn’t been coated with pesticides or other chemicals. We highly recommend only buying seeds from a reputable seller.

Containers

For most microgreens, you’ll need two growing trays per harvest. One must have good drainage holes and the other should be solid. Choose shallow trays that are at least 10×10 in size and can fit inside each other.

Growing Medium

The ideal growing medium for microgreens should provide good moisture retention, proper drainage, and aeration while being free of added nutrients. These fast-growing plants rely primarily on water and light. Coconut coir offers excellent water-holding capacity, or you can use a seed starting mix.

Grow Lights

A grow light is usually required to grow quality microgreens. Without it, the greens take longer to grow, have bent stems, and grow unevenly. While turnip microgreens also benefit from artificial light, they’re one of the few microgreens that will grow fairly well under regular sunlight. If you’re new to microgreen growing and hesitant to splurge on a grow light, turnips are the perfect way to test the waters. Once hooked on growing microgreens, you can invest in the equipment needed to grow other types.

Extras

Before you begin, you need a few extra things. A spice shaker will help distribute seed evenly but is not essential. You will also need a small weight of around five pounds, kitchen scissors for harvesting, and a misting bottle to keep the small seedlings hydrated in warm weather.

How to Grow Turnip Microgreens

It isn’t just the speed and savor that makes turnip microgreens perfect for beginners – they also take fewer supplies.

Lucky for us, turnip seeds don’t need to be soaked. The reddish-brown, round seeds germinate easily enough that we can skip this step and move on to planting.

Step 1: Plant

Turnip seeds have a good germination rate if they’re set up right. We’ll start by grabbing the tray with drainage holes and our soil mix. Fill the tray close to the brim and smooth out the soil. Next, to make planting microgreens easier, fill your spice shaker with turnip seeds. Shake out the seeds onto the entire soil surface, like sprinkles on a cake. Lightly tamp down the turnip seeds into the soil and give them another watering.

Step 2: Cover

Instead of covering the turnip microgreen seeds with soil, place the second growing tray directly on top of them. The tray should fit snugly enough to block out all light. To keep it in place, put your small weight on top. This weight will also encourage the microgreens to grow strong stems and roots.

Once planted, keep the turnip seed in this “blackout period” while germination occurs. You should only lift the lid to ensure the seeds and soil have enough moisture. When the roots start to settle in two to three days, each sprout will work together to collectively push up the weighted cover tray. This is your signal to transition the turnip seed out of germination mode and into its (micro) growing phase!

Step 3: Grow

When you planted your turnips, they were tiny seeds. Now, when you remove the cover tray, you’ll be greeted by pale, slightly smushed turnip seedlings. Not to worry though! These baby microgreens will straighten out and turn green as you continue growing.

If you choose to use a grow light, position it about a foot above your growing tray and turn it on for ten to twelve hours a day. Otherwise, place your microgreen tray where it’ll get as much direct sunlight as possible. If each leaf doesn’t turn green in a day or two, expose them to more light.

As they grow, your turnip microgreens will sprout two green, lobed cotyledons. They’ll have white stems that often get a purplish-pink tint in the light. You may also notice fuzzy white root hairs that sometimes look like mold. 

To avoid actual mold in your microgreens garden, always water from the bottom of the tray. Too much moisture on top benefits bacteria growth, especially considering how closely each leaf is spaced. The bottom-watering method requires that you reuse your solid cover tray from earlier.

Fill the solid tray with an inch or two of water and set the growing tray inside it. The soil mix will lap up moisture through the drainage holes, thus watering the turnip root hairs. Be sure to remove the watering tray after ten to fifteen minutes so the soil and microgreens crop don’t get too moist.

Step 4: Harvest

In just seven to twelve days after planting, your turnip microgreens will be ready to harvest. By then, each sprout will be two to three inches tall and sport beautifully unfolded cotyledons. You’ll have a few days to harvest, but you should do so before the greens produce true leaves. As a microgreen plant grows into a full-turnip plant, its flavoring will change dramatically (not to mention it’ll run out of space!).

Before you jump into harvest time, stop watering your turnip microgreens at least 12 hours prior. The drier they are when harvested, the longer these greens stay fresh. In the meantime, acquire some kitchen shears or a sharp knife and clean it well.

Grab a bunch of microgreens in one hand and cut the stems with the other. You can harvest the plants all at once or as needed. When you’ve harvested the whole crop, toss the spent plant roots and soil into your compost bin. Turnip sprouts, like most microgreen plants, won’t regrow after harvesting.

Step 5: Store

As mentioned, microgreen sprouts stay the freshest when they’re dry. Hold off on washing your micro turnip crop until you’re just about to use them. Add these tasty, nutritious plants to any dish that needs a health boost (salads, sandwiches, casseroles, etc.). Microgreens are best used raw as a garnish.

If you don’t use up the whole crop immediately, wrap the leftovers in a paper towel and seal them in Tupperware or a Ziplock bag. Stash the plants in the fridge, where they’ll stay fresh for about a week. You may need to change out the paper towel if it gets too moist.

Frequently Asked Questions